The role of the Project Manager (PM) is to manage the money, the customer interface, the schedule and the milestones. That leaves the interesting question of who manages technical aspects of the product (i.e., Does the project perform well? Do the deliverables meet customer expectations?).
I suggest that there is always a defined role for a person, who I call the Technical Director (TD), whose job it is to ensure and manage the technical aspects of the project. (For small projects the PM and TD may be the same person, which leads to craziness!) Sometimes you have to look, but you can almost always find both roles. Here are some examples that help to clarify the concepts, and illustrate some of the problems.
There is an inherent conflict between the TD and the PM.
PM: “Ship it on time tomorrow!”
TD: “No, it’s not ready!”
Movies – In movies, the TD is the director, who controls almost all of the interesting things about a movie: directing, casting, staging, lighting, etc. In some ways the director is the “boss” of a movie. The producer, or the executive producer, controls the money and interfaces to the studio (the customer) so we can say that the producer is fulfilling the role of the PM. What makes the movie case interesting is that it is one of the few cases where the TD is in often in control, and is one of the few cases where the director (TD) has more power than the producer (PM).
The assignment is to discuss the conflict between PM and TD and from your own experience. Explain how the tension played out in different ways. Find a specific example of the tension, and write it up briefly. Do not describe a general theoretical management situation. In this discussion, we are looking for your experience of this issue.
You are again providing a critical analysis with evidence, but in this assignment the evidence is your own personal experience.
Please come up with an experience, family emergency happening now.
Comments from Customer
Discipline: Project Management
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