Why We Don't Use Project Managers

This is one of those positions that sounds more radical than it is. We're not saying project management doesn't matter. We're saying that in most small-to-medium software engagements, a dedicated PM role creates more problems than it solves.

What a PM actually does

A project manager coordinates communication between people who aren't talking to each other directly. They translate requirements from stakeholders into tasks for engineers. They track progress, manage blockers, and report status.

Every one of those functions exists because there's a gap. A gap between the person who knows what's needed and the person building it.

The gap is the problem

When an engineer understands the domain directly, they don't need someone to translate requirements — they can ask their own clarifying questions. When they own the full timeline, they can track their own progress. When they communicate directly with the stakeholder, status reports write themselves.

The PM role doesn't fix the communication gap. It institutionalizes it.

What we do instead

The engineer on a Boring Code engagement is responsible for:

• Discovery — understanding the problem deeply enough to push back on bad requirements
• Scoping — breaking work into meaningful increments with real estimates
• Communication — updating the client directly, not through an intermediary
• Delivery — shipping and monitoring, not just writing code

This is more demanding. It requires engineers who are genuinely comfortable with ambiguity, client communication, and ownership of outcomes — not just execution of tickets.

The tradeoffs

We're not naive about this. The PM-free model works best when:

• The team is small (1-3 engineers)
• The client has a single clear point of contact
• The problem is well-scoped enough for an engineer to hold it in their head

For large teams, highly distributed work, or regulatory environments that require formal documentation, some PM function is necessary. We're not dogmatic. We're just honest about when it adds value versus when it's overhead.

At the scale we operate — forward deployed, AI-accelerated, direct — eliminating the intermediary is almost always the right call.