Whats the answer
I do believe that a large project needs to managed however in my experience I have found that most Project Managers are unskilled in people management. The object of these PMs appears to be delivery of a product by a certain deadline with an absence of any responsibility for whether what is delivered is useful. If the product does not work the PM gets off scot free by blaming the techos. Many PMs have no understanding of the technical skills and knowledge required to carry out a particular component of a project. However they think they do and thats where the danger lies. I have seen PMs completely hoodwinked by crafty individuals who can sell them any product. I have seen PMs completely swayed by contractors with a huge conflict of interest in a project. A more technical lead would pick up on these sorts of games and would not be so easily led. I have seen PMs play political games to get themselves the credit for work they have not done.
I have never met a PM with good peoplemanagement skills.
The PM's job should solely be the co-ordination of teams involved in projects, to keep the issues log and to follow up on these issues. The PM's job should not involve the management of people within these teams. I have only seen them fail miserably in this area.
