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What does a Program Manager do?

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Yesterday and today I am in training called "Engineering Excellence for New Program Managers".  It has been very informative so far.

It was interesting that we spent almost the entire first day talking about the PM job description.  One of the hardest things for a new PM to figure out (at least at Microsoft) is "What are my responsibilities?".  The instructor put up a slide with a bunch of different shapes on it.  The shapes had different labels: "Development", "Localization", "Test", "User Experience", etc.  Next, he told us the responsibilities of each of these groups.  Significantly, Program Management was not one of the the shapes.

Then came the punchline: Program Management was the white space around all the shapes, and management of that area was our responsibility.  Our job is to make sure that all the other groups work together and move forward on our projects, and we are ultimately responsible for getting the project done.

I thought this was a very interesting illustration.  Any observations?

Comments

  • Anonymous
    January 01, 2003
    Read blogs to find the “job description behind the job description.”
    In the past, GlobalGal and...
  • Anonymous
    December 10, 2004
    The hardest thing is predicting how long things will take and budgets.
  • Anonymous
    December 14, 2004
    Bill -

    So, what exactly do you own as a PM in your group? Just curious...
  • Anonymous
    December 14, 2004
    I will be at liberty to say sometime soon...

    Bill
  • Anonymous
    December 21, 2004
    As someone who has been in Program Management for the last decade, and who is currently interviewing at MSN (loop next week), it has been interesting investigating PM roles across Microsoft. Depending on the group you talk to, the role could be dramatically different. But from a process perspective, the PM charter seems very simple: do what it takes to get the job done. You are the liaison between the business team and the engineering team - you make sure there is communication across the table, and progress being made.
  • Anonymous
    January 04, 2005
    Very interesting. I've worked @ Microsoft for the last two years and have been staggered at simply how many Program Managers there are and how much their roles vary!!!!

    At one point I was referred to as a Program Manager as I ran an Early Adoption Program in the field!