What for do we hire Project Managers? Are they those who you would really rely on? A typical member of IT community would say – “You don’t need them as they don’t really do anything. Just focus on getting a team with a knowledgeable leader and your project will be fine”. Well, of course, if you have a Product Manager. But they won’t say it out loud.
Don’t you confuse Project Managers and Product Managers as their functions are different?
Product Manager is responsible for the product itself: it’s convenience, user experience, features functionality and so forth.
Project Manager is generally responsible for the processes of Design and Development and has to make every feature and flow running perfectly.
The thing is, small projects are not allowed to have extreme overhead charges ensuring the presence of both Project and Product Managers on board. Very often it turns out the one who is doing Sales (so is a skilled negotiator already) is also performing Business Analytics and Project Management. So, if that gentleman or lady is already so familiar with the project, there is no need to have a separate Product Manager.
The key thing is – no matter how you call your personnel if they cover all zones of responsibility. So for a customer, it is a very wise thing to ask for a key communicating person. As having two or three of them may result in getting lost with something. And again, if your project budget is anywhere above $250k – ignore what’s written here. You will definitely need every player on your dream team.
