Collective Wisdom from the Experts 97
We need a fundamental shift in the focus of software project management
practices so that the PM takes a more strategic role. Leave the tactical things
to the programming team. This ensures that the team will take ownership of
the project and the software project managers can become true facilitators or
catalysts, making sure things are moving in the right direction for the project
overall.
General George S. Patton said, “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” This
means project managers need to spend more time empowering their teams to
deal with unanticipated changes, rather than trying to get involved in day-to-
day coding and architecture decisions. It’s foolish for them to think they can
fool the information technology team into believing they grasp the intricacies
of software development if they do not have a programming background. The
team knows immediately that these project managers don’t know what they
are talking about.
A software project manager is like an operating system’s kernel.* The kernel
itself does not do end-user tasks, but it ensures that the end-user tasks are cor-
rectly completed by the applications sitting on top of it. Similarly, if a project
manager can be a true facilitator and coach who ensures optimal collaboration
among the team members, it should no longer be an issue to build self-organized
teams ready to run marathons and deliver high-quality software.
- System kernel: The central component of an operating system. It manages the communication
between hardware and software and connects the application software—such as Internet browsers,
word processors, spreadsheets, and email—to the hardware of a computer. Memory, processing
functions, and input/output devices can thus be used by all applications.