The path of the IT-manager (part # 2)
( part # 1 )
Realizing that moving faster and doing more and more in the wrong direction is not an option, I began to look towards management processes. But which ones?
I realized that I needed help or sensible advice. Unfortunately, the atmosphere in the company did not have confidence and I could not ask advice from the manager. This should have said a lot about me, but at that time I did not pay attention to such “trifles”. The excellent student syndrome also did its job and harmed me, not allowing me to ask questions and ask for help.
')
At one of the local management events, where I went, despite the most severe time trouble in the project and lack of free time, I heard the phrase “the right processes”.
“This is what I need,” I thought. - Just what does “right” mean?
Probably the right ones are those that are described in smart books or in management schools. And what is our most authoritative organization about management in the world? Of course PMI - Project Management Institute.
And I thought that I needed to read PMBoK - Project Management Body of Knowledge. After all, it describes all the processes of project management. From the very beginning to the end.
Starting to read the last version of PMBoK, I realized that this is another rabbit hole. The processes dragged me into a whirlpool of abstractions, inputs and outputs, some clever names and incomprehensible sequences of actions. And as a practical person, I wanted to tie it all to my reality. But I did not succeed. On paper came out very cleverly and sensibly. But the project needed a result, not a written and certified communication management plan, or a project plan - a document describing the project, not a project schedule, as many people hear when hearing the words “project plan”.
While I was swimming in the universe of processes, documents and dependencies, my project confidently went downhill, gaining more and more speed and already starting to issue a desperate “Tu-Tu!” Before the crash. The necessary results of the project have not been made. The benefit was not created. Deadlines again postponed.
Surely all the written and approved processes would help my project in the future. Or if they were created at the very beginning of the project and were kept up to date in the course of its development, then perhaps I would not go into a production deadlock without having the results of the project.
After another status meeting on the project with my manager, at which he quite clearly and directly questioned my competence as a manager, I realized that the processes are not a panacea either. They are clearly not enough.
They began to consider me a novice bureaucrat, who regulates everything and thus largely impedes the project. And I was afraid that it would be worthwhile to retreat from the processes, as the project will definitely fill up. Although he was already flying into the abyss. With or without processes. But with the processes he died predictably, according to plan and controlled.
Having actively invested in the study, creation and adjustment of processes, I encountered all the same problems that I had only from a different angle.
- Dima, how much will this task take? - I asked my engineer at the morning meeting.
“Well ... maybe four days, if all goes well.” - Slowly answered Dima swallowing freshly brewed aromatic coffee.
- We are already late in time, can you do it in two and a half days? Overtime I agree. OK?
- Well ... I will try. But you understand that there is a complex code and integration with an external system. There may be third-party problems that we don’t even suspect now.
- Well, let's meet tomorrow morning and you will tell how your forecast will change. Whether we have time for the remaining one and a half days or not. And if not, what will be the new term. In our new evaluation process, we move iteratively and refine the final estimate as we approach it.
I was desperate. This approach to work did not lead to a reduction in time. Yes, perhaps the very first estimate of the timing of the project was wrong. But now you can not go anywhere. We had a fixed price and all the reserves previously pledged were exhausted long ago. We finished the last - the project buffer. Ahead of all the branches of the project plan loomed a critical path in all its glory. This is how to get into the room of evil crooked mirrors. Everywhere I look, there is a monster staring at me from all sides. All the ways of the project have become similar to such mirrors - everywhere there is a dead end and the lack of reserves. And for some we have already gone beyond the deadline. That was the end. The next request about the postponement of my head will not accept.
I was under a lot of stress for several days. Dmitry as usual was wrong with the assessment. Or maybe he was just doing the work as fast as he could, although I always politely answered “I will try.” But probably did not even try. And did not strain. After all, his main functional manager was quite pleased with him, regardless of the results of my project. And I had no authority over Dmitri. Exactly the same picture was with other members of my team. This was my personal managerial impasse. I was ready to give up. Admit that I turned out to be a bad and incompetent manager. And go back to the developers.
Having decided to quit, I thought that it would be nice to meet with friends and share with them my impressions about the project, about management and about my “successes”. Phoned and the next day gathered with the guys after work in a cafe.
- Sergey, hello! Well, how are you? What is your project? All OK? - friends flooded me with questions.
