Review of managerial roles on IT projects - PM, PdM, DM, EM, RM and so on

When working on a large IT project or within a large IT company, you will encounter a lot of individuals in various managerial roles - such as Project Manager, Product Manager, Delivery Manager, Engineering Manager, Resource Manager, and others. But why are there so many different types of managers, and what distinguishes them from one another?

Let’s start with the most familiar role - Project Manager (PM). As defined by PMI [1], “Project managers are organized, goal-oriented professionals who use innovation, creativity, and collaboration to lead projects that make an impact”. PMs are responsible for outlining the project’s scope and timeline, planning, overseeing execution, managing the budget, etc. Project management as a discipline has a long history that predates the IT industry, with roots in architecture and civil engineering.

Given the broad scope of a PM responsibilities, one might wonder why other types of managers are needed for project delivery. The answer lies in the definition of a project itself. According to PMI, a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. The key point is that a project has a defined start and end, as well as a specific goal. In contrast, a product is an offering designed to meet customer needs or desires, and while a product may be created as part of a project, it typically evolves through a series of projects or just incremental changes over time.

This leads us to the next type of managerial role - Product Manager (PdM). A Product Manager is responsible for overseeing the development of a product within an organization. They are tasked with creating the product strategy or product vision, defining business and functional requirements, and managing the product roadmap, including feature releases. In this last aspect, the PdM’s role intersects with that of a Project Manager, though a PdM typically takes a less formalized approach to feature delivery. Product Managers often follow agile methodologies, delivering product features in small, incremental stages, with a flexible and adaptive delivery roadmap.

Additionally, PdMs place a stronger emphasis on the marketing and customer needs aspects of product development, bringing them closer to roles like Marketing Analysts and Business Analysts (BA). However, while these roles focus on specific areas, the PdM spans the analytical, delivery, and strategic dimensions of product development. It’s also worth noting that the Product Owner (PO) role in Scrum is closely aligned with the responsibilities of a Product Manager.

So far, we’ve reviewed the roles of Project Manager (PM) and Product Manager (PdM), which address two distinct types of deliverables: projects and products. But why are additional managerial roles needed?

The first reason is that large organizations rarely focus on a single project. Instead, they typically manage multiple projects, grouped into programs or portfolios. This is where two senior project management roles come into play - Program Manager and Portfolio Manager. Both oversee groups of projects, but the difference is that a program consists of related projects, while a portfolio contains unrelated projects. Program and Portfolio Managers are responsible for the oversight and successful delivery of these project groups, focusing on higher-level aspects such as formal status tracking, resource allocation, budget planning, and return on investment analysis, while staying less involved in individual project execution.

Now, let’s explore more specialized roles, starting with the Delivery Manager (DM). The DM role is often vaguely defined, for example, one definition states that a "Delivery Manager is responsible for the successful delivery of a project or product. They work with a team of developers, designers, and other professionals to ensure it is completed on time, within budget, and to the required quality standards" [2]. How, then, does this differ from the Project Manager role?

We believe that the first key distinction between PM and DM roles is in the expected level of responsibility. In traditional project management, the PM oversees a well-defined team - business analysts who gather and formalize requirements, architects who define the technical solution, developers who implement it, and quality engineers who ensure proper testing. The PM’s role is to create a plan, allocate tasks, and monitor execution, often relying heavily on input from these specialists. Since the PM cannot be an expert in every field, this sometimes leads to a situation where they become more of a Project Administrator, simply tracking formal status updates rather than actively driving execution.

In contrast, the Delivery Manager is primarily focused on ensuring successful and efficient delivery at every stage of the project. While the PM may rely on expert input without challenging it, the DM takes a more hands-on approach, actively pushing the project forward.

The second key distinction is in mindset and cross-disciplinary skills. A DM is expected to challenge assumptions, push the team towards delivery, and possess practical knowledge in the business domain and relevant disciplines such as business analysis and development. This enables the DM to better understand the work being done, assess the quality of deliverables, and anticipate the needs of the development team. While the DM is not required to write code or conduct code reviews, they should have a solid understanding of the development process and be able to evaluate the quality of IT deliverables and the team’s approach.

Let’s turn to the role of Engineering Manager (EM). There are various definitions of this role as well, such as, "an engineering manager ensures that the engineering projects assigned to them are completed, and that general engineering duties are fulfilled" [3]. At first glance, it’s hard to differentiate between the roles of a PM and an EM, since both are focused on ensuring project completion. However, the key distinction is that the EM places a strong emphasis on engineering aspects.

Typically, an EM has a background in development and is often a natural progression for those in Team Lead or Development Lead roles who want to stay engaged with the technical side rather than transitioning entirely into management. We would even go further and describe the Engineering Manager as a sort of Technical Product Manager. Similar to a Product Manager, an EM defines the technical vision for a product and works on delivering the technology roadmap - whether that’s managing technical debt or promoting the adoption of best engineering practices.

And finally let's look from the angle of specifics of the IT company itself. When looking at types of IT companies, they can generally be categorized into two broad groups: product companies and service companies. Product companies develop their own IT products and sell them either directly to consumers (B2C) or to other businesses (B2B). In contrast, service companies offer IT services, such as IT support or development as a service. Within this category, outsourcing and outstaffing companies are specific types of service providers. These companies employ large numbers of IT professionals (usually in cost-effective locations) and "sell" or "rent" their expertise to product companies as a quick and scalable way to enhance their IT capabilities.

A unique role often found in these service companies is that of the Resource Manager (RM). The RM serves as a people manager, overseeing the company’s most valuable asset - its workforce. Unlike a Project Manager, the RM is not typically involved in project delivery (although they may sometimes take on dual roles like PM or EM). Instead, the RM focuses on managing the talent pool, which includes supporting career development, handling compensation and performance management, resolving conflicts, and ensuring key performance indicators (KPIs) such as resource utilization, employee attrition, and profitability margins are met.