Should I complain to boss about my project manager?

Question

I recently resigned my job and currently serving my notice period. My Senior manager has convinced me to continue with the company. But I feel like I work with a project manager with limited or no technical knowledge. He is not involving himself into any technical discussion and he doesn't care about my areas of skill set.

Now I like to convey this as a primary reason for my resignation to my senior manager in the post resignation discussion. How can I convey this?

EDIT : Technical lead for this project left the organization couple of months back. Solution document for this project was prepared by her. There were few use cases from the solution document was not discussed with me and I have informed this to PM since he is now technical lead as well. And he has no idea about those requirements and I feel this should be properly taken to customer to have another call for the same. But he has not done that yet.

Answer 1

I think you may be misunderstanding the role of a project manager. It's not a PM's job to be technical some of the best PM's I've ever worked with would even be able to tell you which programming language was being used on the project. And that's absolutely fine since that's what the technical people are there for! In my experience it's when the ones who try and involve themselves in the technical conversations that are the problem!

Clearly though you were (are?) unhappy with things at the company but unless this particular PM is singling you out for different treatment than other members of the team I don't think your real issue is with him so I think you need to properly evaluate why you're feeling this way. Regarding the lack of involvement in "technical" discussions - is this because you feel like they aren't "pulling their weight" on the team? If so I'd refer you back to my first paragraph. If what you are actually meaning is that you feel a lack of technical leadership for the team (and you've mistaken the role of PM for that of tech lead) then it's the lack of technical leadership you should be discussing with your manager.

You also mention that

he doesn't care about my areas of skill set

Do you feel that you aren't getting sufficient training? Or is it a lack of recognition? Both can be valid concerns but these are things that are between you and the company, not you and the PM and you should be addressing such concerns with your manager. The PM is not responsible for you or your career development - their job is to get the project completed according to the requirements of the business.

Answer 2

A PM's job is to turn over tasks to you, and report status up the chain.

YOUR job, with the PM, is to:

1. Speak up if there are technical impossibilities, unclear functional specifications, or things beyond your level of skill. Negotiate alternatives.
2. Speak up if tasks won't meet a deadline, or if you don't have availability (going on vacation)
3. Report your progress at assigned intervals. Let the PM know that your deliverables are ready for next steps once you've done with them.

If you read carefully, you'll notice how none of these three things requires in-depth technical knowledge from the PM. I think you're expecting too much. If a PM had your technical expertise, why would a PM stay a PM? Think about it.

Answer 3

At this point, trying to explain the situation is probably futile. You will be talking to a blank wall. You have to realize that most companies mismanage software developers exactly the way that you are experiencing. You informing some VP will make absolutely no difference either to the way they do business or the way they treat their developers, yourself included. You are dealing with forces far too ingrained that one workers complaints would have an effect.

A bigger problem is that now the company will perceive you as "disgruntled". In other words, the company will not see their practices as a problem. They will see YOU as the problem. Even though they convinced you to stay, that was just desperation because they don't want to have a lag in development. They will probably seek to replace you as soon as it is convenient for them. You would be advised to look for a different job. At your next job, don't complain about failures in technological leadership at the company, it is normal.

Answer 4

Better to be honest than to obscure by omission. If they asked you to stay on, you have value to the company. They should be aware of the situation that made you resign in the first place, so they won't take it badly. Otherwise, they need to know so that the issue can be discussed.

In any case, you can always resign again if the work isn't suited to you, and next time make it stick. Honestly, if I felt enough to resign, no amount of wheedling would have brought me back in the first place.