Help with transition from developer to manager

[chriscboy]

My manager promoted me to IS development manager this year. In our IS department there are 3 people (Other than my manager who oversees the whole Business Support dept, which includes IS). One person for hardware/software, myself who does all manner of software development (including PDA development), and another person who works for me doing general IS duties and crystal report development.

This year I got promoted. This new position did not previously exist and was created for me. I got a pay rise of £1000 plus potential bonus of £1500 at the end of year, as I am now a manager. My duties include support, systems development (using visual foxpro,access,crystal,vb ), people management, and managing suppliers. I am the only developer here and therefore seen as the 'guru'.

I am feeling the pressure in this new role and feel really stretched. The good news is there is a good working atmosphere where I work and everyone gets on really well. Its just the workload that bugs me.

We have recently started putting project plans together and now my manager wants me to put full proposals for the costs of the project and also to include return on investment and cost savings of the project, including costs for the internal resources for the people I use in the projects. I do not know where to start with this. I do understand this is the way forward and want to succeed, but no one in the company has ever done this kind of costing before. If I sit down and do the plans he requested, I can't see much development work getting done as I am the only person who does development.

These are the issues I need to resolve here:

1) I need some advice on project management and costing a project. Where do I start?

2) What kind of salary does an IS development manager earn ? At the moment I am on £27k+bonuses. I am sure I could get this kind of money just being a developer without the added stress of project management and people management. Am I being paid enough? It appears that the stress levels I have got far outweigh the pay rise I got. (Which incidently was less than the pay rises I recieved for the last two years, yet I have a better position in the company!?!)

3) I think we need another developer so that I can concentrate on project/people management of the
systems in our department. How can I put together a case to my manager to show him that is what is required?

I have a burning desire to succeed in this company but my
transition from developer to management is a troubled one, as it is a new role in the company, and I am the one with the most IS experience, but little in project or people management. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I am now beginning to pull my hair out!!

 

[JRBeltman]

Management is a different ball game altogher.

I have fallen up and been promoted to IT Manager about 3 years ago. After a year I was able to move to a different company which was looking for an IT Manager.

I have always been setting my own goals and trying to look forward. I now have two (yes only two, but we are a very small company) staff reporting to me.

I would say: Use your staff. They can be extremely helpful and have usually great skills. Ask them to give their input for your problems.

Do not be afriad of their opinions or knowledge. The task of a manager is to manage (and making use of), not to protect your position. A good manager knows how to get the best out of their staff.

Ask for management courses and there are many project planning books (even the project plans in 7 days are great for quick reference).

Admit your shortcomings (in a clever manner, don't say: Hi I do not know/understand. Rather something like: I would like to further my knowledge in this and this field to benefit the company). You can't know everything and should not be expected to.

Read the 'starting and running a Technology business' forum here to learn some most excellent ways of expressing yourself.

If you need more staff, do a simple 5 to 10 page overview of why and how much it will cost. Ask HR/Finance about tax and pension costs and include them (looks good). Make sure to outline that this is for the best of the company and it will be a profitable decision.

To get the costing for the project again ask your staff for their input, but also ask 3rd parties to give you a quote. You do not need to deal with them, but be honest and tell them they are not the only one you are asking. (The price will be a lot better too).

Your manager seems very proud and supportive of you (reading your story). He/she is very likely to help you with some obstacles you have, but make sure you don't run to him/her every 5 mninutes. And when you do present them with your findings first and try alternatives before coming to your manager.


But Managing is a great job. Especially in such an interesting ever developing field as IT.

I am proud to work in the IT sector!

JR
As a wise man once said: To build the house you need the stone.
Back to the Basics!

 

[DoubleD]

If your boss wants you to manage projects and people, then that's what you should be doing, NOT development.
Schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss your concerns, but don't bring up the pay issue yet. Start with something like, "I want to be successful in this new role, and help the company move forward..."
Then go on to explain that Costing, ROI calculation, and Project Management will take up quite a bit of your time if you're going to do it well. This means you are not available for development.