- Alas. Full tryndets. All polymers are profucans. - my voice was sad, while morally I had nothing to lose. I resigned myself to the fact that tomorrow morning I would put a letter of resignation on the table to my supervisor. - No matter how hard I tried, no matter how I delved into the work of the staff, nothing helped. All ratings failed. We are out of date, I do not remember which time. The team does not perceive me as a leader, but only as a task coordinator among his other more important tasks. Everything crumbles. And the team in general, no. So, a group of professionals, each working on their task at a convenient time for them. It feels like sand is trickling through your fingers and nothing remains in your hands. No results. But we sowed sand hoo how much. According to reports - the work done mass. But the project is in a deep bottom. In general, I am going to quit. Tomorrow.
- Hey hey! Hush! Wait a minute! - Nick took the floor. He worked as a manager in a large international IT company. For some reason, until today, I did not realize to consult with him, but tried to solve my problems myself. - You know, it seems to me that you lack knowledge of working with people. Negotiation, conflict resolution, persuasion, motivation and typology of people, how people behave, in what situations and why. You did not need this knowledge while you were a developer. But in the position of leader, they are the key ones. This set of knowledge and especially skills is also called Management Soft Skills. At the same time, it is quite difficult to pump and develop them and more than one day of regular practice is required. And you have a problem right now and it needs to be solved. And only after that we can talk about the long term.
And my friends and I sat down to discuss what can be done in the short term on my project. Finished already after midnight. It turned out an action plan with ready-made steps for the project, options for the development of the situation, described in the Meindmap. And also what exactly do I need to talk with the supervisor right tomorrow morning. More precisely today
- Good luck to you! - the guys wished me and we went home.
As Sergey told me, the story with his first project ended not badly. The first pancake did not turn out to be a lump, the project did not fail, but only because Sergey asked for clear and understandable help from his supervisor with the items of the action plan that he and his friends had prepared. If it were not for this, the project would definitely have been disrupted.
And Sergey went to learn and pump Soft Skills. Now he is quite a successful IT project manager with an excellent resume and very impressive industry experience. And he knows for sure that Soft Skills - the ability to work with people is key to the success of the project. We do not forget, of course, about processes, documents, planning, risks, contracts, budgets, etc. - this is all Hard Skills. Hard Skills alone are not enough. To them, the presence of Soft Skills skills is essential. And then we can with a high degree of probability come to the success of the project.
Have a nice day and success!
Realizing that moving faster and doing more and more in the wrong direction is not an option, I began to look towards management processes. But which ones?
I realized that I needed help or sensible advice. Unfortunately, the atmosphere in the company did not have confidence and I could not ask advice from the manager. This should have said a lot about me, but at that time I did not pay attention to such “trifles”. The excellent student syndrome also did its job and harmed me, not allowing me to ask questions and ask for help.
')
At one of the local management events, where I went, despite the most severe time trouble in the project and lack of free time, I heard the phrase “the right processes”.
“This is what I need,” I thought. - Just what does “right” mean?
Probably the right ones are those that are described in smart books or in management schools. And what is our most authoritative organization about management in the world? Of course PMI - Project Management Institute.
And I thought that I needed to read PMBoK - Project Management Body of Knowledge. After all, it describes all the processes of project management. From the very beginning to the end.
Starting to read the last version of PMBoK, I realized that this is another rabbit hole. The processes dragged me into a whirlpool of abstractions, inputs and outputs, some clever names and incomprehensible sequences of actions. And as a practical person, I wanted to tie it all to my reality. But I did not succeed. On paper came out very cleverly and sensibly. But the project needed a result, not a written and certified communication management plan, or a project plan - a document describing the project, not a project schedule, as many people hear when hearing the words “project plan”.
While I was swimming in the universe of processes, documents and dependencies, my project confidently went downhill, gaining more and more speed and already starting to issue a desperate “Tu-Tu!” Before the crash. The necessary results of the project have not been made. The benefit was not created. Deadlines again postponed.
Surely all the written and approved processes would help my project in the future. Or if they were created at the very beginning of the project and were kept up to date in the course of its development, then perhaps I would not go into a production deadlock without having the results of the project.
After another status meeting on the project with my manager, at which he quite clearly and directly questioned my competence as a manager, I realized that the processes are not a panacea either. They are clearly not enough.
They began to consider me a novice bureaucrat, who regulates everything and thus largely impedes the project. And I was afraid that it would be worthwhile to retreat from the processes, as the project will definitely fill up. Although he was already flying into the abyss. With or without processes. But with the processes he died predictably, according to plan and controlled.
