微软的Program and project management的历史

当阅读The Art of Project Management, Scott Berkun给我们一个有趣的历史回顾: 微软是什么时候和为什么创建Program Manager的角色的. 原文摘录如下

" Microsoft had a problem in the late 1980s regarding how to coordinate engineering efforts with the marketing and business side of each division (some might say this is still a problem for Microsoft and many other companies). A wise man named Jabe Blumenthal realized  that there could be a special role of both leadership and coordination. He'd be involved in the project from day one of planning, all the way through the last day of testing. It had to be someone who was at least technical enough to work with and earn the respect of programmers, but also who had talents and interests for broader participation in how products were made.

For this role to work, he'd have to enjoy spending his days performing tasks as varied as writting specifications, reviewing marketing plans, generating project schedules, leading teams, doing strategic planning, running bug/defect triage, cultivating team morale, and doing anything else that needed to be done that no one else was doing (well). This new role at Microsoft was called program manager. Not everyone on the team would report directly to him, but the program manager would be granted significant authority to lead and drive the project. (In management theory, this is roughly the idea of matrix organization, where there are two lines of reporting structure for individuals: one based on function and the other based on project. So, an individual programmer or tester might have two reporting relationships - a primary one for her functional role and a secondary but strong, one for the project she works on.)

Jabe played this role on a product called Multiplan (later to become Microsoft Excel), and it worked. The engineering and development process improved along with the quality of coordination with the business team, and throughout the hallways at Microsoft there was much rejoicing. After many memos and meetings, most teams within the company slowly adopted the role. .... "