3 ms·
> 90% – maybe 93% – of project managers, could probably disappear tomorrow to either no effect or a net gain in efficiency. I don't know how 6 years of experie
by ricc 6y ago
> 90% – maybe 93% – of project managers, could probably disappear tomorrow to either no effect or a net gain in efficiency.
I don't know how 6 years of experience in the industry can confirm this but nonetheless, I do agree that indeed there are software engineering teams that don't need, perhaps even impeded by, PMs but I think they are fewer than average. I would agree if the numbers are reversed, i.e. 7-10% PMs are not needed.
Many developers love to hate on PMs but I think most teams overestimate themselves and think that they're mature and self-managing enough to not need a PM. It can be true that the individuals in the team are self-managing on their own but it's different when it's scaled to a whole team.
For example, it's difficult to finalize a decision when most experienced and opinionated team members have differing opinions. A PM serving as an arbiter can help resolve this deadlock. (Yes, there are strategies out there on how to make decisions w/o an arbiter but then, how do they decide which strategy to use?)