How a non-techie Project manager can lead a software development teams?

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The Project Manager (PM) leads a team on a journey (the project cycle), through trials and triumphs to realize a vision.His basic job is to be able to assign tasks, manage schedules, reach deadlines and manage stakeholders’ expectations etc.

But is that really all it is?

Real management is developing people through work. ~ Agha Hasan Abedi

A PM’s role is 80% about maintaining good relationships, clear communication, and people management.

It is also challenging to find a developer who speaks “business” and a PM who speaks code, hence the importance of a good PM who can navigate through the process-flow, bring value to the team and meet deadlines, key for a successful software development project.

As a PM you need to be able to translate the business needs of your stakeholder to your team and likewise make the business aware of the implications (time, money, complexity, maintainability) of their requirements.So when a product is not delivered in time or has some issues, your team is frustrated and your stakeholders too, go back to basics: communication.

Do you need to be the tech expert to do this?

It’s better if you could add much more value to confront the team with the customer needs, force them to explore multiple options, put in plain terms the pros and cons of each one of them, guide them in brainstorming sessions, and then let them get to work accordingly. This will certainly enhance the relationship and start building trust between both worlds.

In my experience, being an expert in coding does not automatically make you the best suited person to manage the rest of the team. As a PM your main role is to manage the project, not get into the technical decisions.

Clients usually base their decisions on making profit, not on how hard or complex it is to develop the software, so it is the PM’s responsibility to highlight the hurdles or benefits of their decisions.The customer will appreciate that you keep him quickly informed and remember, nothing is worse than letting the customer take uninformed decisions.

In Summary

PMs’ primary job is to communicate well and manage his team.
PMs must watch single and collective team performance w.r.t time and expenses.
PMs must serve as a bridge between the technical and business side.
PMs must track the resource utilization for optimum productivity.
PMs must be a good listener to their team’s grievances, let them explain in layman’s terms their issues.
PMs don’t need to be “tech wizards” but if they listen to their teams and can understand technology they have a great advantage.
PMs must always keep watch on daily progress to ensure delivery is in sync with the target dates
PMs must simplify work process and communication to lessen friction and improve collaboration.
Here, traditional methods of dependence on human efficiency do not stand a chance. To be more effective on governance, PMs’ need to use tools to measure capability of resources and assess productivity within budget. It holds key to success.

Orangescrum is the best fit here.Thousands of businesses use Orangescrum – The Project Management and Collaboration suite to-

Centralize project(s) and task(s) management
Collaborate resources (people, process, technology)
Track Time and Generate Invoices
View real-time Analytics

Single collaborative platform for YOU and your Customers, Sponsors, Stakeholders and Teams.

Be Smart, Communicate smarter – Anytime, Anywhere – Orangescrum!

Quicker & accurate decision making driven by real-time granular data
Unbridled clarity around business directives and organization goals
Centralized collaboration among a geographical diverse workforce
Real time monitoring of key deliverables and milestones
Highly coordinated project planning and execution

With these awesome attributes, I hope any Project manager can take on simple or complex IT project to its desired goal.

If the PM also talks technology used in his project he can go the extra mile to be of great value not only to the team but to the customer. Still you will need Orangescrum to excel in your performance.