I'm a project manager why do I need domain knowledge for?
It’s an age-old argument within project management. As a project manager, is it important to have domain knowledge of the sector or area you’re working in? Or is being a professional project manager s
I think the idea that you need to be a subject matter expert in the area you’re managing probably came from the period before project management was organised as a profession. Subject matter experts, like engineers were given projects to run as they were deemed suitable to deliver them successfully due to their expertise in engineering.
Or the classic ‘accidental project manager’, where a subject matter expert is asked to deliver a project and will act as project manager, subject matter expert and business analyst.
There is no clear definition of domain knowledge. Wikipedia defines it as “…knowledge of a specific discipline or field in contrast to general (or domain-independent) knowledge. The term is often used in reference to a more general discipline—for example, in describing a software engineer who has general knowledge of computer programming as well as domain knowledge about developing programs for a particular industry. People with domain knowledge are often regarded as specialists or experts in their field.”1
Benefits of having domain knowledge
This doesn’t mean that you have to be an expert and know the industry but it does mean that you need to have some knowledge of the industry and domain, trends and developments and factors that affect it.
There are many benefits of having domain knowledge:
You’re able to communicate effectively with your clients and stakeholders.
You’re able to run workshops and discussions with your team, who has expertise in the field.
Understand the impact of requirements and solutions on delivery and outcomes
It makes it easier to understand the project, the constraints, processes and do the work.
You can understand the trends and developments within the domain or industry and their impact on the project.
You understand what people are talking about and what questions to ask
understand the reason, drivers and can start having nuanced conversations and provide options
Double-Edged Sword
One thing to be clear though - you’re employed as a project manager, not as a subject matter expert.
You cannot lose sight of successfully delivering the project and managing all the components that come along with that; planning, financial, stakeholder management, risk management etc. That is the domain you need to focus on.
Other team members on the project are subject matter experts - the business analyst, product owner, CX designer and the solution architect.
It may be tempting to dive in and get into the details because of your knowledge, but you can easily lose sight of delivering the project.
How to develop domain knowledge
Below are several ways to develop domain knowledge:
Attend industry events - this will help with developing your network and understanding current trends and developments within the industry.
courses and online learning - there are so many online course providers to choose from. Make sure it’s relevant and they are reputable providers.
read industry reports and articles - a great way to stay abreast of news and developments.
ask questions, be inquisitive - ask your stakeholders, don’t feel the need to know everything.
Use Generative AI - with generative AI becoming mainstream, this is a good and effective way to develop your domain knowledge. But be careful. The information may be incorrect, you need to spend time verifying it to make sure it is accurate.
A good approach to start building domain knowledge would be to:
understand the acronyms
get a view of the industry, sector or domain broadly. Don’t deep dive yet.
Talk to people and interview stakeholders to understand. They might have a perspective not evident in the various resources. Ask loads of questions.
Deep dive into the key areas that you have identified to be important or interesting.
Once you understand your domain area, the next question is to know how it impacts your project management work.
What does this mean to the project?
What are key risks, constraints and issues that may impact the project?
What areas do you need to understand a bit more to manage your project more effectively?
What considerations do you need to include when planning the project? Areas to consider are activities, resourcing, non-people costs and timing.
How does your project management framework need to adapt to the new domain?
You’re not the expert
You’re not the expert, there are other team members and stakeholders on the project who are. You do need to understand the domain (industry, technical field and organisation) so that you can run your project effectively.
Practice
Log into Chat GPT. Use it to develop a primer/ background briefing for an industry that you’re not familiar with. Develop the primer to contain the following information:
background and developments of the industry
key drivers of the industry
trends within the industry
challenges of the industry
key risks, issues and constraints to watch out for when running a project in the industry
activities that you need to consider when running a project within the industry
If you are not familiar with ChatGPT, there are many free resources (see below) on the internet to learn.
Quote
“In times of change, learners inherit the earth; while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” Eric Hoffer
Resources
Some free resources for using ChatGPT. I haven’t done them but they come from reputable sites. Let me know whether they are any good.
Code Academy introduction to ChatGPT
Simplilearn full course (might be overkill as it’s 7 hours long!)
Prompt engineering from Coursera
My Resources
Below are some of my free resources if you’re new to project management.
Paid Resources
Simple and Effective Project Risk Management - for those new to project management. It will teach you what you need to know and get you started quickly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_knowledge