Five reasons to be a manager
I read the post "13 reasons not to be a manager" and I want to write an answer.
First of all, I want to note that the doctor of biological sciences Sergey Savelyev in his book “Variability and genius” says that every human brain has been created for something. Someone has a brain of a programmer, someone is a manager, someone can master both spheres. But usually talent forces a person to do what he likes. And why he was not created, he will not be happy, and in this whole thing.
Thus, for example, there is the brain of the artist, and he will not be a mathematician. A mathematician often cannot write brilliant poems, and so on. There are geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, but this is an exception.
')
The whole question is to master the basics of the profession, and if she likes it, she needs to be engaged. If not, try yourself in something else.
Therefore, there is no universal advice; everyone needs to look for his own business.
It was a preface, and now about the work of a manager.
So, what's in project management is awesome.
1. Scalability
As a manager, I can build management structures, working groups, and the total result is many times more than if I myself was a coder. At the same time, scalability is infinite, as far as capacity is enough.
upd: a wonderful quote Winter_mute describing my feeling.
This means that if we want to create an automation of the contract department, or technical support to serve 10,000 clients, we need a team work. Alone it is difficult to do. And I like to do large-scale projects more than to make one report or one page myself, or even a large module for highload, but to cut it for half a year.
2. Timelessness
The Deadline DeMarco book written in the 80s, as well as the book of Brooks 70s, is also relevant 30-40 years later. All the same problems and the same solutions. At the same time, books on those technologies (I saw somewhere, for example, about programming for Vaks or MS DOS features) can hardly be relevant after such a period. That is, you pump your skills and they do not become obsolete. As the classics wrote there, the houses are new, and the prejudices are old.
Of course, one can argue here - having mastered with ++ in the 90s, one can eat tasty and with caviar 20 years later. But over the last 7 years I have changed three application programming languages, three web programming languages ​​and a bunch of small technologies. And each has its own nuances and trifles, each for its own tasks. Every time, first teach, and from this tired. Although the general principles often work everywhere (SPOT, KISS, etc.), the whole point of the matter is often decided by trifles. And you need to follow them.
In the case of project management, you follow typical disciplines and do not start from scratch every time.
However, with the robotization of the world and the invention of a full-fledged AI, everything can change in project management.
3. Interestingly complex tasks
Despite all the types of people and standards, every person, employee is unique. And this means that the work will never cease to be interesting. At the same time work with people is really difficult and not everyone can do it. In the case of a computer, I know for sure in what format I write a program, what algorithm, this is predictable. That is why, having often solved a problem on paper in UML, I get bored of writing it, because the solution is already clear. In the case of the project, it cannot be said that people work like a clock.
I do automation within the company. We have projects like startups in various fields. Automation of contracts, sales, web projects for apartments, aggregator of all company discounts, billing, automation of personnel department, website for attracting programmers, and so on. I didn’t have that when I was a programmer. Every time a new subject area, a new language, new users, new customers, new difficulties.
Plus improvement - the section needs to be made accessible, to develop metrics for performance evaluation, to figure out how to achieve these metrics ... A million different solutions, each time a new one, and this is a challenge that causes a sense of drive, a thrill from work.
4. Infinity project development
Any project can be developed infinitely. Generate ideas, do them, deliver to users, roll out new functionality. This is pure creativity.
For example, at first they automated the creation of contracts - not by hands, but by DOC and PDF. Then they improved the pricing system, created a tariff system, and already get into the contract application of the discount price themselves. Then came the task of making it more convenient to work with the contract creation interface. There is a task to create a billing. Also, the task of international treaties, and this is a different system of prices, payments, and so on, contract templates, details.
5. Risks and liability
Yes, it requires a weak mind. Many risks, it is impossible to write off the designer, that he made a crooked layout, or iron, which is a weak server. You are responsible for everything, and often people get sick of you, and so on. And you follow this.
And this responsibility is highly paid, much higher than an ordinary developer.
Previously, I was just responsible for the project, and a little for the server part. And now, and staff training, and recruitment, and ranking by professionalism. And how to whom prospects to give, what interesting tasks. How to calculate bonuses, how to raise salaries. How to take into account possible illness and leave, so that the result was, and the staff was comfortable. And so on.
What is described in the original post - endless meetings, or so any meetings and retrospectives, etc. in Agile methods, is IMHO in 90% of cases, the waste of developer time. Therefore, management in this consists, in essence, of creating conditions for talented employees. People should clearly know what to do, and have at hand, all that is needed - a work plan, growth prospects, complex tasks. A project manager, a manager, is engaged in clearing the way to an unknown future.
Yes, this is a difficult job, and if you are not going to do complicated releases with a large team, but you want to clearly code from morning to night - be engaged in programming. Everyone should do what they like.
There are few good programmers, and even fewer managers.
I have been managing projects for two years, and just starting a project manager, in fact. In the department of 15 people, several project groups. Middle Manager - manage those who manage programmers. At the same time, I also directly lead programmers and a number of projects. Prior to that, he was a leading web programmer for three years, before startups, his own studio, freelancing and so on.
And, by the way, I still think that it is impossible to say who is better or worse. Here in a person everything works - and the brain, and organs, and hands. Separately, it does not roll, only the system lives. So the team - only the manager and the programmer make the project, and other specialists. I even made a presentation for the conference in our company, about the programmer 's role in the company and in the market. Or in other words, programmers animate a project, do what others have drawn, designed, and so on.
All success and with the holidays!
