Windows 7 Ultimate blog now-who-reports-to-who

Reader Novastuck asks: How's the corporate hierarchy structured at Microsoft - I don't understand what these titles floating around mean Group Program Manager, Sr. Program Manager, Program Manger Management, Program Manager. I work here, and I am confused sometimes with who reports to whom within the same group! Yes, those titles are confusing. Here’s the basic structure of how it works: A Program Manager (PM) is an individual contributor – meaning the PM is not a people manager. A PM typically owns a feature or set of smaller features within a product. You may see the title Sr. Program Manager floating around from time to time. That, obviously, would refer to a more senior PM. However, Sr. PM is not a standard title so some very senior Program Manager roles are usually open under just the name “Program Manager.” So the tip here is to look at years of experience required to determine which are the most senior of the individual contributor Program Managers. A Lead Program Manager (Lead PM) is a front-line manager. A Lead PM usually manages a small team (~5) of individual contributor PMs. The Lead PM is responsible for looking out for the larger feature set owned by his direct reports. A Group Program Manager (GPM) is a manager of managers. A GPM also manages a small team (~5) of Lead PMs (who, in turn, manage the individual contributor PMs). The GPM is responsible for a very large feature set or a product comprised of the individual components owned by her directs and their directs. Program Manager Management is just a standard term used to search both LPM and GPM roles on our careers site. It’s not a real title internally though. Additionally, Software Design Engineer in Test (SDET) and Software Development Engineer (SDE) organizational chains work the same as with PMs. SDET: A group of SDETS report to a SDET Lead (sometimes called Test Lead) who reports to a SDET Manager (or Test Manager.) SDE: A group of SDEs report to a SDE Lead (sometimes called Development Lead) who reports to a SDE Manager (or Development Manager.) The GPM, SDET Manager, and SDE Manager for a set of features or product all report into the same uber-manager, who is responsible for all program management, development, and test for that area. Thoroughly confused now? Ok, here’s how the peer relationship works: Hierarchy Level 1: PM = SDET = SDE Hierarchy Level 2: Lead PM = SDET Lead = SDE Lead Hierarchy Level 3: Group PM = SDET Manager = SDE Manager Hierachy Level 4: Uber-manager Questions? I think I’ve confused myself now! This, of course, is a generalization and not all groups at Microsoft work exactly like this, but it’s about the easiest way to explain it that I can figure. gretchen P.S. Funnily enough, I did hesitate in writing this because I can now envision all these recruiters saying, “Gold mine! The organizational structure of Microsoft!” But then I thought if they couldn’t figure this out on their own by reading our various job descriptions, they probably aren't very good recruiters. Plus,Windows 7 Ultimate, as I said, this is a broad generalization, and it’s most important for you all to understand how that reporting structure works.