As a Product Manager, Would You Shut Down an Engineering Project Started By a Technical Lead?

Let’s imagine you are a product manager who recently paired with a new engineering team. You come across a project initiated by a technical lead that you would rather shutdown than watch continue. What would you do in such a scenario? Even if you feel that shutting down the project is best for the company, there is a right way to go about the process.

Are You Sure the Project Needs to Go?

Before you decide you need to put the brakes on an ongoing engineering project, make sure you are on the right track. Some tell-tale signs of a project being in trouble include:

• The team has no detailed project plan.
• There is no clear hierarchy in the team.
• No one from the company’s senior management is backing the project.
• There has been no customer involvement in product definition.
• The customer has not provided any feedback on deliverables.
• There is no use of suitable project tracking tools.
• The team is overworked.
• Team members have ideas about how to provide simpler solutions.
• There has been little to no testing.
• There is no clarity on exactly what’s expected from the final product.

Shutting Down a Project

Every once in a while, there comes a time when a product manager needs to shut down a project started by a technical lead (TL). If you are worried this might reflect poorly on your own performance, don’t be. Here are measures you may follow to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

• Include the TL in your talks with other stakeholders, which include feedback calls. This gives you an opportunity to get a first-hand perspective. For all you know, the TL might also feel that the project needs to go.
• Determine how aligned the project is to your company’s goals, because shutting it down might be easy if it is down the priority list.
• If you can get the project into a beta or minimum viable version (MVY) state with little effort, you may track its adoption (or lack of).
• Begin user-involvement at an early stage, simulate possible results, get required feedback, and make your decision accordingly.
• Speak with stakeholders who wanted the project implemented and find out their reasons. Share with them why you feel moving forward might not be a good idea.

The Alternatives

While you might want to take a firm decision of shutting down a project, think hard in case other stakeholders do not provide their complete support. If you have been tasked with recovering an engineering project, start by looking for signs of over- engineering. In some cases, you might be able to pivot projects by adding capabilities that provide value to end-users. Pay close attention to numbers when justifying a product’s level of automation, be it the number of users or the time saved.

Conclusion

When caught in a dilemma about whether or not to shutdown a project that a technical lead holds close to the heart, determine what’s best for your company. Thinking about sunken costs will do no good, because there’s a good chance you will need to rebuild anyways. Cutting your losses short - and even starting over if you have to - might be in your best interest.

When Does it Make Sense to Accept a Lower Salary for the Same Role?

Ideally, your paycheck should keep increasing until you retire. However, truth remains that people end up taking jobs that pay lesser than their last ones for a variety of reasons. Besides, getting raises can be challenging for people who are already at good stages in their careers. So, when does it make sense to accept a lower salary for the same role or a comparable one?

You Get Better Perks

Workplace benefits play an important role in your overall compensation package. If the company you wish to join is offering stock grants in lieu of a decrease in pay, you might have reason to consider. This is because public equity is basically cash, and you can list the same on your mortgage application. What you need to account for is how much the stock will need to drop before it becomes unprofitable for you. A better than existing insurance package might also warrant your attention. Other benefits can come in the form of free on-site childcare and financial assistance for education.

You Need Work

If you are unemployed and need a job in a hurry, accepting a job with the same role at a lower pay might be in your best interest. This is because there is no telling when a desirable job might come your way. Besides, you can still keep looking for better opportunities.

You Need to Retain Your Job

There have been numerous instances of pay cuts because of the COVID-10 pandemic. A study carried out by Hewitt Associates suggests that more than 15% large businesses have decreased base salaries owing to the recession. These include names such as Hewlett Packard, The New York Times, and FedEx. Even the entertainment industry has been affected, with Jay Leno’s 50% pay cut being a prime example in case.

It Seems More Rewarding

Are you at the top salary range in your existing organization and see little to no room for growth? If so, you might think about moving to a company that offers a more fulfilling and engaging role with better long-term prospects, even if you stand to make lesser money for the time being.