First of all, I want to note that the doctor of biological sciences Sergey Savelyev in his book “Variability and genius” says that every human brain has been created for something. Someone has a brain of a programmer, someone is a manager, someone can master both spheres. But usually talent forces a person to do what he likes. And why he was not created, he will not be happy, and in this whole thing.
Thus, for example, there is the brain of the artist, and he will not be a mathematician. A mathematician often cannot write brilliant poems, and so on. There are geniuses like Leonardo da Vinci, but this is an exception.
')
The whole question is to master the basics of the profession, and if she likes it, she needs to be engaged. If not, try yourself in something else.
Therefore, there is no universal advice; everyone needs to look for his own business.
It was a preface, and now about the work of a manager.
So, what's in project management is awesome.
1. Scalability
As a manager, I can build management structures, working groups, and the total result is many times more than if I myself was a coder. At the same time, scalability is infinite, as far as capacity is enough.
upd: a wonderful quote Winter_mute describing my feeling.
It seems to me that the most adequate motivation to be a manager is the desire to do something that one person cannot do in principle.
This means that if we want to create an automation of the contract department, or technical support to serve 10,000 clients, we need a team work. Alone it is difficult to do. And I like to do large-scale projects more than to make one report or one page myself, or even a large module for highload, but to cut it for half a year.
2. Timelessness
The Deadline DeMarco book written in the 80s, as well as the book of Brooks 70s, is also relevant 30-40 years later. All the same problems and the same solutions. At the same time, books on those technologies (I saw somewhere, for example, about programming for Vaks or MS DOS features) can hardly be relevant after such a period. That is, you pump your skills and they do not become obsolete. As the classics wrote there, the houses are new, and the prejudices are old.
Of course, one can argue here - having mastered with ++ in the 90s, one can eat tasty and with caviar 20 years later. But over the last 7 years I have changed three application programming languages, three web programming languages ​​and a bunch of small technologies. And each has its own nuances and trifles, each for its own tasks. Every time, first teach, and from this tired. Although the general principles often work everywhere (SPOT, KISS, etc.), the whole point of the matter is often decided by trifles. And you need to follow them.
In the case of project management, you follow typical disciplines and do not start from scratch every time.
However, with the robotization of the world and the invention of a full-fledged AI, everything can change in project management.
3. Interestingly complex tasks
Despite all the types of people and standards, every person, employee is unique. And this means that the work will never cease to be interesting. At the same time work with people is really difficult and not everyone can do it. In the case of a computer, I know for sure in what format I write a program, what algorithm, this is predictable. That is why, having often solved a problem on paper in UML, I get bored of writing it, because the solution is already clear. In the case of the project, it cannot be said that people work like a clock.
I do automation within the company. We have projects like startups in various fields. Automation of contracts, sales, web projects for apartments, aggregator of all company discounts, billing, automation of personnel department, website for attracting programmers, and so on. I didn’t have that when I was a programmer. Every time a new subject area, a new language, new users, new customers, new difficulties.
Plus improvement - the section needs to be made accessible, to develop metrics for performance evaluation, to figure out how to achieve these metrics ... A million different solutions, each time a new one, and this is a challenge that causes a sense of drive, a thrill from work.
4. Infinity project development
Any project can be developed infinitely. Generate ideas, do them, deliver to users, roll out new functionality. This is pure creativity.
For example, at first they automated the creation of contracts - not by hands, but by DOC and PDF. Then they improved the pricing system, created a tariff system, and already get into the contract application of the discount price themselves. Then came the task of making it more convenient to work with the contract creation interface. There is a task to create a billing. Also, the task of international treaties, and this is a different system of prices, payments, and so on, contract templates, details.
5. Risks and liability
Yes, it requires a weak mind. Many risks, it is impossible to write off the designer, that he made a crooked layout, or iron, which is a weak server. You are responsible for everything, and often people get sick of you, and so on. And you follow this.
And this responsibility is highly paid, much higher than an ordinary developer.
Previously, I was just responsible for the project, and a little for the server part. And now, and staff training, and recruitment, and ranking by professionalism. And how to whom prospects to give, what interesting tasks. How to calculate bonuses, how to raise salaries. How to take into account possible illness and leave, so that the result was, and the staff was comfortable. And so on.
What is described in the original post - endless meetings, or so any meetings and retrospectives, etc. in Agile methods, is IMHO in 90% of cases, the waste of developer time. Therefore, management in this consists, in essence, of creating conditions for talented employees. People should clearly know what to do, and have at hand, all that is needed - a work plan, growth prospects, complex tasks. A project manager, a manager, is engaged in clearing the way to an unknown future.
Yes, this is a difficult job, and if you are not going to do complicated releases with a large team, but you want to clearly code from morning to night - be engaged in programming. Everyone should do what they like.
There are few good programmers, and even fewer managers.
I have been managing projects for two years, and just starting a project manager, in fact. In the department of 15 people, several project groups. Middle Manager - manage those who manage programmers. At the same time, I also directly lead programmers and a number of projects. Prior to that, he was a leading web programmer for three years, before startups, his own studio, freelancing and so on.
And, by the way, I still think that it is impossible to say who is better or worse. Here in a person everything works - and the brain, and organs, and hands. Separately, it does not roll, only the system lives. So the team - only the manager and the programmer make the project, and other specialists. I even made a presentation for the conference in our company, about the programmer 's role in the company and in the market. Or in other words, programmers animate a project, do what others have drawn, designed, and so on.
All success and with the holidays!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/165147/
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