Practice Management
Work management is a purely managerial practice, while practice management is half engineering and half managerial. The practice manager should not be confused with the developer or architect of the system itself, even though they also engage in engineering work. Their focus is on the methods and practices used by the engineers of the system of interest, including which practices are adopted by developers and architects.
Practice management involves selecting the necessary methods and organizing the work around them within the organization.
The method manager ensures the integrity (of a system) of the method configuration, verifies and maintains the use of methods and tools. It is worth noting that the method manager often holds the position of CTO (Chief Technology Officer) and/or CIO (Chief Information Officer). At the same time, they possess a deep understanding of the practices that lead to the successful creation of a system. The method manager must be well-versed in the technological operations and services that the creation systems will provide in order to build the system of interest. They also establish the logical sequence for implementing practices, including identifying stages.
Practice management answers the question, “How does the organization operate so that a successful system is produced as a result?” This practice is considered engineering to the extent that it deals with practices as functional and role-based behaviors of the creation system. However, since this practice defines the structure of the system-creator, it is considered in cell 3.2 of the 3x3 Table.
Unlike a tree or a bird[1], a car or a house will not build itself, and a rocket will not launch itself into space. Someone must specify which methods and approaches to use, and in what sequence. This is precisely what method managers do. The attention of the method (practice) manager is directed toward the creation systems; their work artifact is people trained in the practices and the technologies/tools provided to support them.
The practice manager should not be confused with the enterprise architect. The latter is concerned with the modular structure of the enterprise—that is, how to divide it into organizational units so that these units can then be assigned to the appropriate practices. However, which practices these will be, their completeness, and the logical sequence of their execution are the interests of the practice manager. The practice manager is engaged in substantive discussions about engineering work methods.
Biological, natural systems develop on their own; their development is determined by evolution. Engineering systems, on the other hand, require the involvement of engineers. ↩︎