I have seen many case studies on Engineering Ethics in which managers have not heeded the device of their underlying engineers, such as the Challenger disaster. I think in order for a manager to really perform their duties well, they need to have performed the same tasks they are asking the people they are managing. It is hard to respect someone who you feel you know more than, as it is difficult communicating your questions and concerns. All of these issues are eliminated when managers are promoted from technical positions, as they are the ones who have been identified as excelling in their expertise and know how to solve problems. If all they know how to do is delegate tasks and balance spreadsheets, then the project is doomed to fail if and when the first hurdle appears.
For a project in the engineering industry, I think managers have extra challenges than other industries managers. Besides giving the plan, and laying out the schedule to engineer team members; Managers also needs to have the insight of engineering aspect of the project. For a project to be a success, both managers and team members must have the communication where both of them are on the same page and not lacking knowledge. Managers are concerned with reports, deadlines and the final results, however being involved as much as team members will help make a better project.
In response to Mattie718: Again though, to echo a point made earlier in this thread, it is not completely realistic to expect a manager to have done every single task prior that those under him have to do, at least at a high level. It may work on a lower level, such as a manager of a team within the same department. However, when teams become multi-disciplinary, it becomes almost impossible to have the manager have the exact knowledge and have done the tasks of those under him/her. For instance, sometimes a wide range of departments like supply chain, R&D, finance, etc. will work on a single project together. A project manager coordinates with the people of these different departments and works with them to expedite processes and makes sure a project successfully reaches its completion. Now, would it help if a project manager knew every single task finance, R&D, supply chain and the other departments had to do and how to do them? Of course, but is it reasonable/realistic? No. That is why the typical mode of action is to blend the two ideas: have the project manager be knowledgeable about the tasks each department must do at a high level, with point people, or other managers managing those departments who know what exactly needs to be done, since they have done it themselves. Again, this concept of managers having done every task their workers have done works very well at a high level, but once you go up levels of management, it is not realistic to do, especially on multi-disciplinary teams.
As all of us agree that it is the best that managers come from the same industry and have a technical background, Communication is one of the most important to success a project. Actually, it is one of the major roles for PMs beside planing and other is to connect all the cycle and involve necessary member in order to get the job done efficiently. Also, when management has the technical background they can gauge with the work follow with better understanding. It is very important that everyone work on the project to be on the same page that's why a lot of the companies invest in software that employee can access the portal and enter all the updates which will be available for all team members involved in the project. One more thing that makes a lot of difference is when people work proactively, in this case, if you report an issue to PMs and they didn't hear back from them. You can always follow up if you think it is important.
I've had similar experiences when working on my research project. I had a mentor who had years of research experience. While some of my issues were unique in that we both didn't know how to solve them, his experiences allowed us to quickly find relevant papers and figure out which option would work best with our situation. He also started as an assistant researcher so he knew how to guide me to the answer instead of just giving it to me.
I think the perfect manager would be an engineer that has developed and practiced management skills over the years. A well seasoned engineer who became a manager would be familiar with the types of challenges an engineer would have to overcome. An engineering mindset is necessary for the manager to understand and guide the engineer.
It is so important to have a good project manager to track the progress of your project. I don't feel that a project manager needs to be from the same industry, and I don't even feel that a project manager needs to have been an engineer, those are just extras that could help. What a good project manager needs to have is the ability to communicate with, listen to, and evaluate the productivity of the engineers on the project. The manager does not need to do any of the processes involved with the project besides for the overarching control of the project. The engineers are the one who should know how their processes work. Of course, there is never a perfect world, and that is why project managers are usually from the industry because then they have the ability to problem solve for when the processss are delayed. Also, the project manager will be able to understand if the engineer is being accurate with timelines and updates.
Like many who have posted above me, I believe that there should be a more transparent relationship between managers and engineers in order for communication to be more clear and fluid. I also agree that a manager should have experience that is related to the project in order for there to be a good structure and a more successful outcome. This way not only can they ensure the project meets all the deadlines on time, but they can also provide any technical expertise that their engineers may lack. Also, having a manager from the same or similar field as the engineers would lead to more safe results and products as well as they are just as aware and concerned of all the possible dangers. They would be more hard pressed to make sure they are avoided rather than ignore warnings from their engineers, like in famous ethical cases such as the Ford Pinto case.
I feel that the engineers would respect their project managers more if the PM's were originally engineers and/or from the same industry. The engineers would respect and listen to the feedback from their PM and they would feel they are talking in the same language. From my experience, there is a difference between listening to the advice of someone in your department versus someone in a different department. Each department runs in their own way, even the same department in a different location, and the feel of an outsider coming in and managing you feels a bit off. I've never had a manager from a different department, though, so feel free to tell me if things are otherwise.
