Nick Carson, Case Study Example

In the case of Nick Carson, we are presented with the following scenario: an experienced software developer with little or no management training is elevated to project manager status on a critical project, a project that has already had a high turnover of project managers. Compounding the potential pitfalls that may arise due to Nick’s lack of management experience is the fact that the project with which he’s tasked is a make-or-break for the company, which is in buyout negotiations that impose a looming deadline.

The primary problem was that Nick was promoted to a position for which he was woefully under-prepared; though he was a skilled software developer, those skills were, at best, only half of the personal resources he would need in order to effectively manage the project. Despite his limitations, Nick was, in the end, able to get his product to market before the deadline, but along the way he riled the company’s management by failing to communicate with them effectively and provide timely schedules and forecasts. The blame for his lack of training -and his subsequent managerial shortcomings- falls squarely on the company’s management, who had a responsibility not only to recognize Nick’s dearth of management skills, but to provide adequate training and support to bolster those skills before promoting him.

At first glance, it seems that this case present an unrealistic scenario: what sort of company would put someone in charge of such a critical project without proper training and support? The only direction given by the company was to “do whatever it takes to succeed.” Nick’s primary skills were technical ones; he had no real experience as a manager. As it turns out, though, this is fairly common. As author David J. Williams notes in his book Preparing for Project Management, “many people enter the project arena just as the Christians encountered the lions in ancient Rome” (p ix). Further, he asserts that “a (project manager) is usually given an assignment because of his or her previous acceptance of responsibility…and the quest to rise in the company.” Unfortunately, he concludes, “training for the framework of project management in many companies is nonexistent” (p 11). With the proper training, Nick may well have been able to provide the schedules and reports his management was looking for; as it was, he had to call upon those skills he already had in order to complete the project.

The question of whether Nick was a “good project manager” is a difficult one; by the strictest definition, he was not. One of the primary functions of a project manager is to schedule the tasks necessary to complete the project. It is, in fact, this “special attention to scheduling” that “distinguishes project management from general management” (Lewis, p 69). In addition to this more specialized role as scheduler, effective communication skills are a key trait of any successful manager; this trait is especially critical for a project manager, who must effectively convey information both to employees and to management (Schwalbe, p 403). Information technology projects are often high-stakes endeavors,” notes Schwalbe, that “require tremendous resources from team members…when the potential for conflict is high, good communication is a necessity” (p 403). Still, despite his shortcomings, Nick ultimately did deliver the product on time, making a strict determination of whether he was a “good project manager” difficult to ascertain.

It is evident that Nick simply did not possess certain of the most critical skills required of an effective project manager. As noted, the responsibility for this lies with the company’s management; it was incumbent upon them to recognize his deficiencies and work to help him surmount them. This help could have been provided in several ways: for example, if the company had not been so pressed for time, they could have used mentoring as a means of training Nick. The authors of Optimizing Human Capital with a Strategic Project Office have the following to say on the subject:

“Mentoring is a perfect match for project management development. For project managers, mentoring -whether or no we called it that- has always played an important role in professional development…project  managers more often than not learned how to manage projects by managing projects, and by observing other project managers in action” (Crawford, Cabanis-Brewin, p 182)

Thus, effective project managers learn their roles both through hands-on experience (Nick may well be on his way to becoming an effective project manager after his first experience) and by modeling the behavior of other, more experienced project managers.

According to Crawford and Cabanis-Brewin, two of the most likely types to benefit from mentoring are those who are “managing a project for the first time” and those who are “making the transition from a technical position to management” (p 183). These criteria fit Nick perfectly: he was an experienced software developer who was making the transition to management. It was his technical skills, in fact, that ultimately allowed him to succeed: it was Nick who discovered and rectified a potentially fatal error in the product. Were it not for that discovery, no amount of scheduling would have gotten the product delivered on time.

Given the time constraints of the project, though, perhaps the best solution would have been to provide Nick with an assistant project manager, or even a co-manager. This would have allowed him to continue in the role, while striking a balance between the pressing technical matters (for which he was well-equipped) and the matters of planning and scheduling (for which he was, apparently, ill-equipped). Such an approach is increasingly common; tasks are roughly divided between a “business project manager” and a “technical project manager” (Frame, p 71). Taking this route would have been more than just a way to allow Nick to save face and maintain credibility, it would also have been a good move from a business standpoint; Nick could have comfortably focused on what he did best while still learning the mechanics of project management.

Not all of the blame for Nick’s scheduling difficulties rests with the company, of course. By any objective standard, Nick’s choice to accept the position also meant that he had to accept responsibility for meeting the prerequisites of the position. As presented, it seems that Nick failed to adequately grasp the scope of his shortcomings. He delivered the product on time, so he appeared not to understand why management was dissatisfied with his performance. Their dissatisfaction stemmed not from the product’s delivery time, which was on the mark, but from Nick’s failure to adequately meet the general standards of any project management position. Despite the company’s expressed concerns over his scheduling issues, Nick still seemed not to understand what responsibilities a project manager has. The company should have trained him more effectively, certainly, but Nick should have taken it upon himself to at least understand the requirements of project management, even if he was poorly-equipped to meet them.

Still, managing a successful company means, in part, that management has a clear understanding of what a project manager needs, and seeks to ensure that these needs are met (Crawford, Cabanis-Brewer, p 24). It was ultimately management’s responsibility to train Nick, a responsibility they failed to meet. Given this, and in light of his success after a string of failed project managers, they should not have been upset with Nick over the scheduling issues. The only thing they should have offered Nick were their thanks, an on-time bonus, and the proper training he needed to continue in his new position.

Works Cited

Frame, J.Davidson. Managing Projects in Organizations: How to Make the Best Use of Time, Techniques, and People. Third ed. San Francisco, CA: Wiley Imprint, 2003

Kent Crawford, Jeanette Cabanis-Brewin. Optimizing Human Capital with a Strategic Project Office. First ed. Boca Raton, FL: Auerbach Publications 2006

Lewis, James P. Fundamentals of Project Management. Third ed. New York, NY: Amacom Publishing 2007

Schwalbe, Kathy. Information Technology Project Management . First ed. Boston, MA: Cengage Publishing, 2009

Williams, David J. Preparing for Project Management. First ed. Danvers, MA: ACSE Publishing, 1996