IT Project Management – Meet the Lecturer, Gagi Ninoshvili
Today, many companies are undergoing digital transformation, with advancements in information technology offering new opportunities. These innovations help create new digital products and services or improve existing ones, simplifying people’s everyday lives. IT project management plays a crucial role in successfully implementing these processes.
Due to market trends, the demand for professional IT project managers is continuously increasing. If you’re looking to acquire a highly paid profession and have an interest in digital products, you’re in the right place. Meet Gagi Ninoshvili, a lecturer at Commschool, who will give you a comprehensive understanding of this field.
Gagi’s experience in the field began in 2020 when he joined Flutter (then Singular) as an IT project manager. Soon after, he took on the additional role of Scrum Master, gaining valuable experience in understanding and implementing Agile approaches. He later worked at EPAM Systems as a business analyst for a year, where he further developed his skills and prepared for a product management role. After that, he worked for two years at Setanta Sports as a streaming product manager, and then transitioned to Space International, where for one year, he led transfer, payment, and international remittance products for TBC Uzbekistan’s market. Currently, Gagi is working at the startup Moiispro AI, which aims to integrate AI solutions into the everyday workflows of companies in the region.
In today’s world, growth is unimaginable without continuous learning. Gagi notes that over the past five years, not a single week has gone by where he hasn’t learned something new—whether from work processes, interacting with people, or gaining theoretical knowledge.
For Gagi, gaining new knowledge in the field is driven by curiosity. He spends most of his free time researching, listening to podcasts and video lectures, or simply reading the news. This allows him to view everyday work issues from different perspectives. In terms of modern resources, Gagi believes that exploring various educational websites and learning from today’s successful individuals is more valuable than simply reading professional literature or pursuing certifications, though he does not diminish the importance of theoretical certification.
Profession: IT Project Manager
At the age of 15-16, when he first began to understand business decisions, Gagi started reading and analyzing various business cases. He realized that thinking about solving business problems would be something he’d be actively involved with in the future. At the same time, he knew his daily work would need to be closely connected with modern technology. These thoughts led him to the Business School of Free University. Eventually, Gagi found himself in IT project management and then product management, which turned out to be exactly what he had envisioned at 15-16, even though he didn’t know back then that it was called “product management.”
Simply put, IT project management is the art of turning an idea into reality. A project manager must be able to take even a few words of an idea and transform it into a complete, detailed plan. Then, they must gather a team around them and guide the team through the phases of planning, executing, monitoring, launching, and closing the project.
The project manager’s role is proactive by nature. These are the individuals who manage the project’s workflow, assist the team members, and work to improve the overall effectiveness of the team. A large part of an IT project manager’s job is ensuring proper and timely communication. They take responsibility for any delays or unexpected changes and must efficiently involve other teams in resolving issues or managing changes when necessary.
The demand for IT project managers is growing both locally and globally, driven by technological advancements and the widespread accessibility of these technologies.
Gagi emphasizes that in today’s digital world, countless ideas are born and die simply because we didn’t try hard enough, didn’t gather enough people, couldn’t secure sufficient resources, or simply didn’t process the idea in enough detail. This is why the role of IT project managers has become more popular—there is a growing need for leaders who can turn ideas into reality.
One of the most significant guarantees that the demand for project managers will grow in the coming years is artificial intelligence (AI). AI opens up endless possibilities, but these ideas cannot be fully developed without project management skills.
Knowledge and Skills Needed for IT Project Management
Two main methodologies are typically highlighted in project management: Waterfall and Agile.
Waterfall is a more structured methodology where you cannot start a new phase without completing the previous one. This is rare in modern digital projects, but a good example of the Waterfall approach is construction, where the budget is fixed, the plan is detailed, and each stage requires the previous one to be completed before moving forward.
For modern digital projects, Agile methodology and its Scrum framework are considered the most effective approaches today. Agile is not just a management methodology but a mindset that focuses on understanding, collaboration, communication, and continuous improvement, as reflected in Agile’s core principles.
In addition to a sense of responsibility, Gagi believes that strong communication skills are the most essential for project managers. Communication with the team, stakeholders, and customers significantly increases the chances of project success. Gagi notes that acquiring hard skills is the easiest part of learning this profession because there is nothing insurmountable in mastering theoretical knowledge.
The key focus, however, is on soft skills and the right mindset, enabling you to view the process from the perspective where quick responses are needed. Potential problems and risks can be avoided through proper and timely communication.
A tool Gagi can’t imagine working without is Miro. For a project manager, it’s crucial to communicate ideas clearly, quickly, and understandably to the appropriate audience—whether that’s team members, stakeholders, other teams, customers, or top management. Visualization is the simplest and most effective way to do this. Additionally, task management and document management tools are also important. Although many different programs are used in various work environments (ClickUp, Trello, Asana), Gagi considers Jira and Confluence to be unmatched in this regard.
Career Prospects
Anyone from any profession can start a career in this field. Previous experience can be valuable when studying IT project management, especially if your work involves communication and planning. According to Gagi, a common misconception is that the lack of experience in IT is a barrier to becoming an IT project manager, which is a big mistake. Learning project management doesn’t require in-depth IT knowledge—just a basic understanding of the field, which can be acquired during the learning process.
Artificial intelligence is creating an endless wave of opportunities that will only grow larger in the coming years. However, this does not mean that the role of project managers is at risk. In fact, the opportunities AI provides require proper management. AI can plan projects perfectly, but we need to evaluate whether these plans meet our needs. We must see the needs of customers and plan projects accordingly, alongside AI. When it comes to implementation, the role of the project manager remains indispensable.
Each new project involving AI provides new knowledge and opens the door to future projects. Acquiring, absorbing, and analyzing this knowledge is crucial for IT project managers.
About the IT Project Management Course
As mentioned, Gagi will lead the IT Project Management course at Commschool. The knowledge gained from this course will be sufficient to independently manage your first digital project. Basic knowledge is essential in this field, and short-term courses like those offered at Commschool are the most convenient way to acquire it. Most of the lectures will focus on analyzing real-life cases, where you will discuss successful strategies and potential mistakes an IT project manager or team could make in different situations.
The course covers managing IT projects using Agile methodology, Scrum framework implementation, identifying project risks, and creating action plans. It’s a practical, hands-on learning experience, where you’ll complete various tasks and an individual project, gaining valuable practical experience.
For initial knowledge, Gagi recommends Atlassian’s simple learning materials, which provide a good overview of terminology and concepts. Additionally, he emphasizes the importance of incorporating AI into the self-development process, as spending time with AI tools is incredibly valuable. With tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google Gemini, you can learn how to properly frame tasks for AI, which will, in turn, provide more useful information.
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