Another in the Archetypes series…

Everyone loves a hero. The PM, the architects and the client relish the long hours he puts into delivering results. When the client is told we don’t have the budget or manpower to add a feature, the hero’s cubicle is his first stop after the meeting. “Old man Baley says we can’t have this. But we NEED it.” The Hero hums and haws and complains how badly the project is being managed, then with a sigh says, “I’ll put it in. But this is the LAST TIME.”

The Hero then proceeds to circumvent your entire development architecture wedging the feature in because he doesn’t understand terms like “budget” and “resources”. All he cares about is getting his ego stroked and being the martyr that saved the project. The long hours he puts in are heralded by the PM and the client who don’t realize his effort is not directly correlated to the value he is delivering.

Project Managers and Clients will scoff at you when you make claims against their Hero. In their mind, he is a cornerstone in the project and whose absence will wreak havoc on the success of the project. Regardless of their actual ability, Heroes are often more trouble than they’re worth.