You Wish for a Better Work-Life Balance

A survey conducted by Mom Corps shows that around 45% working adults would give some percentage of their salary up for increased flexibility at work. Consider this example – you get to work from home for two out of five days a week if you are willing to take a slight cut in your pay check. If you feel that you crave more personal time, this might be the path to take.

You Enter a New Industry

You might have to deal with a lower salary if you move to a new industry or if you take your expertise to a different department in the same organization. For instance, if you move from programming to sales, you will retain your industry expertise but lose out on your functional expertise. A decrease in salary could also be on the cards if you move to from programming for a leading tech company to programming for a government agency.

You Are Relocating to a Place With a Lower Cost of Living

If you are moving from a place with a high cost of living to one with a lower cost of living, accepting a lower salary makes sense. This is because it is fairly common for employers to pay lesser in areas that have low costs of living. The cost of living in New York and San Francisco, for instance, is higher than that of Salt Lake City, which is why salaries in the first two cities are typically higher.

Tackling the Interview

Your interviewer might want to know why you are willing to accept a lower paycheck. This is because there might be concerns about how long you will stick around with the company. Unless you wish to take the job because you have no other option, prepare to answer this question honestly.

Conclusion

If you plan to take on a role with a lower salary, make sure you are aware of all its financial implications. Remember that you are free to negotiate and make a counter offer, which can be up to 10% more than the original offer. Determine just why you are taking a cut in your paycheck to avoid heartache further down the road.

How to handle teammates that hog up time in Standup meetings?

Introduction

Have you ever been in a meeting where you or your teammates were not given the chance to speak-up or discuss your tasks and ask your questions because there was that one single team or member who spent more time than they are supposed to with the manager of the meeting, discussing aspects related to their own assignment without giving consideration to the time limit or other teams waiting in line?! There is a high chance that you have gone through or experienced this situation yourself at least once during your career or academic studies. In this article, we are going to provide some point that will help you to deal with that. 

Standup meetings

In today’s world, time is money. For example, every second that passes by in wall street, thousands or millions of transactions are made, companies and individuals can lose or gain a huge amount of money if they do not react quickly or in a timely manner. A company can lose a patent or an invention to its competitor, just because they were seconds late. This is a fast-moving world that does not wait for people who are slow.  After understanding the importance of time specifically in the business industry, let’s explain briefly what are standup meetings. Standup meetings are basically group meetings that are conducted between participants with one simple difference that you might have already guessed it, it is conducted while the participants are standing. The main aim of conducting the meeting with participants standing is to make the meeting duration short and quick, where just basically the main feedback or essential tasks are discussed and then everyone is back to their own work. This gives managers and teams the opportunity to be updated on projects’ progress, potential issues and prioritize tasks. This type of meetings is currently being used widely in companies and even in universities and schools. Standup meetings can last between 15 to 30 minutes depending on the size of the teams and project. 

Importance of Standup meetings

Among the unique features of standup meetings is that they do not need to be conducted in meeting rooms, equipped with chairs and projectors, instead they can be conducted in hallways, courtyards or in any other area that can just accommodate the participating number of people. Standup meetings give all members the chance to present and share their work and update briefings in a concise and effective manner. This creates some kind of leaning forward concentration in the meeting among the participants instead of the traditional laid-back approach of participants sitting on chairs and listening to prolonged hours to the presenting participant. The standing position of participants creates and boosts participants attention and information retention. This helps in speeding meetings up, which can be a huge waste of time if conducted in the traditional way. This improves productivity due to the minimal disturbance of the workforce. 

Problem Identification

Standup meetings are not meant to last long as they are intended to address main issues and updates in brief details and in a clear manner. However, some individuals or teams do miss the main point of standup meetings and go into details taking so much time and wasting their own and others time. This inconsiderate behavior creates a toxic waste environment that badly affects all teams and the organization as a whole. Standup meetings are not intended to discuss each and every step that was taken to solve an issue but rather to be concise and to the point with your presentation. Some team members might not get the chance to represent their work, concerns or issues, giving a bad impression to the manager or the team leader. 

