How to transition from Programmer to PM

[Guy Hill]

I've seen many programmers try to make the transition to Project Manager. Some of them are successful, and some are not.

In your opinion, what are some of the things that a Programmer should focus on when making the transition to Project Manager?

[Vijay Jagannathan]

I suppose this is where soft skills come into play. To be a manager, the most important thing is people management. Of course, the developer / programmer will also need to have the technical skills to look at a project as a large picture and make decisions to lead the same....

[Paul Michael]

IMHO, transitioning from Programmer to Project Manager is not for the faint of heart. And it's not what most Programmers I know want to be when they climb up the corporate ladder. Most of them just want to churn out code for the rest of their lives.

But for a programmer who really wants to be a Manager, I guess he must possess the following qualities:

- Good with People (motivate, reprimand)
- Good with Schedule (no scope creep please!)
- Good understanding of Domain