The Technical Toolset

In this chapter, I’ll make the case for the technical toolset. Introduced in Chapter 2, Pillars of a Technical Program Manager, the technical toolset is a foundational pillar for a TPM. It is the connecting glue between the other pillars, program and project management, and is the foundational pillar that sets a TPM apart from a generalist PM.

We’ll continue by discussing the various tools in the technical toolset and how they help you not only excel at your job but also work across job families as the need arises.

We’ll explore the technical toolset through the following topics:

• Examining the need for a technical background
• Defining the technical toolset

Let’s get started!

Examining the need for a technical background

In discussing the origins of the TPM role, we looked at the role of the PM and how gaps in knowledge could hinder the execution of a project or program. This book has focused largely on the tech industry and the common usage of the word technical to refer to information technology. However, if you look at the word as a synonym for specialized, then the need for a specialized background might be a bit clearer.

Looking back at the pillars of the TPM from Chapter 2, program and project management are two-thirds of the foundation of a TPM. This is because these skills transcend each individual project and program management position that you may hold. They are the most fundamental needs to succeed. However, to truly thrive as a TPM, your specialty focus as a technically minded practitioner requires a fundamental understanding of technology. This is what sets you apart and allows you to be more successful than a generalist PM in this role...

Defining the technical toolset

As we discovered in the previous section, the technical foundation that you have can vary widely, depending on what your role requires.

Each of these tools is an accelerator to your role when your proficiency matches the need of your team. In cases where it doesn’t match, you will need to lean on a specialist that does have that proficiency, such as a specific programming language. This will add time to the project as additional communication is needed to get the same results you would get if you were proficient in the right technical skill.

In this section, we’ll discuss three areas that are most widely used across the general and specialist TPM roles. We’ll touch on the level of code proficiency that may be needed, system design, and architectural landscape.

Code proficiency

As a TPM, you will rarely be asked to write code. However, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be proficient. As a TPM, you will be...

Summary

In this chapter, we looked into the need for a technical background to be successful as a TPM. As a specialized PM, the TPM brings their technical toolset to the table to manage a technical project more effectively. We saw how the trend of a specialized PM is going deeper as the TPM position itself is being refined into hyper-focused areas of expertise, such as AppSec – TPM.

Then, we examined the common technical background across adjacent job families and how this allows the TPM to fill in gaps in personnel on their project or team more effectively than PM skills alone.

Lastly, we looked into the tools in the toolset that are most used across the industry to get a sense of how those tools are used.

In Chapter 11, we’ll dive deeper into some of the technical skills introduced in this chapter. We’ll discuss code use and proficiency for the TPM role and look at some of the high-level concepts you should understand.

We’ll also discuss system...