How to handle a Standup meeting?

There are three main players in a meeting, the presenter (the person who is talking and presenting his work and issues he/she is facing), the manager (the person who is running the meeting and responsible for the combined work of all teams) and the coworkers or teammates (coworkers or teammates who are working in the same team as the presenter or working in other teams and on other tasks than the presenting team). There are many ways by which someone can handle such situation. The teams who did not get the chance to present their work at all or in an appropriate way because they were given no time, can talk to the manager separately about such problem. They can also call out the presenter in a polite way stating that they are not going to have time to present their issues and share their progress. You can also make a bold move of informing your teammates and manager that you have another meeting and you are going to leave. The meeting manager should set a time limit of 3 minutes to 5 minutes per team depending on the size of the team. An experienced manager should notice when time limit is exceeded and should stop or warn the presenting team. A good manager should give an equal chance to all teams and team members to present their selves. The third player, who is the presenting person who is exceeding the time limit should be considerate and respectable of his/her teammates. He/she should time himself/herself and tackle the main points and issues in his/her work. 

Conclusion

People like those who spend more time than their time limit and limit the chances of their teammates and coworkers to sufficiently present themselves, by trying to over spot the light on themselves and their work, will always exist, because people are of different personalities and characteristics. To amend such behavior, we should highlight the issue on the spot and advise the manager and teammates of the problem and how such behavior could lead to workplace toxicity. If we keep saying: yes, I am against it without taking action the moment it happened, it will always exist. However, if the community condemned it and took action right away, that would help limit the problem, resolve the issue and lessen the chances of it happening again. So, take action!

References: 

https://www.teamblind.com/post/Fed-up-with-blabberers-during-standup-u2Pouk6P
https://blog.bird-office.com/en/2017/08/23/advantages-stand-meeting/

Joining a new job ? Make sure to ask these

Consider a scenario where an interviewer asks you if you have any questions about the company or the role for which you’re interviewing. Do you have a number of questions to ask, or are you left wondering? If you’re not sure about what questions to ask, you’ll have a fair indication of which way to go once you’re done watching this video.

Why do you need to ask questions during an interview, you wonder? Well, doing so can give you a clear picture of what to expect in your new job, and it can also help you make a well-informed decision.

While questions might vary depending on the type of role you’re applying for, here are some that remain common no matter which technology-based role you seek.

Will I have ownership of products?

It helps to find out if you’ll have to work along a predetermined path or if you’ll have enough influence to affect changes. For instance, you might get complete ownership of a product as soon as you join one organization, whereas you might have to wait indefinitely in another. Find out who decides product roadmaps and who is responsible for providing inputs. Ask if you’ll get to interact will all important stakeholders. This will better indicate your role in the organization.

Can I work on side projects?

Bear in mind that not all companies encourage or even allow their employees to take on side projects. Ask if working on side projects is allowed, be it contributing to open source platforms or developing software. If it’s allowed, your next question should cover the process you need to follow. Then, find out if you will need to get permission from the legal department. In some cases, companies take ownership of their employees’ side projects, especially if they’re related to the same market segment.

What will my work hours look like?

Sure, you get an indication of your work hours before you join. However, make sure you ask how realistic the timings are, ideally from an existing team member. This is because hiring and process managers might not give you the real picture.

How good is the company with following customer timelines?

Try to determine the approach your probable employer follows when adhering to timelines set by its customers. For instance, if a customer requires a product in two months, will the company ensure that it delivers within the given time frame? While an answer in the affirmative might speak well about the company’s outlook toward its customers, it can also indicate signs of burnouts for its employees – because you might need to burn the midnight oil, over and over again.

Who are your biggest clients and what pain points do you address?

Answers to these questions will vary significantly. However, what you need to look for in the answers is if they’re aligned. If you feel they’re largely misaligned, you get two options from which to choose. You may either view this as a red flag or consider taking it on as a challenge.

How many employees work from home?

Given the change in working styles and environments that have come about because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this question begs to be asked. While some companies are going all out in getting their employees to work from home, some others are not as forthcoming. 

