Case Study Analysis

Project Resources

Project Management in the Information Age MASY1-GC 1250

Session 3

V21.1

People Deliver Projects!

Skills needed to manage them: • Organizational • Administrative • Interpersonal

Projects often fail due to: • The wrong people • Good people without enough time and support

PMBOK doesn’t help enough here!

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Current Trend

From “Command and Control”

To

“Connect and Collaborate”

Driven by the “Millennial” generation!

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Self-Managed Teams

“A group of employees who have day-to-day responsibility for managing themselves and the work they do with a minimum of direct supervision.”

- Association for Quality and Participation

This is preferred by agile project management methods!

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The ‘Human Resources’ of a Project

• The building of a team…unit • A staffing management plan • Roles and responsibilities • The effective use of the project participants • Manage, lead, and motivate • The project organization chart

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The ‘Physical Resources’ of a Project

• Materials • Equipment • Supplies • Facilities • And more!

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Attitudes and Values

• Shared goals • High involvement • Shared risk • Innovative behavior • Continuous improvement • Ability to stretch • A ‘Unit’…

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Team Culture

• Shared vision, mission, values, and beliefs • Shared policies, procedures, and methods • Shared motivation and rewards systems • Shared risk • Shared code of conduct • Shared work ethic • Shared operating environment

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Essential Team Characteristics

• Participation • Respect • Listens • Leadership • Common Goal

• Purpose • Empowered • Responsible • Makes Decisions • Facilitate

A Positive Working Environment

• Ground rules • Listening skills • Meeting management • Continuous learning • Team identity

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Project Resource Management Processes

• Plan Resource Management • Estimate Activity Resources • Acquire Resources • Develop Project Team • Manage Project Team • Control Resources

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Plan Resource Management

• A resource management plan addresses all of the necessary processes

• It describes o The types of people and physical resources needed o The number needed of each o The required assignments o How resources will be acquired o How people will be trained, managed and rewarded o How people will be reintegrated to their ‘homes’

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Estimate Activity Resources

• Integrates with schedule management • Expert judgment

o Specialized knowledge • Alternative analysis

o Comparison • Published data and parametric

o Vendor information • Bottom up estimates

o Data decomposition

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Acquire Resources

• Project Resources o People (Work) o Equipment (Work) o Material (Supplies) o Costs (Associated expenses)

This intersects with scope management, stakeholder management and procurement management, among other areas!

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The Project Team

• Executive Sponsor or Owner • Steering Committee • Project Manager • Business Analysts • Technical Analysts • Subject Matter Expert (SME) • Adjunct Members • Project Champion(s)

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Team Development Stages: Tuckman’s Ladder

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Forming

Storming

Norming Performing

Adjourning

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Forming

• Clarify purpose • Define roles • Set goals and expectations • Build relationships • Establish ways to work together

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Storming

• Unclear purpose • Lack of role clarity • Lack of clear expectations • Behavioral style differences • Lack relationship building • Lack of trust • Inability to collaborate

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Norming

• The team identity emerges • Behaviors are adjusted • Understandings and agreements emerge • Priority to resolve problems • Harmony • Motivation • Team autonomy

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Performing

• The team is a unit • Constructive conflict • Competent • Autonomous • Empowered to make decisions • Non-directive roles • Self directed

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Adjourning

• Tasks completed • Milestones achieved • Mission accomplished • Purpose fulfilled • Reason for being finished • Lessons learned • Celebrate!

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Building Team Performance

• Establish urgency and direction • Set clear ground rules • Set performance-oriented tasks/goals • Challenge the team with new information • Work together • Positive feedback • Recognition and rewards

Challenges to the Team

• A multi-disciplinary mix • Building specific skills • Coping with change • Dealing with complexities • Risk taking • Maintaining direction and control • Sustaining focus • Maintaining morale

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Conflict Management – Sources of Conflict

1. Schedules

2. Project priorities and constraints

3. Resources

4. Technical opinions

5. Administrative procedures

6. Cost

7. Personalities

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Conflict Resolution Techniques: Collaborate / Problem Solve

• Leverage team, determine root cause and fix it! • Advantages

o Lasting resolution o Win / win o Create and harvest value

• Disadvantages: o Hard to achieve o Takes time, effort, research, creativity o Requires good faith

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Conflict Resolution Techniques: Force / Direct

• One party dictates a solution • Advantages

o Lasting resolution o Fast

• Disadvantages: o Win / lose o May create resentment o Non-optimal solution? o May threaten the project

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Conflict Resolution Techniques: Compromise / Reconcile

• Everybody gives up something • Advantages

o Lasting resolution o Easy to conceive

• Disadvantages: o Lose / lose o No new value created o Existing value is divided up

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Conflict Resolution Techniques: Smooth / Accommodate

• Emphasize areas of agreement, don’t address areas of disagreement

• Advantages o Cools down situation o Sets up future resolution

• Disadvantages: o No lasting resolution o May be seen as capitulation

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Conflict Resolution Techniques: Withdraw / Avoid

• Retreat from the conflict. Postpone discussion and decisions

• Advantages o Buys time

• Disadvantages: o No resolution at all o May be seen as “kicking the can down the road”

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The Team Contract

• Create team identity • Define team operations • Foster engagement and empowerment

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Team Contract Components

• Purpose • Background • Mission / Objectives • Team composition • Roles / responsibilities • Empowerment boundaries • Operations • Performance assessment • Support

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