Managing a mobile app development project is often more challenging than it sounds. There are dozens of things you need to keep track of, including budget and deadlines.
Project managers (PMs) work as a mediator between a customer and tech team. These professionals are skilled at planning the development process and managing the project from start to finish.
In terms of development experience, software developers have no rivals. Naturally, it seems that they’re a perfect fit for a PM position. That’s definitely true, but it means that a developer stops coding and starts managing teams.
Developers cannot code and be PMs at the same time. When they’re managing teams and communicating with clients, they aren’t writing code. For example, when I’m coding, I’m totally focused on the code. But when I get distracted, I lose track of what’s going on, and after returning to the code, I need additional 10-15 minutes to pick back up.
Developers should code and project managers should manage the team and control the app development process.
If you’re not going to hire a PM, then you should become a PM. After all, you know your idea better and you’re responsible for the whole app development project.
But can you stop doing everything else except managing your app development project?
If your answer is no, then it’s better to hire a professional project manager to get your app developed. Time estimates, budget, feature lists, and mockups are only a small part of a PM’s job, but there are bugs, integrations, and lots of other technical issues that need to be solved along the way.
But you can always become a product owner for your project. You’ll be the one who checks the progress, prioritizes tasks and makes final decisions on what features to add. Leave all the routine work like planning and team management to PMs.
Check out our article “What if We Skip the Discovery Phase?”
It’s hard to understand whether your PM is a good or bad one at first sight. Let’s learn how to find and hire a good PM.
Before hiring PMs, check if they:
Being a PM isn’t as difficult as it appears, but it requires specific skills and knowledge. A PM is an essential part of a development team. When this person is left out, it can cost both time and money.
If you have no development background or experience managing app development teams, it’s better to hire a PM than to take the risk.