Questions You Need to Ask Before Joining a Startup

If you plan to join a startup, you might benefit by asking these questions as well.

• What problem is the company trying to solve, and what is its USP?
• What’s your long-term vision for my role, my team, and the organization?
• What is your growth strategy?
• Is the company looking at being acquired soon or does it plan to move ahead on its own?
• Do you have an exit strategy in place?
• Who are the existing shareholders?
• How many months of operations can you sustain before the next round of funding?
• What is the biggest risk that the company faces?

Remember that an interview gives you the opportunity to clear any doubt you might have about your new job. Asking the right questions at this stage is crucial if you wish to sail smoothly down the line. After all, what good is landing up in a role or an organization that does little for your career’s growth?

Do I complain? How to handle a trash talking coworker?

Have you ever been in a meeting where you or your coworkers were getting trash talked by a toxic coworker and not even given the chance to discuss or resolve the issue in an open and fair discussion?! There is a high chance that you have gone through this situation yourself at least once and even if you didn’t, you might encounter such a situation in the future. This article will guide you on how to handle such a situation by standing for yourself or your coworker and refusing to get stepped on by the toxic trash talking coworker. Whether you are on the right side or on the wrong side, you have to step up for the trash talking as this is not the correct way to fix an issue. The manager or team leader has to step in and play his role in resolving the conflict in case of situation escalation. Disagreements and conflicts are inevitable. People are different and each person has his/her unique set of qualities, both good and bad. Problems occur! Such problems if not resolved early can negatively affect the work space and create an atmosphere of toxicity. 

Trash Talking problem

Trash talking is the act of making insulting remarks in attempt to demoralize and humiliate another person, whether a coworker or an opponent. The way a trash talker is handled is very critical and decisive. The first step is to clearly identify the problem or the cause that created the motive to trash talk. There has to always be a problem or issue behind the trash talking. The trash talker won’t simply come up to you and start trash talking for no reason. So, the ability to identify a probable cause is crucial, whether you think you are right or not. If identified early, the issue can be resolved easily before it escalates and gets worse. It is always advisable to look out for signs of accusations before they escalate and watch out for soft disagreements that are ought to be addressed right on the spot before they rest in and grow. 

Ways to handle trash talking coworkers

Now, if you failed to identify the problem and the conflict started to escalate and the trash talking commenced, then here are some tips on how to handle the situation. There are three main possible players for such a situation. You can be the coworker himself/herself, who is getting trash talked or you can be a coworker, who is just spectating the whole situation or you can be the manager or team leader of the conflicting coworkers. Let’s start with the first case, where you are the coworker who is getting trash talked by another coworker. Firstly, you need to try and understand the problem and the view point of the trash talker. You will need to state facts with evidence to help support you position such as emails and messages. Instead of merely arguing, just show proof that supports your point and defends your position. For example, if are accused of not completing your task on time, just mention something like: “As per our conversation on the 5th of February, you didn’t provide any feedback, so I hadn’t had the chance to wrap things up. I followed again on the 15th and there was no response from your side as well, as a result I wasn’t able to wrap things up on time.” It is essential that you understand the position of the accuser in team. If he has a better hold on the manager than you, and you get constantly cornered all the time even after the manager’s intervention, then it is highly possible that your manager is not doing enough and it is better to plan an exit from the team, as there is nothing much you can do. An escalation to the manager’s boss will help the company, but may not benefit you. Now, let’s move on to the second case, where you are a spectator. In this case, you need to make sure that you listen to both sides of the story and be sure that you understand the issue correctly. You are then required to intervene and come to a conclusion on who is right and who is wrong, if any. This will help resolve the issue using a third unbiased party and will make the conflicting parties keener on listening to your decision and solution. You should also inform the trash talker that trash talking is a bad way of conveying your frustration at a work place and that there are many other possible ways by which you can reach the coworker and let him know of your concerns and problems in a more friendly manner. Our final scenario is being the manager and coming in play to resolve the conflict. As a manager, handling team conflicts is your responsibility. You need to make sure that you listen to both sides of the story and be sure that you get the full picture. Then you are required to intervene and decide who is wrong and who is not in a professional and unbiased way that doesn’t undermine or hurt anyone’s feelings. To avoid situation escalation, it is recommended that you meet with the team members frequently and make sure that they are not facing any issues or problems. In case of the existence of issues and within team conflicts, it is recommended that you talk to each individual alone and tell him/her what ought to be done.

