After the technical people to make a transition management, you may allocate less and less time on technology, especially the opportunity to write the code less and less, more and more unfamiliar hand. The need to do technical review and technical decision-making working class continue to increase, coupled with the impact of management decisions produced more than before, so the demand for technical sense of the increasingly high. No wonder there will be new manager complained: "Technology managers are contrary to human nature, while their technology is getting worse, on the other hand have to lead the technical team." For technology managers how to maintain the technical capabilities of anxiety evident.
Not only our own anxiety, our superiors and predecessors have always told us: "Technology managers should maintain its technical sense," we show that this issue is of great importance to everyone. Words, it all just stressed, but few people tell us clearly, what technical judgment contains content, and should be how to remain. Now, I come to chat this issue, look at the management of increasingly onerous conditions, technical managers how to maintain the technical judgment.
The biggest difference between technical managers and general managers is the "technical" word, which is the most distinctive label and the largest competitive technology managers. It is also because the word, so many new manager of technology fall into trouble, do not know how to take into account the "technical" and "management."
In fact, the transition from technical engineer to technical managers, there are many ideas and ways of doing things need to change. One important change is the relationship between you and the technology, that is what technology means to you.
When you were an engineer, you are a skilled operator and implementers, a technical services are born from your hands; and becoming a more and more mature managers in the process, you become less and less directly to the practical operation, and slowly turned into the application's technology, all you need is the technical service engineers produced assemble into larger services or products.
That might be a bit boring, we had to do in front of management technology to build a computer analogy: When you are a technical engineer, you need to care about is how the production of an electronic chip, a board how to achieve a specific function; and if after you become a technology managers need to care about is how to use these electronic chip and board, assembled into a useful computer, or even a variety of other devices. And do before and after the management's attitude technologies, like the development of the relationship between the board and the computer the whole assembly of components, we are more concerned with functional design, performance of these components is compatible with the situation, rather than to clarify the internal logic of each component to achieve .
Thus, when your job role, from a "technical implementer" to a "technology person," the relationship between you and the technology will change, the meaning of "technical capacity" of the word also happens quietly change. If you are not aware of it, remains the pursuit of technology from the "technical implementer" point of view, it will put misplaced. Since your goal is not allowed, not allowed to energy, which is necessary to make good management but also troubled by the dilemma of technology is bound to happen.
So, from technology to technology implementers who specifically what happened change it?
- For technical implementers, program design capabilities, the ability to achieve coding, tackling technical ability and technology assessment capabilities are needed to have, the main concern is "how to do things out", belongs to the category of "how" of.
- For technical applications are concerned, technology assessment capability becomes especially important as technology managers main concern is "Either do it" and "this is a what thing," belongs to the "why" and "what" of category, after a comprehensive assessment to make decisions and judgments. Therefore, many seniors will tell us to keep "technology judgment", but does not require us to maintain coding ability, the reasons here.
Since for technical managers, technical skills required to maintain and sophisticated technology is common sense, how to keep that specific technical sense it?
All of the judgment, we need to assess. So technical sense, in fact, refers to the ability to evaluate technology. You might say, technology assessment capability was quite empty, what are the specific assessment of it?
As a technology managers, i.e. those technical applications, technical assessment dimensions mainly in the following three aspects.
The first dimension is the technical evaluation of the project results.
As a manager, either in the decision to do a thing, three questions need to be answered clearly.
1. This is exactly what parts?
2. We hope to get any results?
3. To several dimensions from which to measure results? From which several technical indicators to acceptance of achievement?
Only these questions clearly, you can go to the end in mind to make accurate judgments and the right decisions. Here are a few examples.
- You might as improve service stability, to improve services architecture.
- In order to improve the accuracy of the data may also, to rewrite the data acquisition program.
- To improve the performance indicators may also, to reconstruct the data reading and writing module.
The "perfect service architecture," "rewrite data collection procedures" and "reconstructed data reading and writing module" is going to do, but this is the content of things, not the things "really." These three things are "really" is actually "improve service stability," "improve data accuracy" and "to enhance performance." Obviously, the content of the matter is that as things "really" service, and hope the result is the "stability", "accuracy" and "performance" improvement. So, how to measure them have not upgraded? What technical indicators to use to measure it? If you can not measure and judge, then judge how the technical work done well or bad? Managers can not just focus on the completion of a project, but to focus on what the purpose was reached by the completion of a project.
Concerning the effectiveness and performance of each job, and therefore, technical manager for the project results to evaluate the ability of the most critical. Although the results are on the acceptance of the project is completed, but will clear in advance how acceptance, so as to let everyone targeted to end in mind.
The second dimension is the technical feasibility assessment.
Feasibility has two meanings: First, "can not do" the second is "worth."
- The so-called "can do" it means there is no ability to do it. This is a capacity problem.
- The so-called "worthwhile", refers to the ability to allow, but whether there is sufficient income worth doing. This is a choice.
Obviously, "can do" and "worthwhile", are two different things. Non-technical managers usually ask is "can do", and experienced technical managers and senior engineers to consider is "worth."
To assess the "worthwhile", you have to think of costs and benefits. Income, often obvious; the cost, there are many aspects to consider, and this is a manifestation of local technical judgment.
Well, the usual technical project, what are the costs to consider it?
1. Resource costs of inputs
Often referred to as "human, financial and time." This is almost every engineers and managers can take into account that many people need to invest, how long, and even how much money and materials on the project, the cost is relatively easy to evaluate.
2. Technical maintenance costs
. As we consider the input of time, often only taking into account the project release, while maintenance costs after the release can easily be overlooked. So, this is the assessment of the technical solutions to focus on.
