So, what is necessary for a PM to excel or prepare for
career change? Take a look at the various job requirements for project manager.
Can you see a job posting for a Healthcare Software Developer post, a Retail
Database Administrator, or a Financial Services QA analyst? No.
But, you can see job posts asking for a specialized experience
in the application or technical domain areas knowledge. See examples such as the recent job requirements - a Java
Programmer, a SQL Server Administrator, or a SAP Quality Engineer - that have surfaced recently.
Similarly, a number of jobs in the project management have
begun asking for the industry specific domain knowledge. The postings like a Healthcare
Project Manager, Pharmaceutical Project Manager with IT experience, IT Project
Manager, Infrastructure Project Manager, Construction Project Manager, etc. speak
for the increasing attention to specific domain knowledge skills that team members
and stakeholders are seeking in a project manager.
But, how prepared are the project managers in specific
domain knowledge areas? Let us be clear. I am not talking about technology
skills, such as understanding programming or IP address configuration. But,
shouldn’t an IT Project Manger understand to differentiate whether an IP
address is internal or external facing? Before answering that question, think if NASA can hire a project manager who
doesn’t understand the various contracting requirements to work with federal
agencies and contractors? A recent job requirements for a project manager asked for knowledge of image processing and remote
sensing requirements. Requirements for another chemical project manager asked for chemical manufacturing process and drafting requirements. What are the signals from the market then?
Specifically in the growing agile projects where projects
are not fully defined, isn’t having this domain knowledge really helpful to
identify risks early, facilitate negotiating for what stories are going to add
value to the customer, and establish trust in a self-organized team?
In light of these market conditions, are the accidental project
managers or the graduates with a focus on project management adequately
prepared to manage projects or for career change?