Conclusion

To conclude, trash talking back to a toxic coworker is not going to solve anything but rather escalate the situation, hinder work flow and have its detrimental impacts destroy the team or the company. Handling such situation should rather be with reason, proof, logic and according to work place laws and rules. In case the accusing trash talker is offensive and doesn’t take logic and proof for an answer and the same situation is repeated regularly, then you are faced with two main choices. You can either escalate the situation to the manager or team leader or you can request to leave the team or work place, if the manager didn’t help or was unfair to you. 

Is there any point of a PMP certification?

What is PMP?

PMP is an abbreviation for Project Management Professional. It is a professional certificate that is awarded to certain individuals who pass the Project Management Body of Knowledge exam. The certificate is awarded by the Project Management Institute PMI, which is located in the United States of America and is recognized internationally. There are over one million PMP certified and active individuals around the globe. It is awarded to individuals who demonstrate skill, knowledge, experience and competency that are required for the project manager to manage various projects and lead teams from different backgrounds to achieve the project's goals. PMP gains its importance for being imperative and essential in almost every industry. The demand for PMP certificate varies from one industry to another. The demand comes from the need to have individuals who are able to handle system reorganizations, develop strategic plans, manage outcomes, handle issues and ensure system effectiveness. Being recognized globally, the PMP certification is considered an unbiased endorsement of the individual’s project management experience and knowledge.

Skills tested in a PMP exam

The project management professional exam tests five different skills for the project manager. The first skill tested is the individual’s ability to understand the project goal and problems. This tests the individual’s ability to identify the key issues in the project and clearly be able to have an idea about the end project result. Another skill is the ability to plan the project. This checks whether the candidate has the ability to create a long-term plan that would be followed throughout the entire project, unless there are changes or unexpected variables that might be introduced later on in the project resulting in plan changes and adjustments. Again, to be able to develop a successful plan, the candidates need to show an understanding of the project’s goals and key elements. A third skill is the ability to run and execute the project according to the developed plan. This tests the candidate’s team management and leadership skills represented by distributing and assigning tasks to the right people according to a set period of time. This skill is considered a crucial skill in the PMP exam. The fourth main skill tested is the candidate’s ability to manage, monitor and control the project. The project management professional should be able to handle delays, monitor tasks and conduct adjustments accordingly. The candidate should be able to notice and identify issues that the project might run into and tackle them. Finally, the candidate is tested for his project closure skills. This tests his ability to meet goals and deliver the project according to the assigned time frame.

What is the main role of a Developer?

A developer is the person who works in software development. Developers are responsible for designing the software and identifying the main goals of the software that is yet to be created. They are also responsible for creating, developing and testing the software to meet the design requirements. The final step involves maintaining and adding features to the developed software. As you might have noticed, the developer’s work is similar to that of a project manager. Developers can develop software to different companies for different purposes, so they are not limited to computer manufacturing companies, but they can rather work for different companies involving different industries. This is again similar to a project manager working on different trades in one large project. A developer is responsible for understanding the problem to be solved, designing a solution, developing and programming the solution, testing the developed solution and finally releasing the software to the client.

What Project managers do?

As previously mentioned, a successful manager is an individual who is capable of achieving a successful project initiation, planning, implementation, monitoring, development and closure. A successful project manager should be able to identify key project elements, detect unstated assumptions, lessen uncertainties and risks, manage the project process and finally deliver the project. The PM should listen to feedback from the project’s team members and act accordingly. A crucial role that is played by the project manager – independent of the working environment or industry – is making critical decisions. The project manager is the one responsible for the project’s success. Accordingly, key decisions taken by the project manager are crucial to control risks, handle issues and minimize uncertainty.

