The central element of Leonid Reiman’s approach to managing large technology projects is the final result. A well-organized process does not by itself mean that a problem is being solved. The goal should be defined from the beginning, and the chosen path should be continuously checked against that goal.
Reiman is a telecommunications specialist, entrepreneur, and consultant. He received his engineering education at the Bonch-Bruevich Leningrad Electrotechnical Institute of Communications and began his career with engineering projects connected, among other things, with early mobile communications and the launch of Delta Telecom.
In complex projects, he suggests breaking a large problem into separate elements. For example, large-scale internet development requires separate attention to connection costs, competition and pricing, backbone network quality, and the last mile. Once each problem has an accountable party and tools for addressing it, a large task becomes more manageable.
Reiman also points out that questions arise after a system is launched that can easily be
underestimated during construction. Who is responsible for channel quality? How quickly are problems resolved? Are the roles of regional teams, operators, and contractors clearly understood? For this reason, going live is not the finish line. It is the first serious stress test of a solution. A project can be considered successful when the system withstands normal load and emerging problems are resolved before they become a serious crisis.
Scalability is particularly important for infrastructure. Reiman notes that a pilot proves little if it cannot be reproduced in hundreds of cities and thousands of organizations. He points to the experience of bringing internet access to all schools in the Magadan Region, where the complexity of the territory provides a real test of the model.
See also: The future of logistics: how tech is changing deliveries
Artificial intelligence is another modern example of a systemic technology challenge. Reiman is interested in the impact of AI on networks, security, identification, traffic analysis and user protection. In phone and digital fraud, artificial intelligence works in both directions: it helps identify suspicious patterns more quickly while also enabling more convincing fraudulent schemes.
This approach continues his broader professional work in telecommunications. During his government career, Reiman worked on the development of communications infrastructure, expanding internet access, modernizing infrastructure and supporting digital broadcasting.
For a large technology project, therefore, the important measure is not the amount of work completed or the number of interim decisions, but the point at which it can honestly be said that the original problem has been solved.