Technical Project Manager

Technical Project Manager

A Technical Project manager is a specialist individual who is responsible for managing a technology or IT-related project. Because of this, a Technical Project Manager is distinct from a traditional Project Manager, because they will have specific expertise pertaining to management of projects that support software engineering, application development, network security and more.

All Project Managers have organisational prowess, leadership capabilities, communication and negotiation skills – but technical expertise is added to the equation for a Technical Project Manager. Technical Project Management is a unique branch of the field; a distinct subset of project management that comes with its own challenges and opportunities.

A Technical Project Manager must handle all ‘normal’ responsibilities associated with being a Project Manager, plus added technical expertise. A successful Technical Project Manager will be able to bring together the conflicting roles of technical manager, communicator and quality assurance analyst, assessing technical risks and utilising their technical problem solving skills. A Technical Project Manager should be able to intelligently balance the roles of Project Manager and technical advisor, drawing the line between working in and on the project.

Technical Project Managers facilitate the conception, development and execution of IT-related projects, often calling upon their industry experience of working in a technical project as a software developer to project a granular understanding of what is required to deliver a project successfully.

Technical Project Managers traditionally would have grown up through the technical ranks in a hands on role as a software developer or engineer, and would have possessed skills in management or communication that would have witnessed them naturally progress to a Technical Project Manager role.

Ultimately, a Technical Project Manager will need strong foundational knowledge of IT and infrastructure to objectively assess the feasibility of desired project outcomes, aligning them with the organisation’s capabilities and limitations. They must be able to assess technical risks and answer questions from developers, programmers, analysts and engineers.

A strong Technical Project Manager is able to see the ‘bigger picture’ of guiding a project to delivery without compromising on the smaller details associated with software development. Crucially, a Technical Project Manager should have first-rate communication skills and be able to relay complex technical information to a variety of technical and non-technical audiences.

The daily responsibilities of a Technical Project Manager can vary greatly, depending on the size and complexity of a project. Some tasks may include; writing status reports, facilitating communication across the team and assisting them in prioritising tech issues / root causes of problems and employing mitigation strategies for technical risks.

Project Management is evidently a saturated career field, but there is a significant growing need across many industries for data collection, storage, cloud computing, information security etc. IT growth means there is plenty of opportunity for technically-savvy project managers. An article listed in CIO cited that technical knowledge is the most in-demand project management skill.

If you are a Software Developer looking to transition to a Project Management role or a seasoned Technical Project Manager veteran looking for a new challenge, get in touch with one of our consultants today to find the right role for you.

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