The ‘T’ in the TPM

Being technically strong is a very important part of being a successful TPM. This article will focus only on the technical aspect of how a TPM can contribute to a project, not the 50 other things he/she does. Those things range from broader cross functional alignment, up-down/sideways communication, project management, technical leadership, building strategy, leadership meetings, hiring, interviewing, org contributions & such but let’s just focus on the technical aspects here, as that is question i get most often.

Here are my top 10 list of things that you can do as a TPM to become and continue being technically strong.

1. Get embedded in the technical discussions happening in the meetings / hallways.
2. Get involved in the code reviews.
3. Participate in Hackathons.
4. Make sure to have a working enlistment / source code checked out on your machines and then try making small changes (just to get your hands dirty with end to end code checkin cycles.)
5. Keep regular meetings with your peer engineering managers, IC engineers, Test teams – understand their concerns and work with them as closely as your schedule permits.
6. Comment on the documents & posts, and don’t be afraid to ask questions which you might think could be stupid. That’s better than being one.
7. Do your own research in your free time, take up classes watch videos for them on IG Reels or Youtube. Yes, they have videos other than cat videos.
8. Read books which are relevant to your area of work.
9. Start a blog if possible.
10. and lastly, get a mentor who you know is a technical leader in your space.