What does a program manager do? Some say it’s a glorified secretary but that’s coming from an engineer so may be biased. I understand program manager at Microsoft acts more like a product manager vs. Program managers at Amazon

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As a former engineer I can say that engineers often don’t understand the importance of project management, business strategy, project costs, BOM costs or profitably. They think that just having the “best” product will win. This ignores many factors on brand, timing, pricing, profitability, etc. Engineers often see these roles as “easy” or “overhead” or “paper pushers” because they aren’t solving the “hard problems” but are still making as much or more than the engineering team and getting to drive the project direction. As a result there is often disdain for them.

Those “gantt charts” are actually vital to projects completing on time and budget, balancing resources and running a successful business.

See other comments on actual work but wanted to give you some insight into where the engineers are coming from

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In a way you’re the COO of the program. You make sure stuff gets done, communicate it out, and solve problems across the board. You can’t build something without organization. The PM does that.

However, to be fair, some PMOs take this to the next level with status reports and stuff that really does little to add value.

It’s a project manager basically

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The program manager should be managing multiple projects and projects managers.

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Yes, this. Program manager oversees multiple projects at a higher level and typically reports to the next level up, while a project manager manages all the pieces of the project, and reports to a program manager. It varies in each organization but this is the gist of it.

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It really depends on the size /scope of the program.

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Really dependent on the project. I'm a Program Manager working in public sector and I'm essentially managing the implementation of federal laws at an agency. Definitely not secretarial work

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There’s lots of range of competence and effort for program managers. If they are just “clipboard managers” and are ticking boxes then yes, they might as well be a gannt chart.

Some program managers are much more hands on in their projects and actually engage with teams to understand how to make them successful based on team capabilities and project requirements. That’s much harder than checking boxes, and it can make or break a program/project. Unfortunately, since most program managers don’t do this, their reputation is terrible.

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Make a detailed plan across a wide range of stakeholders and work streams, then hound them all to provide regular updates. That’s the bulk of it. Herding cats. There’s some other things sprinkled throughout but let’s try not to over sell what the role is in reality.

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Microsoft is one of the only places where a program manager is actually a product manager. There has been 30 years of confusion stemming from a nomenclature issue in the 90s at Microsoft haha

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I see... someone (also an engineer) said they are just gantt charts... (a bit condescending...) if true, it sounds like boring work...

Manage a program usually

Found the program manager

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