Toward a better software project manager

The software engineering profession has experienced several decades of almost unnoticed successes and famous failures. Over that time, its accomplishments have far exceeded what the founders of this profession could have foreseen. One aspect of software engineering that has gone almost unnoticed is the necessity for competent software project managers. Recent studies have shown that the software project manager plays a much more significant role in the success of software projects than previously thought. This article examines the role software project managers play in the development of software systems, explains why this has been largely overlooked, and proposes that the practice of software project management has always been and continues to be critical to the success of software projects today and into the future.