Ask HN: When does a project manager become valuable?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1734955

by whatevermatt • 16 years ago

8 3 16 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

At what point in a startup's life does it make sense to have a dedicated project manager?

I've been invited to join a couple "groups of guys trying to start a business" in which one member was a professional PM. I didn't see the value (self-organizing teams anyone?) but am curious about others' experiences.

iworkforthem• 16 years ago

The role of a project manager primarily filled the gaps in the Review and Monitor processes, I dun quite see the need for such a role in a startup environment where it's not part of the core stuffs. - a PRINCE2 pm.

fookyong• 16 years ago

It depends what resources/requirements you're working with.

If you're just a bunch of dudes in a room building simple software on your own, you don't need a PM.

If you're a bunch of dudes building more complex software (various moving parts) who need to interface with different vendors, part timers, outsourced stuff (e.g. design, copywriting) and have critical deadlines e.g. customer expecting your product on 2010/XX/XX - then you'll probably find it a lot more useful to have a PM :)

I will say though that a PM who cannot jump in and get his hands dirty coding or designing, is probably not so useful in the early stages.

schn• 16 years ago

From what I've been told, you might want a PM once you start using systems engineering processes.

Ask HN: When does a project manager become valuable?

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