A project manager doesn’t have to be an expert in a project’s domain area to serve as PM. But they must possess some domain knowledge to be effective. Here is the general domain knowledge needed to manage a project.?
- Processes and regulations. Domain areas have specific approaches to work and standards that must be understood. For example, in the drug industry, processes for introducing new medicines are rigid. These must be understood to deliver project outcomes.? In construction, one must know the laws that restrict a building’s design. Without this, the building could become unusable without expensive modifications. In healthcare, managing and sharing data requires both health and technology process knowledge. Without this vital domain knowledge, project managers have reduced foresight. And they are unlikely to gain the respect of their project teams which makes it difficult to succeed.?
- Sources of risk. Effective risk management involves understanding the challenges that may present themselves. The project manager must know enough about the domain area to anticipate possibilities. They also should understand the probability of them coming to fruition. While having an expert team member as a management partner can help, it isn’t enough. The project manager needs to interact with key stakeholders without deferring to others. They must also react to situations that occur daily. Having to constantly refer to an expert partner impacts the project manager’s perceived authority. It also brings their abilities into question, reducing effectiveness.
- Ability to assess business value. Projects are all about creating business value. Sometimes that value is obvious, like creating a new drug that cures a disease. Other times, value propositions are more subtle, requiring industry expertise to understand them. For example, the value of a great website is that it is easy to maintain after delivery to a client. So, website construction techniques are important. The project manager should participate in construction decisions to ensure maintenance is straightforward. This requires an understanding of the capabilities of modern coding languages. Knowledge about AI tools and search engine optimization is also useful. Unless the PM has some level of experience in these areas, they could overlook critical project activities.
- Management practices and cultural expectations.? Domain areas have varying norms around how decisions are made. The expertise that is most valued, and how clients and their vendors work together also vary between domains. Industry trends might not be easy to identify without domain experience. Understanding these nuances are vital for a project manager to succeed. These can be learned on the job if knowledge gaps aren’t extensive, but that must be done quickly so project success isn’t impacted.?
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9 个月Hi, can we connect?
Domain Thinker, working on knowledge structuring. Opinions are personal
9 个月Very nice article Bonnie Biafore and thanks to Nagesh T. sir for sharing this post with me. I am passionate about domain knowledge and have a couple of books and papers on it. I claim to have evolved a common structure that can be used to learn about any domain (insurance, banking, retail) both at high level and detailed level. High level domain knowledge as per this common structure can be immensely beneficial to the project management community as it is based on the two fundamental building blocks of domain (it's offering called products and the lifecycle activities of these products called processes). A related post has some more details. https://www.dhirubhai.net/posts/manoj-kumar-lal-43724a1_industryknowledge-dkf-knowledgenode-activity-7192831698554834944-v_ev?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_android
Business Transformation Consultant for both Corporate and Client Delivery
9 个月Having expertise isn't mandatory, but possessing knowledge is crucial. Nowadays, many Project Managers overlook the essence of their role. It's not merely project management -agile or not; it's about remaining relevant as projects evolve or progress.
ERP Project Manager | Founder @ Blue Tiger | Helping complex ERP implementations achieve success
9 个月Yes! My early days of business consulting taught me that you can learn key aspects of domains and be very effective. I have taken this with me as I entered the ERP world and Project Managment. This is a great topic to discuss with new PMs entering the field.
Software Engineer
10 个月The article speaks to the heart, the emphasis regarding the domain experience project can be impacted negatively in critical situations.