Why Our Project Managers Are Tech-Savvy?

At its core, htmlBurger is a technology company founded and shaped up by a group of tech guys who decided to join forces and do things their own way. Ever since, and it’s been fourteen years now, we are still true to our tech roots and try to keep our culture of a startup company with its own project management process. 

We are mentioning this for a reason. Although we may not have MBAs, what we do have, is our own unique way of doing everything. And our company structure is the foundation to build on top. We chose to create many but small teams of developers based on their interests and expertise. Each team has a dedicated project manager who has a development background. That is usually a person with a computer science degree and the willingness to roll up sleeves and jump straight into coding if needed.

Of course, what’s valid today, may not work for tomorrow. And we feel comfortable with that because our culture of a startup gives us all the flexibility we need. During the years we transformed htmlBurger in many different directions. We can quickly rethink some concepts and change the course of action if we see this would help both – our clients and our growth.

With no further ado, let’s see how our project management process works and why we think it’s a good idea that all our managers were all developers first.

Have Deep Technical Understanding of Your Project

Being the tech geeks they are, our project managers may not be so chatty and salesy sometimes. This, however, doesn’t mean they aren’t great communicators. Know that you work with an expert in the field with a deep understanding of a project’s needs. That is someone that will give you valuable advice and lead your development project to success.

Sometimes, certain problems have very simple and cost-effective solutions. And it’s our manager’s role to unveil those and advise you, instead of sticking to selling a bigger and more complicated project. After all, we are tech guys – not salespeople.

In addition to taking the lead in the communication with you, our managers also have a strong understanding of coding too. They can easily lead a tech team and involve themselves in everything that goes around internally. Your dedicated managers keep a constant connection with the developers that work on your projects and they have full awareness of how everything is going, at all stages and at all times.

Keep Simple Flat Company Structure For Effective Communication

This is how it works when you get in touch with us for a new project. You will be in direct contact with the project manager of a small team. That manager is the mediator between you and the developers who will work on your project.

We have chosen this workflow for quicker and more efficient communication, involving as few people as possible. This way nothing gets lost in the process, and every piece of information, is documented and available for everyone at any time.

Amongst the best ways to do that, is through our client’s portal. We have fully integrated this area into our project management processes as a great way of organizing client communication and keeping everything in one place.

Preserve the Startup Culture

There is a second reason for keeping the company structure flat and organizing everything around small teams. It is to help our managers lead a team that is like a small company and has a certain level of autonomy. This way, while you are working with a company of 150+ people, you still have the feeling that you are part of a small crew that is tailored to your needs.

It’s what creates the same effect of a small start-up company, highly flexible and open to communication.

Build Masters, And Help Our Developers Grow

Another thing we implement is career development within the company. We rarely bring in external resources or hire project managers from the outside. In fact, every team leader is someone who has worked as a developer within the same team, before that.

It’s all about empowering great people within the company to grow and develop.

You could check out the stories of our leading Shopify and WordPress experts with lots of insights in their interviews.

Cultivate the Collaboration, Support, and Growth

Building small teams of developers that specialize in certain fields has been at our core from the very beginning ever we founded htmlBurger. And that’s not а coincidence. Here we believe the collaboration within and between the teams creates an environment of support where you can learn new things every day and grow your talents in many different directions.

Conclusion: Be True To Our Tech Company Roots

The culture of a technology company is deeply engraved in everything we do. You can count that when it comes to trying out the latest technologies in web development, you have a partner in crime. When necessary, the managers can do some coding too. It might be testing something new, helping their team, or just for fun.

And it’s our belief that being true to ourselves and keeping our culture is what makes our project management process so unique. 14 years later, you still come to us and we build great products together.

Additional Readings

If you find this article interesting, I think you may also like the one about our front-end coding standards or check the quick story about our experience in front-end development since 2005 and what has changed since then.