If given a choice which role (Developer, Team/Tech Lead, Project Manager) would you like to remove from an organization?

If any company really looking for deliverable interns of systems/money etc, anything, Project manager key to value add. So Moving forward all companies must drive company towards project based approach.

Very interesting question. I have been in IT industry for more than ten years. Started as developer and now as technical project manager.It all depends on the size of the project to be executed. If the project size is big, It definitedly requires PM who can do coordinate different aspects of the project and lead the project to completion. For small projects, probably, you may not need a full time PM.

Its not related to designations. One who works and need of the situation stays. rest to be sacked.

Simple

It's interesting to note that many of us think that one of these 3 distinctively different roles can be made redundant. That's probably due to the way we look at vertical growth in our organizations: Developers- Leads- Project Managers. In my opinion, if any technology firm provides suitable, sustainable horizontal growth opportunities to its technical workforce then coders/developers won't look to gradutate into project managers over the years. It's only when developers who are extremely good at their work, become project managers; that organizations suffer on both the aspects. Not to say that developers cannot be project managers, but to stress that they dont need to become project managers if they are given ample opportunities to grow as developers.

As functions, project management and development are both essentials for the organization. Hence, neither can be ruled out. Tech/Team Lead should be the one with a wider horiztonal skills across organization's technical processes; thereby a suitable growth path for the developer.

Cheers

researcher  ::: interpretor  ::: code writer

you need nobody except the troika

Thanks for very interesting question and equivalently insightful answers.

For me each role has following one liners --- For details I dumped very long explantion (One day TooStep can think of replacing Long Answer with a Audio or Video clip :)) - Ideas nobody's monopoly.

PM - Outward as well as Inward face of Organisation's business as well as delivery goals typically Multi tasking guy with good insight on delivery issues (technical, commerical etc.)

PL - Inward facing role to lead the team - Concentrate on Quality, standards, glue factor for the team for technical and design issues. ( Typically Technical guy with good pepole management) - Need to manage outsource as well as insource team members.

Developers - Role can be employee or outsourced vendor - guy can code in given technology without DEFECTS ( oops sorry less DEFECTS - Defect are synonyms to humans)

We have left behind TESTERS and DESIGNER apart from support roles like SEPG ,SQA etc . (I have seen cases where BA and SQA army in some companies asking PL and PM to write process for them :-))

DETAILED Version (Put u r self as Head of Delivery in INFY, CapGemini, IBM sized company)

I have tried to put across requirement of each of the role in typical project assuming large ticket value exceeding 10KUSD or more of revenue resulting in 15 to 20 % profit margin.

Developers - This role in project expects to understand Design and convert it into DEFECT free (LESS DEFECT is acceptable within SIGMA limits) executable code for testing. Follow coding standards and latest frameworks for programming to innovate the module and design.

Developers goal is to write 'DEFECT FREE' code ( As per past experience as QA Manager, I have seen some fanastic cases of coders writing code with out documentation and unit testing :-) as well as PL deploying it in production)

Vijay Bhaskar may be able to provide better examples of the same:-)

PL - Read BR(Biz requirement) take the help or self content High level and Low level design... do the baseline and WBS for the work and allocate to developers based on their skills and ability (Sometimes based on no. of Beer sessions devlopers have with PL :).

PL ensures Defects being controlled, documentation done as per QA standards, provide guideance to programmers.

PM -PM as role is involved in entire engagement cycle of the project. I agree PL or TL can be acting as PM in project so role wise and ownership wise role's santity stays but, actual guy in terms of experience can be anybody.

BID/ Sales agreement >>> Project planning >>> Project Execution >>> Project Control/Oversight >>> Project Clousure..

Usually involved from Bid time to engage with client for bid for feasibility and estimations to re-inforce the revenue and margin. Typical situation of skill mix, insource (Wether development or testing or even design) work to be done internally or outsource to reduce cost are done by PM and Bid Manager. Onsite offshore ratio if we consider TCS,INFY etc. are maanged and controlled by PM.

PM acts as frontline communication apex point to talk to customer in case scope creeps and CRs, escalations for inactions from customer side as well as looks for more business in same account.

There are always disputes on Quality v/s deliverable at the time of closure of project and IT service provider end up loosing monie..Sales personnel will never be able to stand in for the same.

I would like to add that, it is not ncessary that PM being full time involved in single project and can do muliple projects (Some of the complex BIDs of outsourcing are itself act as Project in IT service providers like IBM,HP, EDS, Accenture etc... ) but again all this depends on how organisation wants to leverage from PM role and can ask some of the managers or PRoject leaders to act as PM role.

I think we missed TESTER's role in question but Developer can not test his own code so in small projects, Coders exchange their codes for testing with his peer which will do more than a PEER review and test the code.

But still I feel good TESTER will test in SIT (System Integration test) Enviorment, Near Production enviorment with live data and code to get the released SEGAUED to new solution.

To summarise, ROLE in project need to be removed but in present scenario organisation can look at inter playing roles as suggested by others.

Developers -- Can't be coz who will actually code so-- NO

Leads-- Can't be coz developers needs help and coaching so -- NO

PM-- May be Yes coz Leads can be given some more responsibily and can manage the stuff

** With no offense to all the PM's :)

In this current times, every company is going lean. PM's are under more pressure to deliver with less resources. It would be proper to identify key stakeholders for the project & then removing the unwanted weed. The decision should also be taken keeping the upcoming projects (project's pipeline) in mind as it would be proper to shuffle your resources as per the need of required depts.