Chapter 16 ENGINEERING Engineers can be involved in any aspect of project management and the project team. The primary role of the engineer is generally that of the team member responsible for the technical components of the product or service development. But frequently the project manager also comes from engineering. It is hard to imagine a telecom project that does not have engineering involvement, almost certainly using a technical prime, and probably also using engineers in other roles as well, such as project management or marketing. The Engineering Role Engineering departments are the home for many types of technical skills, and these skills are in high demand for telecom projects, since most telecom project are highly technical. This includes hardware and software skills, from design to building and testing. Engineering will ensure that definition; design and development are structured to produce the best possible results Many engineers love their work, and enjoy having their technical skills appreciated. This makes them good candidates for working on projects, as the project teams generally appreciate having someone to provide the technical expertise. For some engineers, though, projects can be a challenge. In engineering, maybe more so than in other disciplines, there are people who are generalists, and people who are specialists. Projects are a good environment for generalists, because team members should be aware of, and hav e a good understanding of, the full projects – its scope, goals, objectives, timeframes, etc. Many times team members are called upon to assist others, when the work loadings do not match the staff availabilities. If one person is 246 Engineering too heavily loaded, while another is too lightly loaded, the project benefits from having people share the load. With highly technical work, this can be difficult, if the assister does not have the required skills. It is often possible for an unskilled person to assist with technical tasks, but not all engineers have the ability to segregate their work to allow someone without the relevant skills to assist. And as with many functions, it can take more time and effort to break up the work, and show someone how to assist than it would have taken to just do the work. Schedule slips associated with engineering tasks are therefore very difficult to recover. On the other hand, the engineer might well be asked to assist others with their work. To a specialist who prefers working in his own area, this can be quite disconcerting. Many will accept this ‘problem’ occasionally, but people who have a strong preference for working in their own field sometimes avoid projects because they do not at all enjoy doing other work. To many engineers, this other work seems to be a waste of their time and skills. And, for an engineer who has a niche skill which is needed on many projects, projects become somewhat of a threat because they interfere with his opportunity to develop new skills, or even keep his own skill current. Project teams should keep this in mind. Whereas in some areas just using skills is enough to reinforce them, in technical fields, technologies are rapidly changing, and those working in these fields need to have training, and/or the opportunity to work with the newer technologies in order to keep their skills current. In addition to having strong technical skills, many engineers also demonstrate strong management skills. Such people are very useful resources for projects, often even as project managers. If the engineer has both the skill and the interest to manage projects, using him as a project manager is a very good idea. Before this is done though, it would be wise to provide PM training, so that he can use the proper PM techniques. It is surprising how many companies take people with good management skills and expect that to manage projects well, without giving them any related training. While it is true that good management skills are required for PM, and that these skills will enable the PM to do much of the work well, it stands to reason that with the appropriate PM knowledge, tools and skills, the results should be better, and the work should be easier to accomplish. Possessing the abilities does not automatically give a person the knowledge and skills. The other issue that should be considered is the interest of the engineer. The fact that an engineer has demonstrated good management skills does not mean that he is interested in doing a job that is essentially a management job, Engineering 247 as opposed to a technical one. I have been approached by engineers wondering what they need to do to be able to get back to doing “real work”, when their companies keep pulling them off to manage projects. It is the responsibility of the engineer to identify that he really isn’t interested, as the management probably think that they are giving him a reward by allowing him to manage projects. But not everyone is interested in this sort of work. As mentioned, technical background is needed on most telecom projects. The environment is by nature a technical one. However, in addition to the advantages of engineers’ having technical background, there are also some dangers in this. First, the engineer might be assigned a dual role, of both project technical expert and project manager. This frequently happens on smaller projects where the workload of each position may not require a full person. In this case either the team is staffed by people who are also assigned to other work, or some people play double roles. For many, this is an interesting challenge, because it offers the opportunity to use two sets of skills and to see the project from two different perspectives. For others it is a problem. Some personality types need to work within a defined environment, and a dual role can be more than the usual challenge for this type of person. In addition, the dual role can place the holder into a compromising position from time to time. There are bound to be occasions when decisions must be made which involve the technical aspects of the project. Sometimes the best decision from a project management perspective is to move in one direction, while from a technical perspective the best decision would be to move in a different direction. Even when the engineer is not placed in a dual role, but in just the PM role, this same type of situation can occur, and the engineer who is loyal to his field, or who would strongly prefer to be doing the technical job, is in a very difficult position, with a tough decision to make. Given that the project manager views the project from a broader perspective, the PM direction is usually the right one to take. But this is very hard for the engineer, who might even be viewed by his peers as selling out. Engineers must take great care to ensure that they are acting in the best interests of the project overall, while still holding to their ethical convictions, and ensuring that the best technologies and designs are used. This page intentionally left blank . demonstrate strong management skills. Such people are very useful resources for projects, often even as project managers. If the engineer has both the skill and the interest to manage projects, using. such as project management or marketing. The Engineering Role Engineering departments are the home for many types of technical skills, and these skills are in high demand for telecom projects,. them good candidates for working on projects, as the project teams generally appreciate having someone to provide the technical expertise. For some engineers, though, projects can be a challenge.