That is a great example of how communication was not implemented by an individual on the team. I believe that communication is key for a team to reach its goals for a project. The manager should give the engineers all of the tasks that are required to complete the objective and the engineer should try to complete the tasks and give back a summary of the work they have done. An example of this is where I was working on a project as an engineer and my manager did not relay an important task of the project to me. As a result, I completed all of the other tasks of the project, except for that one very important task, which then caused significant delays to the project as it required me to redo most of the tasks that were after it. Another important factor is working in unison. There has to be some sort of agreement between the manager and engineer so they can work efficiently together.
I think it can be beneficial for a project manager to have worked in one or more of the roles that they manage prior to becoming the project manager. This would give them insight into the limits and boundaries of each position’s responsibility within the team. It is not common for a sports coach to have no experience playing the sport they lead, so why wouldn’t the same rule apply to a project team?
In order for projects to flow, I believe there should be open communication between managers and engineers from the start of the project. This could be accomplished by having clear goals and deliverables set up by both parties so that there is mutual understanding. These goals can shift throughout the project, but changes should be communicated and agreed on in order to stay on the same page. Additionally, it is both the manager and engineer's job to maintain this open line of communication and understand that schedules can sometimes get difficult or hectic, but there are always opportunities for updates either through email or phone if in-person communication is not possible. Overall, it is very helpful for engineers to have clear deliverables and timelines set up by managers so they have an idea of the work they need to prioritize and deliver.
Personally, I believe the best manager is someone who had previously done the work, or job, of the people which they is managing. Having that experience makes him/her not only knowledgeable on the subject matter, but it also makes that individual a leader in field due to their experience. As a result, when the time comes what the manager needs to discuss certain issues or complications with the engineer, they will have both perspectives in mind and will be able to understand exactly what needs to be done. The relationship in this case between manager and engineer will be much smoother as both needs will be met.
Furthermore, someone who does not have experience as an engineer will do a much poorer job in comparison to managing their employees as they will not know the smaller details which they have to do, and ultimately are the tasks which are taking up the engineers' time.
Working in groups before, it is best to make sure firstly that everyone is comfortable with one another. Having the security that the team trusts each other, is open, and understands the assignments or goals needed to be met is imperative. This comes down to the manager, having experience to lead and breakdown to engineers what needs to be done, met, and that there needs to be open conversations/collaboration so there is no confusion. The project manager also need to be experienced in all areas of the goal they need to achieve, so then they can help solve any problems the engineer has along with making sure they can have the project work efficiently in the given time frame. Also, the engineer needs to understand they have to work alongside, meet any deadlines, and make sure the project manager is constantly in the loop for anything. Additionally, I do think the engineer needs to have some background information on what project management is like, so they have expectations and aren’t confused when given a deadline nor if they have to come up with a backup solution and ensure thee whole team knows or is on board with other decisions. The engineers need to fundamentally understand that the work is a group effort and not lone work, that the overall project in order to be successful need to have organized open collaboration.
In my experience , when a group leader doesn’t really have the knowledge nor understands how to work in a group, thee project typically falls apart of feels like everything is donee very last minute. Also , if the group mates do not discuss or communicate, it tends to make the work not mesh well or not meet deadlines to complete projects, thus then causing chaos and confusion in the group. It also means for a subpar project a lot of the time with a ton of stress.
Since thousands of lives are being affected by medical devices, a team dynamic in a medical device project should be open and transparent. It would be great if the project manager has some background and technical skills related to the project. This makes the project sail smoothly with little to no problems as the project manager does not have a narrow insight, focusing on both the business aspect of the project such as meeting deadlines and the technical aspect related to the medical device being designed. This is an ideal case or near ideal case. However, if the project manager has no technical background, he/she should still make sure that all aspects of the project are being shared between the members so that the picture and goals are painted clearly. In the end, that is one of the project manager’s roles. Communication and transparency are key elements that will make the project a success and save thousands of people’s lives.
In a medical device company, the best dynamic to have between a manager and an engineer is mutual respect for one another. At my company, my manager and I not only have a mutual respect for each other, but trust one another to work hard and care about the projects we work on. This allows for him as a manager to trust I will work my hardest and hit all my deadlines with minimal oversight from my manager. It also gives him the knowledge to know I will keep him updated on the project and tell him when something is done, falling behind, over budget, or just not going to be possible. This interaction also benefits me as an employee because when I tell him my progress, he will be more understanding if I tell him a project is running late or if we need more money. He will listen to my needs rather than just telling me to get it done anyway or rush to catch up. This communication and respect allows the project to run as smoothly and allows any problems to be taken care to complete the project as on time and on budget as possible.
