Andrew Jackson
More About Me
COMPANY: Kainos
JOB TITLE: Project Manager
The job role is to manage a team of software developers and testers to produce high-quality software on-time and on-budget.
A project manager’s main responsibilities include:
- Estimating for new projects; how many people are required, and what will the cost be.
- Managing a project schedule which involves assigning and re-assigning work to individuals in the team, ensuring all project deadlines are met.
- Managing software quality; ensuring that we follow good practices and minimise the number of bugs in our software.
- Managing project finances; ensuring the project does not run over-budget.
- Managing project issues and risks; many problems will arise (issues) on a day-to-day basis and need to be resolved. A project manager must also continually anticipate problems that might arise (risks) and takes steps to avoid them occurring and/or plan for what to do if they do occur.
- Regularly report the status of projects to customers and managers.
- Manage the performance and career progression of your team members.
RELATED DEGREE:
BEng – Manufacturing Engineering (Aston University)
PhD – Computer Simulation of Manufacturing Systems (Aston University)
WORK EXPERIENCE:
After graduating with BEng I worked as a Manufacturing engineer (making cars!), which provided a very good engineering and technical problem solving background. I returned to University to pursue a PhD which enabled a change of career to Software Engineering.
I started working as a Software Engineering (design, writing code) gradually taking on more technical and project leading responsibility over a period of several years. Working for several different employers during that time, delivering many different types of software to different types of customer, has enabled me to understand better what can and cannot work in different projects.
After several years working in the software industry I reached a common career “cross-roads” where the next career step was to a) move into management, or b) become a more senior technical specialist. I chose the management path which means I am less involved in technical decisions but my previous experience is invaluable in understanding and appreciating the problems and issues raised by my team.
SKILLS REQUIRED FOR THE JOB:
- Being able to lead a team of people is very important; this means being able to motivate and communicate, as well as being trusted by your team members. Therefore you need to be self-motivated and interested in your job to do it effectively.
- A sound knowledge of software development is very useful; preferably from having previously worked in a more hands-on software development or software testing role.
- Being able to engage with customers and understand the commercial / financial aspects of projects is essential.
- An aptitude to self-learn learn is important. The technologies and processes associated with software development change frequently, so you need to keep yourself up-to-date with theses as they evolve. Formal training and project management qualifications will assist here but self-training is also crucial.
BENEFITS OF THE JOB:
- As a project manager you should have a greater influence on the success of the team than if you were another team individual.
- It’s very rewarding to know that you have led a team to deliver a software system that that might improve the efficiency of your customer’s business, or the day-to-day lives of the people that ultimately use the software.
- It’s also rewarding to pass on your experience to others and see the careers of your team members progress.
CAREER GOALS:
- To gain more experience in software project management, learning from both the good and bad experiences in my projects.
- To manager bigger and larger projects.
Piczo
Britain from above
IT Mobile communications