Having actively invested in the study, creation and adjustment of processes, I encountered all the same problems that I had only from a different angle.
- Dima, how much will this task take? - I asked my engineer at the morning meeting.
“Well ... maybe four days, if all goes well.” - Slowly answered Dima swallowing freshly brewed aromatic coffee.
- We are already late in time, can you do it in two and a half days? Overtime I agree. OK?
- Well ... I will try. But you understand that there is a complex code and integration with an external system. There may be third-party problems that we don’t even suspect now.
- Well, let's meet tomorrow morning and you will tell how your forecast will change. Whether we have time for the remaining one and a half days or not. And if not, what will be the new term. In our new evaluation process, we move iteratively and refine the final estimate as we approach it.
I was desperate. This approach to work did not lead to a reduction in time. Yes, perhaps the very first estimate of the timing of the project was wrong. But now you can not go anywhere. We had a fixed price and all the reserves previously pledged were exhausted long ago. We finished the last - the project buffer. Ahead of all the branches of the project plan loomed a critical path in all its glory. This is how to get into the room of evil crooked mirrors. Everywhere I look, there is a monster staring at me from all sides. All the ways of the project have become similar to such mirrors - everywhere there is a dead end and the lack of reserves. And for some we have already gone beyond the deadline. That was the end. The next request about the postponement of my head will not accept.
I was under a lot of stress for several days. Dmitry as usual was wrong with the assessment. Or maybe he was just doing the work as fast as he could, although I always politely answered “I will try.” But probably did not even try. And did not strain. After all, his main functional manager was quite pleased with him, regardless of the results of my project. And I had no authority over Dmitri. Exactly the same picture was with other members of my team. This was my personal managerial impasse. I was ready to give up. Admit that I turned out to be a bad and incompetent manager. And go back to the developers.
Having decided to quit, I thought that it would be nice to meet with friends and share with them my impressions about the project, about management and about my “successes”. Phoned and the next day gathered with the guys after work in a cafe.
- Sergey, hello! Well, how are you? What is your project? All OK? - friends flooded me with questions.
- Alas. Full tryndets. All polymers are profucans. - my voice was sad, while morally I had nothing to lose. I resigned myself to the fact that tomorrow morning I would put a letter of resignation on the table to my supervisor. - No matter how hard I tried, no matter how I delved into the work of the staff, nothing helped. All ratings failed. We are out of date, I do not remember which time. The team does not perceive me as a leader, but only as a task coordinator among his other more important tasks. Everything crumbles. And the team in general, no. So, a group of professionals, each working on their task at a convenient time for them. It feels like sand is trickling through your fingers and nothing remains in your hands. No results. But we sowed sand hoo how much. According to reports - the work done mass. But the project is in a deep bottom. In general, I am going to quit. Tomorrow.
- Hey hey! Hush! Wait a minute! - Nick took the floor. He worked as a manager in a large international IT company. For some reason, until today, I did not realize to consult with him, but tried to solve my problems myself. - You know, it seems to me that you lack knowledge of working with people. Negotiation, conflict resolution, persuasion, motivation and typology of people, how people behave, in what situations and why. You did not need this knowledge while you were a developer. But in the position of leader, they are the key ones. This set of knowledge and especially skills is also called Management Soft Skills. At the same time, it is quite difficult to pump and develop them and more than one day of regular practice is required. And you have a problem right now and it needs to be solved. And only after that we can talk about the long term.
And my friends and I sat down to discuss what can be done in the short term on my project. Finished already after midnight. It turned out an action plan with ready-made steps for the project, options for the development of the situation, described in the Meindmap. And also what exactly do I need to talk with the supervisor right tomorrow morning. More precisely today
- Good luck to you! - the guys wished me and we went home.
As Sergey told me, the story with his first project ended not badly. The first pancake did not turn out to be a lump, the project did not fail, but only because Sergey asked for clear and understandable help from his supervisor with the items of the action plan that he and his friends had prepared. If it were not for this, the project would definitely have been disrupted.
And Sergey went to learn and pump Soft Skills. Now he is quite a successful IT project manager with an excellent resume and very impressive industry experience. And he knows for sure that Soft Skills - the ability to work with people is key to the success of the project. We do not forget, of course, about processes, documents, planning, risks, contracts, budgets, etc. - this is all Hard Skills. Hard Skills alone are not enough. To them, the presence of Soft Skills skills is essential. And then we can with a high degree of probability come to the success of the project.
Have a nice day and success!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/352998/
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