I’ve been asked a couple times now to do Wireframing. I know it’s an incredibly valuable skill, and that people who can do it well are 10x more valuable for web development projects than those that can’t. Unfortunately however, I tend to not be so hot at it. I don’t have the years of study in User Interface Design that’s really crucial to the task. Don’t get me wrong: I’m committed to life-long learning. But in the interim however, I’m definitely not the right person for the job.

Reason this comes to mind is during a pinch on a project recently I had to step in and do it. What it made me realize is just how important it is to use the right people for the right jobs and the right tools for the right tasks. A simulation we ran back in college factored this in well: if you tried to stick the electrical engineer in the computer programmer’s job, he’d get the stuff done, but only at 60-percent effectiveness. Same thing for me and wireframing: from a seasoned hand, it’ll be done in half the time with twice the quality. Experience, learning curves, personal skill level all factors in.

So, I’m definitely not complaining. I love the opportunity to learn. But it’s critical to keep in mind the selections we make when assigning tasks on a project. With the right person, things run smoothly, on time, under budget. It’s when we goof that things go awry. And we can’t always rely on the person, who wants to learn, who needs experience, to step up and suggest they aren’t the best person for the job.

Then there’s that trade off that any long-term project manager has to make: mentoring and knowledge transfer vs. timelines and budgets. I’m starting to really appreciate the judgment calls people above me had to make.