In particular, the common technical maintenance costs following aspects.
- Technology selection costs
. It refers to doing technology selection when selecting cost immature technology brings. The more mature technology, its technology costs and labor costs are relatively low, but not to say that the new technology will certainly be worthwhile choice, but taking into account the costs and risks in order to make a reasonable decision.
- Technology upgrade costs
. This refers to the difficulty and cost of upgrades late in the assessment of the technical solution when brought its compatibility and scalability levels. - Troubleshooting costs
. In doing technology of the time, we pay special attention to the follow-up troubleshooting. Good technology, a few minutes to troubleshoot the cause of the problem; not a good technology, check a problem it may take a few days, the overhead cost is quite different.
- Code maintenance costs
. When writing code, remember to have the code readability. This is reflected in how long it takes someone to upgrade the code before Nengkanmingbai, modify them if simple and safe.
Consider technology managers and architects wide field of vision, the ability reflects the maturity of maintenance costs.
3. opportunity cost
. This is a technology managers to make decisions to be aware of. That is, when you put the manpower and time spent on the matter, but to give up another thing, and do another no matter what kind of impact will it? Opportunity cost that you have to consider, you might think because of this and adjust the selection of technical solutions.
4. Collaboration cost
. Collaboration cost, that is more than the increased collaboration time, energy and manpower costs. The more collaborators a program, the higher the need for communication and coordination costs, the lower the degree of control. If possible, try to reduce the coupling between the different teams and personnel, it would greatly reduce the cost of collaboration. But this is the test of skill managers.
The third dimension is the technical risk assessment.
Technical risk assessment, also known as technical risk judgment. That is, what are the technical risks need to plan ahead, what is the likelihood of this solution bring maximum loss and boundaries are, and under what circumstances will occur.
This assessment is the test of technical experience and technical managers of risk awareness, the more experience, the more keen judge of risk, so mainly by accumulation. It is worth mentioning that the risk assessment techniques need the help of the whole team of technology to make accurate judgments, not rely on a person's technical manager discretion.
Earlier, we introduced the three dimensions of technology assessment to evaluate the ability of concern for a technical solution or a technical decision, if you are from these three dimensions to assess, to show that you have a good technical awareness. At the same time, if you can make a good judgment, you will find that their technical ability does not reduce, will continue to expand.
So, what are the specific practices can help him raise his technical sense it?
Judgment is not innate, nor is it achieved overnight. Technical manager of the new judgment, basically due to technical actual operation before, from their own experience. But after doing management, more demanding assessment of technology, research and technology of the time and effort has decreased, how to deal with this this?
Do not forget, from the day that you bring the team, you are not a person in combat. So you can rely on the team and a wider network of contacts, to expand the technology vision and technical judgment. Common ways as follows.
- The establishment of technological learning mechanism
. You are responsible for the technical inventory of what business needs, set up one or several core technical team, technical team to make sensitive to all directions, requested the Sub regular exchange and sharing, so you can keep the sensitivity of the technology.
- Special projects of technical research
. If a technology is valuable for the team's business, we can do a special project technical studies, project leader and asked to do research report. - Exchange of experts and technical
. The more powerful technology people, the more clearly explained in layman's language to the technology, so look for a technology expert to learn, but also a good way to learn. After doing management, although the actual surgeon less time, but you networking opportunities and technical experts and more, on the one hand because you have more influence, and on the other hand, you and Daniel have common aspirations, the technology is "realization" that makes the technology to produce value.
- Listened to the report
. Because you are with the technical team, most of the work and related technologies, reading employees' weekly, when reporting quarter, explore each other, but also a learn and learn.
In short, technology managers to enhance the sense of technology and remain, mainly to see from the people around him to learn how much information and knowledge, rather than just rely on self-study.
Ultimately, the transition from technology to technology implementers who, continuous improvement is the ability to use technology, and technical ability to achieve due to the investment of time and effort is less and less, will indeed be waning. If the team do with a project like assembling a computer, you will get to know how to effectively integrate the various components, but the team will always be people know better internal logic and performance parameters of each of electronic components than you . Since you have chosen to do bigger things, you have to give up some of the details appropriate to give up some of the technical ability to achieve and improve your technical judgment, allowing the team to travel in the right direction.
Finally, added that case, some technology managers worried about the loss of technology capabilities, mainly worried about their once instead of "the strongest team technical man," let team members are not convinced, even despise. In this regard, I would like to say the following three points.
1. Managers of the "strongest technology" is not reflected in the professional and sophisticated coding technology proficiency, but reflected in the ability to take the team to efficiently deliver high-quality products and services. Specifically, the judgment is to assess three dimensions: the results of assessment, feasibility assessment and risk assessment.
2. Managers can not rely on "the strongest technology" to make on the professional staff convinced. Are you sure you manage to do so, you have to understand one thing, the team stronger than you more and more professional and technical people, is a necessity, and this is a good phenomenon. If you manage to do for years, it is still the strongest team technical person, then the team's technical ability much worse, just how your management is not in place.
3. There are just so many strong technical staff convinced one way, but not the only, the staff manager "convinced" approach. Employees want to be convinced, in fact, the manager of the staff has a good influence. With employees achieve good performance, get a good return, as well as support and help employees grow, so that employees can recognize your value. On how to enhance their influence, we introduce in detail in Chapter 7.
Well, how managers should maintain its technical judgment and common sense to keep what technology, if you are aware of it?
This article is taken from the book shelves just "knowing and technology human management of the road", author: Liu Jianguo.
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