There are many resources for Project estimation, but the basics are:
1. Define the requirements.
2. Estimate the amount of time it will take each individual to develop their piece, then multiply that by 2 or 3.
3. Take each persons hours estimate and multiply by their Hourly rate to get the cost per associate (Don't forget to include your time as the project manager).
4. Add 10% for overhead

That should give you the project cost as well as a time estimate.

To get ROI, you'll need someone to give you specific estimates (is that an oxymoron?) on how much time or dollars this project will save them when it is complete.

There are many opinions on how this is done, I'm just offering what I've found success with.

Pain is stress leaving the body.

DoubleD

 

[JRBeltman]

Yes,
just to make sure you take EXTRA notice of DoubleD's point 2. (Extremely important!!!!) Triple the time you need for anything!!!! Always!!

Why?
If you say:
this job will 1 week and complete it in 2 -> anger!
this job will 2 weeks and it takes 2 -> ok
this job will take 3 weeks and it takes 2 -> Super Happy!

(this is management reactions, very little exceptions)

Always give yourself time in case things go wrong.

JR
As a wise man once said: To build the house you need the stone.
Back to the Basics!

 

[chriscboy]

Thanks for the input!

Timescaling has always been an issue for me. Every project I do is always different from the last and looking at other peoples comments on this site, it's far more harder planning than writing the systems themselves!

My manager is proud of the work I do, and we are always striving to do better. He will support me where ever needed, and there is a strong feeling of team spirit in our department, so I know I can count on my peers for support.

The main issue is getting sound advice to progress our department. I work for a small firm of about 50 employees which rely on the technology to do their jobs quickly and efficently. The company itself is getting bigger as the years pass, but no one has any IS project managment experience. My manager want's me (and I do to!) to take the initaitive to plan our projects to show our worth in the company. We answer to shareholders, so as the company grows we need to show that the projects we are providing a ROI or cost savings in order to secure our yearly budget.

I shall arrange a meeting with my manager to discuss my concerns. I am sure I will be able to get some books and additional training on project management (he is happy with my people management skills so far, as we have a strong team).

I have to admit there is a small fear of not doing development (have been programming for 8 years now!) but I believe it is the way forward. It is comforting to know I can get advice from everyone at this site though.

Is there any set way (or guidelines) to do project management when working for an SME? The hardware person in our team went on a project management course earlier this year, and although it helped us some what, we felt that the content was aimed at more of an enterprise environment and we only used a small amount of the skills used at the course due to the fact that our projects were not big enough to warrant the resources that you needed to run an enterprised sized project.

 

[screwloose]

I disagree with what DoubleD said that you should be managing NOT developing. If it is a small company then a lot of times the manager is also a doer. My first company was that way and someone I knew when working at a Fortune 500 company left to take an IT manager job at a small company, where he had a staff of 5, and would also be doing hands-on work.

So yes, small companies may absolutely require you to do development AND manage. Before accepting the offer you should have clarified with you boss this point, because it seems that is what was expected.

And while managing may be great for some, like JR; and apparently you want it, there are others that don’t want it or like it. Again, at the Fortune 500 company there was a DBA who became a manger, which he did for a couple of years until he had enough. He hated it and went back to being a DBA for a number of years, before finally leaving IT altogether to go back to college and retrain for a health-related career.

Management generally will involve more stress than as a worker and generally will require more hours. To each their own.

Good luck.

 

[wmichael]

Chris;

I am in a similar boat as you, and have found a few ways to make it easier.

First off, I have been working with my staff of 8 to make them realize that self-management is the key to any success. Though it has been a long road, each person now fully contributes to project plans, ongoing tracking and especially status.

Try to set up easy-to-use systems that allow your staff and business units to contribute to such endeavors. In my shop, I have simple project reports stating business cases, technical details, implementation details, testing, use cases, etc. These are all things people in IT should be aware of, and can so contribute to.

The idea is for you to manage the load, not shoulder it all. Coordinate tasks and keep track of them.

It would be a big mistake to scope out a task list and put time frames to it without a solid buy-in from the folks who will eventually own the task. Again, leverage these peoples' skills and know-how to get it done.

If you find yourself in a position where you must also manage as well as 'work', then be certain to factor in your management time to your project plans.

