New ask Hacker News story: Ask HN: How do I become an asset to my developers?
Ask HN: How do I become an asset to my developers?
3 by karles | 4 comments on Hacker News.
I'm working for an it-consultancy, and I've sort of gotten myself into a project manager/consultant role, where my job is to "own the backlog/sprint" as well as managing clients and their expectations. I'm not an engineer/developer/programmer, although I have taken a few courses in actual programming during my time at University. I realize there's a lot of "hate" towards non-technical it-project managers, and I'm painfully aware that I don't have the technical skills needed to line-up work for my devs. Sometimes I feel like I'm just taking notes, doing busywork, which pains me. Right now, I'm focussing on "shielding" my devs from managers/clients, by translating the business-needs of the clients to somewhat accessible backlog items (stories, features etc.) that I simply ask my team to complete with proper descriptions, estimates etc. In other words - I try to help them understand what the end goal/needs looks like, and I leave it to them to create the architecture and estimate the workload. I then manage client expectations, and try to create the best possible environment for my developers. I try not to meddle with the scoping/estimates of tasks - I merely ask questions that help me validate that what we're building is proportionate with the overall budget/timeframe. That's one principle I try to follow - leave estimates to the ones doing the actual work. I realize there are a lot of technical people here. So my question is perhaps really quite simple: - How do I best support my developers, given the fact that I'm in charge of progress and business outcomes? I want to avoid being in their way, and at the same time, I want to bring valueable information to the table, when I ask them to build the architecture and estimate their work. I need tools, principles and guidelines on how to achieve this.
3 by karles | 4 comments on Hacker News.
I'm working for an it-consultancy, and I've sort of gotten myself into a project manager/consultant role, where my job is to "own the backlog/sprint" as well as managing clients and their expectations. I'm not an engineer/developer/programmer, although I have taken a few courses in actual programming during my time at University. I realize there's a lot of "hate" towards non-technical it-project managers, and I'm painfully aware that I don't have the technical skills needed to line-up work for my devs. Sometimes I feel like I'm just taking notes, doing busywork, which pains me. Right now, I'm focussing on "shielding" my devs from managers/clients, by translating the business-needs of the clients to somewhat accessible backlog items (stories, features etc.) that I simply ask my team to complete with proper descriptions, estimates etc. In other words - I try to help them understand what the end goal/needs looks like, and I leave it to them to create the architecture and estimate the workload. I then manage client expectations, and try to create the best possible environment for my developers. I try not to meddle with the scoping/estimates of tasks - I merely ask questions that help me validate that what we're building is proportionate with the overall budget/timeframe. That's one principle I try to follow - leave estimates to the ones doing the actual work. I realize there are a lot of technical people here. So my question is perhaps really quite simple: - How do I best support my developers, given the fact that I'm in charge of progress and business outcomes? I want to avoid being in their way, and at the same time, I want to bring valueable information to the table, when I ask them to build the architecture and estimate their work. I need tools, principles and guidelines on how to achieve this.
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