Not too long ago I found myself "resting", as an old
actor friend used to put it, and looking for a new
project management role. The process of finding a job in IT has
changed enormously over the years, with online job listings
increasingly taking the place of interviews for the pre-selection
of candidates.
Years ago, when job-hopping seemed to be a rite of passage for a
programmer, the approach to job hunting was to search through the
Yellow Pages, dress in your finest strides and pay a personal visit
to several local recruitment agencies. This was a personal
approach, where the job seeker and agency could chew the fat
together over a cup of coffee and possibly a cigarette.
After these opening moves of recruitment chess, having
identified past colleagues in common and chatted about what you
were looking for, you would get around to reviewing what was on the
agency's books, fill in a few forms and arrange an interview or
two.
This face-to-face approach was very effective, as the candidate
could get a flavour for the agency's competency and build a rapport
with the recruiter. At the same time, the agency would get a pretty
good idea about the candidate's suitability for the available
roles. This placed them in a very good position to tell their
client what they thought of the candidate.
How things have changed. Welcome to the new way of pre-selecting
staff.
In my working career I have managed internal projects, projects
with third-party suppliers, easy projects, difficult projects,
large projects, small projects, projects that I wish I had never
even heard of, and projects that probably wished the same of
me.
Some have been a breeze, others were more of a hurricane. Those
where I made mistakes taught me some excellent lessons. In short, I
have gained a lot of all-round experience. So how much would all
this experience benefit me during the search for a new role using
today's less-than-intimate online job boards?
I was astounded by some of the requirements stipulated as "must
haves" by companies wanting to fill project manager vacancies. Some
positions stated that, "candidates must have good knowledge of Java
and
C#", and others required "experience in
UML and
SQL".
I do not know what other project managers spend their time
doing, but in my career so far no one has ever asked me to write
any code. There is really no good reason why this should be
necessary, so why is it asked for?
I apologise for stating the obvious, but one thing I have
learned is that a project manager's job is to manage. Yes, it is
useful if the manager has some knowledge of the technical aspects
of the project, but it is only "useful", not a "must have".
The manager has a project team consisting of an analyst, an
architect, a developer and people who are employed for various
purposes, including identifying and analysing various technical
options.
As long as the manager has the capacity to understand the
technical issues to the point where they can make informed
decisions, then they should be able to fulfil their
responsibilities.
Another thing that puzzles me is the requirement for candidates
with industry-specific experience to fill project manager posts. I
have managed all kinds of commercial projects that have come my
way. Before I encountered many of them, I did not have the
slightest idea about the business for which I would be managing the
project.
The application development projects I have managed, as far as I
am concerned, have all been business projects, for which IT has
provided one component out of possibly several to achieve the
business goal.
My role as project manager is to coordinate technologies that
are a good fit for business problems.
If there is a business issue to be resolved, then analysts will
advise the project manager and the project manager will confer with
the "key user" - or whatever he or she is called according to the
methodology being used - to resolve the issue.
If the issue has a technical angle, specialists within the team
will be called upon. Of course, the business may not be clear about
its objectives.
A skilled project manager or analyst will recognise this and
take appropriate action, but any ensuing decisions are for the
business to take, not the project manager. Knowing the business
sector is simply not a requirement for a project manager.
Often, managers who have experience of many different sectors
are the ones who have the most to offer a business and can ask,
"Have you considered taking this approach?" The diversity of their
experience is their strength. Identifying candidates with this type
of experience should be a priority for recruitment agencies and job
listings, not a narrow focus on prior knowledge of a sector.
Another interesting feature of online advertisements for project
management positions is the frequent demand for candidates who
"must be Prince2 practitioners". Let us pause to consider the fate
of some schemes that have used the Prince2 (Projects in Controlled
Environments) project management methodology, as reported in
Computer Weekly.
●
Electronic Passport Application system: suspended after two
months after devouring e-mails. The system is responsible for a
backlog of 5,000 applications. The relaunch date of the project is
unknown.
●
Rural Payments Agency system: delayed farm payments for more
than 8,000 people, forcing hundreds of farmers to take out loans to
cover business costs.
●
Inland Revenue Working Tax Credits scheme: payments delayed for
up to six months.
●
National Programme for IT: costs have so far escalated from
£2.3bn to £12.4bn.
All of the above used Prince2, a product of the Office of
Government Commerce and a de facto standard for government IT
projects.
This
litany of failure would be laughable were it not for the
millions of pounds of taxpayers' money that has been wasted on
these
Prince2 projects.
To a layperson reviewing these projects, it must seem that
placing a Prince2 practitioner in charge is like wheeling in Fox
Loxy to take care of your chickens.
Maybe I am being unfair. Perhaps these projects would be in an
even worse state without Prince2.
The demand for Prince2 practitioners leads me to believe that
enterprises large and small must have such poorly performing IT
projects that their search for an effective remedy has reached a
state of desperation.
The mantra of the moment is Prince2, but if the projects listed
above are any indication then Prince2 is of about as much use to
project managers as bicycles are to fish. Those appointing project
managers appear to be keen to back a three-legged horse.
Furthermore, formal methodology accreditation provides no
indication of a candidate's skills in working with people, building
teams and managing expectations the "softer" skills that are
essential to any project's success.
Do not misunderstand me. I know Prince2, have used it on several
occasions and recognise that, as with many other methodologies, it
has some excellent features. However, the management of a project
is only ever as good as the person who does the managing.
That person can learn Prince2, Process Continuum or whatever
they like, but they will only be as good as their ability to use
it. The reality is that knowledge of a number of different
methodological systems is better than certification in just one. A
manager should be able to use these methodologies like a tool box,
selecting the most appropriate methodology for the particular job
in hand.
The ability to identify the most useful tool at the right time
from a choice of methodologies will not guarantee success, but it
will improve the chances of it. What does it matter which tool, or
combination of tools, is used as long as the project benefits?
Rigid adherence to the dictates of Prince2 leads to completion
dates that rapidly disappear over the horizon. Sticking firmly to a
methodology places the manager in a straitjacket and stifles the
flair and creativity that the experience of diverse approaches
brings.
Perhaps IT managers who are recruiting would be wise to get
recruitment agencies to do a little more than have short telephone
chats with candidates. Eliciting the breadth and depth of skills
these candidates have acquired, rather than purely placing ticks
against a list, is the mark of a skilled recruiter.
I appreciate that time can be short and the number of applicants
can be high, but time spent at this point in the selection process
will pay dividends later on.
To summarise, when looking for staff to fill project management
positions, enterprises ought to embrace and capitalise on the
advantages of diverse experience rather than the limitations of the
same old approaches. Silver bullets will not be found using tunnel
vision.
● Alan Smith started his career as a programmer with ICL and
has since worked on a wide range of IT projects. He is currently a
project manager with the RSPCA, where he is involved in
implementing a mobile IT system
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