The development management role is the role whose purpose it is to keep the vision on track. This is much like a CEO, who sets the vision for an organization. This of course differs from the COO, who-like a project manager-ensures the day-to-day operations. While it's the project manager's goal to get the project to the finish line, it is the Development Manager 's responsibility to look ahead to make sure that the finish line is the right finish line to be reaching. While the project management position is a management position, the development manager role is a leadership position.

The development management role works closely with the project management role to ensure that the projects are completed. They also spend time working with the business owners on planning and preparing for new projects that will soon be consuming the group. They're constantly making small changes in the current project to get a better product, develop a better skill set in the group, or just generally preparing the development team for the next hurdle that they must face.