
Ask HN: When does a project manager become valuable? - whatevermatt
At what point in a startup's life does it make sense to have a dedicated project manager?<p>I've been invited to join a couple "groups of guys trying to start a business" in which one member was a professional PM. I didn't see the value (self-organizing teams anyone?) but am curious about others' experiences.
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fookyong
It depends what resources/requirements you're working with.

If you're just a bunch of dudes in a room building simple software on your
own, you don't need a PM.

If you're a bunch of dudes building more complex software (various moving
parts) who need to interface with different vendors, part timers, outsourced
stuff (e.g. design, copywriting) and have critical deadlines e.g. customer
expecting your product on 2010/XX/XX - then you'll probably find it a lot more
useful to have a PM :)

I will say though that a PM who cannot jump in and get his hands dirty coding
or designing, is probably not so useful in the early stages.

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iworkforthem
The role of a project manager primarily filled the gaps in the Review and
Monitor processes, I dun quite see the need for such a role in a startup
environment where it's not part of the core stuffs. - a PRINCE2 pm.

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schn
From what I've been told, you might want a PM once you start using systems
engineering processes.

