software

What is the professional role of the Project Manager?

project, manager, software, projects

What is the professional role of the PM?

Surely you have heard the role of Project Manager mentioned at some point, or you might even have seen it present in companies that are not exclusively dedicated to software development. In simple words, Project Manager (usually known as PM) or “project manager” is the role that is in charge of planning and executing a project. In this way, his main responsibility is to manage the work team linked to the project in order to achieve the predetermined objectives.

What are their main competencies?

Unlike other professional profiles, the PM does not need to handle specifically technical knowledge, but must have different skills and qualities linked particularly to the management or general administration of the project. Among the most important ones, we can highlight organizational capacity, leadership and planning, as well as negotiation, communication, motivation, customer relations, problem identification and control of all the details associated with the project. Although it is not necessary to have technical knowledge, it is important that the PM has specific skills related to the digital world, such as handling the main languages, data analysis and content management. In this way, the efficient performance of this professional will make a fundamental difference in terms of project costs, meeting the deadline in deliveries, task organization, management of team members, and adaptation of the project to those external factors that must be considered.

What is the importance of PM in R&D&I projects?

R&D&I projects are usually complex and characterized by the presence of frequent changes that tend to generate some uncertainty. In this type of projects, it is required to carry out an adequate planning and management of unforeseen events that may affect the proper functioning of the project, causing that in many cases it is necessary to replan. These are the main reasons why the presence of this role in R&D&I projects is essential to achieve the objectives. In this sense, all the skills and knowledge that a PM has are important in the management of this type of projects, highlighting those related to adaptation and the ability to cope with the changes that projects may undergo while they are being executed, mainly generated by budget, scope or schedule modifications.

One of the most important assets we have in Macrotest is the ability of our PMs to face the uncertainty of R&D projects and to be able to manage each of the projects in the right way to achieve the objectives. We can accompany you in this challenge and work as a team with your company. Contact us and let’s start planning your project!

Scrum… is it the best working methodology?

scrum, work, methodology

 

Is talking about agile methodologies the same as talking about Scrum?

It is common to hear this question because scrum is based on the principle of continuous improvement, in short, the essence of agile methodology. However, there is an important difference, but let’s start by first defining what we mean by Scrum.

Scrum is a framework that enables collaboration between teams for project management. It is a process in which a set of best practices are systematically applied to work collaboratively and achieve great results.

It is mainly used in the software industry, although there are currently many companies in other sectors that implement it, especially those inserted in a dynamic business environment. In this sense, with the use of this method, teams learn through experiences, adapt to changes (often unforeseen) self-organizing and reflecting through daily meetings where obstacles are analyzed. This methodology considerably improves control over the course of the project.

So the main difference with agile methodology is that agile is associated with a broader “mindset” or set of guiding principles, while Scrum uses a specific set of rules to get the job done. As a tool, Scrum establishes the steps to implement the application of agile methodology principles in the realization of projects.

What are the characteristics of the Scrum method?

As mentioned above, this method is the most suitable for projects immersed in highly dynamic and changing environments, which require a significant reduction in development times, but of course without neglecting quality. Its main characteristics are:

  • The development strategy is incremental (instead of complete product planning and execution, regular partial deliveries of the final product are made).
  • The quality of the result is based on the tacit knowledge of the people in the self-organized team (rather than on the quality of the processes used).
  • The different phases of development overlap (rather than being carried out one after the other in a sequential cycle).
  • It includes a series of meetings, tools and functions that, in a coordinated manner, help the team to structure and manage its work.
  • The teams are led by a Scrum expert (Scrum master) who helps to manage the processes, optimize their transparency and ensure delivery flows.

It is noted that Scrum is adaptive, iterative, incremental, fast, flexible and efficient, designed to deliver value quickly and throughout the project. It is very popular today because its principles are applicable to all types of teamwork.

At Macrotest we use this method to incrementally develop projects, substantially reducing risk, bureaucracy and working closely with the responsible users. We are waiting for you to develop your projects and bring out the full potential of our teams to provide you with perfectly functional and adaptable solutions.