Notice: This is a discussion thread for comments about the SitePoint article, 14 Ways to Be the World’s Worst Web Project Manager.
Anyone have any additions to this list?
Yes these have been problem lately with money oriented service provider and service takers.
They just put money in the middle which makes them forget all these points.
I have found this especially true with indian and bangladeshi freelancers(not all).They actually will agree to make facebook for $5000 ,once one guy said he is ready to make a total sitepoint clone for $500…though i agree and wish i could follow these all…
Thanks frank1 for your input. I totally agree. The focus becomes too much on the money, and not enough on the planning and making sure the client will be happy.
- Separate content from layout, layout from structure, and everything from strategic focus …then act surprised the design fails to make the pieces work together coherently.
Separation is a best practice. Making darned sure the pieces all come together for a purpose is a better practice. Generically neutral widgets that never really contribute to any larger goal can fit in a layout bucket. Just don’t call that design.
Design avoidance, maybe. Design …no.
This role probably falls under Project Technical Lead/ Developer. I don’t think PM has enough technical expertise to understand the design. At most, PM only knows what tools are being used on the project but not necessarily the design. Or at most understand system diagram.
I’m on this way for my futur buziness. Tanks for give me super rassurant view of a buzz owner and planner !
I will add… (obviously it is the opposite that is the good answer)
Don’t require your customer to assist in the documentation for the project.
Try to manage the whole project via email.
Invite your customer to work on the site at the same time as your team.
Do the work and then ask for payment
Leave your project open ended for a flat rate.
I don’t think PM has enough technical expertise to understand the design.
You seem to be confusing system structure with design. Any PM who doesn’t understand the purpose of the site, or how what the site does reflects that purpose needs to find a new job.
Perhaps babysitter or preschool employee, as all that requires is managing to get some people in a room to behave together.
Hello Chris,
I believe your article is great and i am sure many will find it useful as well.
However, I believe that focusing on the negative side of project management will not solve the problem. It is extremely easy to pinpoint what the “bad PM’s” and I believe it would be much more valuable to create an article that brings out the characteristics of a great project manager.
By the way, I read SitePoint’s Project Management book and I would highly recommend it to anyone.
Keep up the good Work,
Mr. Alexander
The PM needs to understand the scope of the project, but they don’t need to understand the specific details on how each part needs to come together. Some PM’s are programmers, but a lot of them are not.
I do agree that separating code/logic from the design elements is a good practice. The way I see it, it is the responsibility that everything comes together.
dvduval…good tips!
i also think it is good practice and it is what all modern php frameworks are based on …with MVC in the root…they tend to separate code from the design…this is where new php programming convention is heading…
but i am disappointed with the current things done in “V” of MVC or the design part…
The designer need to be half programmer knowing loops and all and sometime even calling functions(which should be programmers part…) esp with template engine like smarty
so i feel V (or design) part need to be improved but separating code from design offcourse justified i guess
Mr Alexander,
Most PM articles come from the positive perspective. I wanted to do something different with this article. It is a different way of communicating, but I think the points are clearly made and understood. You should check out my website at montanaprogrammer.com if you are interested in other project management related articles.
frank1,
I see what you are saying, I just have not seen a solution that 100% works with a designer that doesn’t know any kind of code. To be honest, I am torn on this subject. I think if a designer wants the capability of being able to do what a programmer does, they need to understand some programming.
Systems like Drupal are making a lot of things possible for designers to accomplish without knowing programming, and that is what I have been leaning toward lately. But still, there is no perfect solution for this.
The best way to manage projects is to work together and communicate. It’s also important to make sure you get your work to do with each single project in one centralized play. We use our own product, Clutterpad, for our project management.