Is PMP certification enough to switch from being a developer to project manager?

The short answer is not much. It is clear that there are obvious differences between being a developer and being a project manager. Despite the similarities in some of the job duties, a developer is yet to possess some of the skills that a project manager needs to lead a team, plan, implement and manage a project throughout the whole project phase. Obtaining a PMP certificate is not enough to do the career shift from being a developer to being a project manager. The certificate is used to test the way you are going to handle different situations that a project manager might face. In most cases, a good project manager develops his skills from previous experiences. He might rely on the concepts that he learned during his studies towards PMP certification, but still, it is not simple to mimic real life situations and complexities on paper. In addition, there is no theoretical way that you can use to run a project, but rather it comes with lots of practice, job shadowing and experience. Being a developer with a PMP certification is not enough to convince any company that you are capable of running a project and leading a team of different backgrounds and skills that are much broader. According to some of the people who receive job applications for project management position, possessing a PMP certificate makes no to little difference and does not give the candidate the edge he/she might have in mind.

Is engineering PM an over-saturated role ?

Do you think that the role of a project manager (PM) is overrated? Do you feel it is hyped, oversaturated, and maybe, even elitist? If so, you probably need a reality check. The competition that one has to deal with to become a PM, after all, is often worth the effort.

In this post, you will find out why the role of a PM is relevant, especially in today’s times.

Start by understanding that many seemingly great products would not have found the success they have if not for competent PMs. However, the role is such that the number of PM openings is typically lower when compared to completely engineering or technical roles.

What Does a Project Manager Do?

Businesses that require PMs do so with good reason. While they have engineers and developers to focus on software and mechanical specifics of getting products going, PMs play a vital role in understanding customer requirements and communicating with all stakeholders.


In a nutshell, a PM needs to understand customer requirements, identify tools or processes that can be of use, and oversee the creation, execution, and delivery of any project.


A good PM would also be adept at:

• Identifying and resolving issues
• Budgeting
• Time management and approval
• Team-building

One of the biggest challenges that PMs face is influencing people without exercising an air of authority. This can be particularly difficult when they have to deal with people who don’t report to them directly.

Project Managers vs. Product Managers

While both are PMs in their own right, and both come from predominantly engineering backgrounds, they have different responsibilities.


Project managers need to ensure that tasks are assigned to the right people, while also making sure of timely delivery. Their focus is on driving the development of products. A project manager would typically:

• Oversee the workload of multiple engineers
• Have at least basic technical knowledge about products being developed
• Solve management and scheduling problems
• Coach and offer advice
• Resolve disputes

A technical product manager, on the other hand, is responsible for making tech-based decisions after considering different metrics, as well as for overseeing the execution of development plans.

The "Worth" of a Project Manager

As a project manager, you should have the required knowledge about your realm, failing which you don’t stand a very good chance of earning your peers’ respect. Being able to influence without authority is also important.


You should be able to get through roadblocks faced by your engineers and bring plans to fruition. For instance, if your engineers are waiting for information from a product owner who is slow to respond, you should be able to deliver in a timely manner.


Consider this example – you are responsible for handling a team that is working on a completely new product. You need to start by determining if it is a good idea. Then, you need to look into existing competition, as well as address aspects related to costs and revenue. You also need to collaborate with the marketing team so it can help you get your product off the ground. To do all this effectively, you need more than just engineering skills.

As you can see, the role of a project manager is rather wide-ranging, and calls for high levels of soft skills as well as business skills.

Conclusion

Getting back to whether the role of PMs has become oversaturated, the answer remains an obvious no. However, what should go without saying is that not having a PM at all is better than having a bad one. A good PM should not only have technical knowhow and analytical skills, but should also be able to distribute accountability and ownership of key aspects to the core team.

If you can manage to double up as a project and product manager, there’s nothing like it, because you’re then responsible for executing your own suggestions.