# Why Project Management Is a Critical Skill for Experienced Engineers

DevFeed: [Why Project Management Is a Critical Skill for Experienced Engineers](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/the-one-thing-every-experienced-engineer-gets-wrong-37647.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://swizec.com/blog/the-one-thing-every-experienced-engineer-gets-wrong>)

Author: hi@swizec.com (Swizec Teller)

Published: 2026-07-11T00:00:00Z

Content type: opinion

Language: en

Sources: [Swizec Teller](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/swizec-teller.md>)

Topics: [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>), [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>), [Users](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/users.md>)

Tags: [development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/development.md>), [project-management](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/project-management.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [users](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/users.md>)

## AI overview

The article argues that experienced engineers often struggle when given ownership of a project defined by goals rather than preassigned tasks. It presents breaking complex problems into actionable work, clarifying the definition of done, and understanding user impact as critical engineering skills.

## Source excerpt

In the last few months every engineer I hired stumbled in exactly the same way: Project management. They learned quickly, but that first big project has become a rite of passage.