The key to keeping a plan alive and making sure your efforts are being kept on track and managed properly is to use your simple systems to keep communication alive both within your department and to the 'clients' of your work.

The issue you have with proposals and calculating both costs and ROI is a tricky one. Development costs are pretty straightforward, as well as other things like licensing, new equipment, outside services, etc. Getting the ROI on a development project can be a nightmare unless you are prepared to get a good analysis on the impact of your project.

To track down soft costs, or costs associated with things like increased efficiency, time savings, etc., start with the following questions;

1) What is the current way of doing business (focus on the area you are developing for)
2) How much time and how many people/systems are involved in this current method
3) What are some of the inefficiencies in this? Things like dual data-entry are big-time red flags.
4) Where does this process lead, and how does it affect other departments? Be sure to follow it all the way through until the process cycles back around to it's beginning.
5) Then, think about the proposed project and how it will impact the above.

Don't start a proejct without a good business case, and a clear success path.

I think, by the way, that it would be very inappropriate for you to do all this proposal work without a strong business partner. Again, the key is to share the load. Making decisions in a vacuum is the key to failing.

There's more. Where do you want to take this thread next?

Best of luck!

~wmichael

"small change can often be found under seat cushions

 

[willir]

First congradualtions ... and ... condolences.

It sounds like the work load increased quite a bit but the pay increase to be fairly marginal.

Check out this forum on Porject Management...

http://www.tek-tips.com/threadminder.cfm?spid=731

Remember that your boss is looking for...
- good quality product(s)
- maintain costs / reduce costs

(Hiring a new person may be counter productive to your "success" in your new position unless you have a darn good reason. I have to wonder if your bosses were over-worked and decided to delegate some stuff to you???)


Biggest mistakes I see management make (technical -> management)
- very hard to delegate tasks to underlings. (Hmmm, you got promoted from technical to management because of your superior technical skills??? Makes it hard to give underlings jobs since you know how to do it better, faster)
- biased in some ways, hard to adopt new ideas suggested by others.

I am on the fence on the management title - managing people or managing a system. Perhaps you administer systems, and manage people. Regardless, it sounds like you have to wear both hats.

Salary??? Well we have to be fairly compensated for our work, although out-sourcing / off-shore resourcing has kind of dampened this thought. Here is a link (3rd time tonight on similar issues)

http://www.salary.com/salary/layoutscripts/sall_display.asp

Best of luck...

 

[JRBeltman]

Willir,
what a great site. I will try to find a UK one.

Chriscboy,
It is indeed true that you must enjoy your job! Nothing is worth more! So if you think you want to try this managing out because it may be for you -> Go for it. Otherwise you may need to come back on the decision.

And once again: Use your team! They are your assets you will need to succeed.

My own management style is very simple:
1. Set tasks and deadlines (very resonable deadlines)
2. Tell your staff you are there to support them when required, but that you want them to do the task in their own way
3. Staff needs to know that they can learn from mistakes. They must feel relaxed about asking your advice and telling you if they made a screw up. You should handle this in a clever manner, making them feel they have the chance to correct their mistakes (with help if required).
4. Make sure you always listen to your staff. they are your backup, your team, your job. If they have ideas listen to them. If the idea is no good, don't make them feel silly.

And the list is longer, but I need to do some work

JR
As a wise man once said: To build the house you need the stone.
Back to the Basics!

 

[SQLSister]

Go find some books on project management, it is a vvery complex subject.

Have a weekly meeting with your staff to discuss what tasks they performed inthe last week and what will be due inthis week and the potentials problesm with completing the work.

Delegate everything you can delegate.

If you can invest in a bug tracking system (which you can use for all it tasks). Amazing how much more productive staff can become when they have a lkist of what to do and when it is due and know someone will be asking questions if it isn;t done. YOu can then use this to show upper management how much is being accomplished and why there might be a need for another person when therer is too much work to do for the current staff to accomplish.

Never yell at an employee publically. Always do this beihnd closed doors. Always praise publically.

Be more concerned with the solution to the problem than laying the blame. Problems will be brought up faster when they are easier to solve.


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