I.T. Project Managers taking center stage?

Over the past five years I’ve been doing I.T project management in every facet of my career, although I didn’t have formal training. A recent survey conducted by Robert Half Technology concludes that there will be an increase in demand for more I.T. project managers in 2007.(1) Many professionals play the role of a project manager throughout their careers without formal training and some even become effective at the art of managing projects. The information technology field though has been hammered in recent years by the delivery of projects which have been over budget and late on completion dates.

Many I.T. professionals do not delicately balance the technical aspects of project management with the business and communications components. In many organizations the I.T. professionals are simply not in aligned with the business-side and only recently have CIOs been given a glimpse of what other executives have come to know so well; an invitation to sit at the bigwig table to make bigwig decisions.

After working in the field for some time now, I must concur that project management is needed. The survey concluded that CIOs plan to hire for project managers but do other executives plan to support these efforts? In my experience the project management role is still sometimes viewed as temporary or only needed on certain types of projects. In addition, project management has the slanted view of being only software and schedules when in fact it is farthest from that facet. I.T. project management professionals will be charged in 2007 with proving that they can talk with the techs while engage in meaningful dialogs with functional managers and executives alike. The Project Management Institute has brought the professional a long way by promoting the need for planning as a means of succeeding, even in a competitive marketplace.

I’m an advocate for the use of project management with the appropriate level of detail applied to each project in question. Planning is never a waste of time when it can yield savings and re-work throughout the life of a project. Although, I will be testing for my Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in January 2007, I do not claim to solely be a project manager. Project management is an art that is built by leading and motivating people; which is why the field has been left to consultants and closely watched by executives in years past. Effective PMs possess some of the skills needed to be groomed for the next-generation of leadership.

As I continue to make moves in my career, I hope that my PM traits can assist in the pursuit toward executive management without labels down a narrow functional area.
References
(1) - Robert Hertzberg, “IT Project Managers Will Be in Demand in ‘07″, Baseline: The Project Management Center, December 13, 2006, http://www.baselinemag.com/article2/0,1540,2072180,00.asp.