Shedding Light On the Black Art of IT Management 57
Cathy writes "An article by Harvard's Andrew McAfee tells nontechnical managers how not to get overwhelmed by the 'drumbeat' of IT projects. McAfee breaks down IT into three categories — functional, network, and enterprise — and says that this framework 'can also indicate which IT initiatives are going to be relatively easy to implement and on which projects executives should focus. In that light, IT management starts to look less like a black art and more like the work of the executive.'"
Tunnel Vision (Score:4, Insightful)
Not for slashdot audience (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Tunnel Vision (Score:3, Insightful)
Sure about that? My boss answered your post with "Maybe I'm not the greatest technical mind, but I know what I need to - to trust in the people I hired to do these IT projects, that they'll make sure there's enough return on each dollar spent. Pretty simple."
One of the reasons I work here.
Soko
A heartfelt thank you.... (Score:5, Insightful)
IT Management and Fred Brooks (Score:5, Insightful)
In the past some at some companies people could not fathom a good project manager being a good architect. Where I currently work that is not the case. My strong management skills are important, but my technical knowledge is also valued. I have seen change in the industry in this direction. I hope it continues. At the end of the day what was valid over 40 years ago is still valid today.
Re:Tunnel Vision (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Black Art? (Score:5, Insightful)
Indeed, the whole article scores a giant, "DUH!"
The real problem with IT project management is that very few people can functionally integrate management/business skills with IT skills. They are fundamentally different ways of thinking and not very many folks are that flexible upstairs.
So you generally end up with one of two types of project managers, those who can manage but don't know enough about IT to read between the lines and translate a programmer's estimate of 1000 hours into a real world 4000 hours, and those who are ridiculously capable behind the keyboard but can't handle personnel issues worth a damn.
(Speaking as that very rare third type who IS that flexible and has to deal with the other two types on a daily basis. Sometimes I think I should change my title from "Consultant" to "Bi-directional Tech/Management Translator".
Re:Black Art? (Score:4, Insightful)
"Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will learn at no other"
Each generation has far more fools than the previous one. Population expansion and all that. You can spot these people because they never learn from anything other than their own mistakes. Ironically, many of them think that this is a virtue.
In the 1970s, mainframes were hard to work with. You had to be good to get anywhere at all. Nowadays, it is far easier for an idiot to use a computer.
Oh, and in recorded history, there are no significant instances of people learning from history. That's why it always repeats.
Howbout Engeneering? (Score:2, Insightful)