project management quiz
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class_iii.pptEM660 PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Class 3
Class 3 Agenda
- Quiz
- House II
- Good Meeting/Bad Meeting
- Chapter 6 Time Management
- Chapter 7 Conflict Management
- Chapter 8 Performance Management
- Chapter 9 Variables for Success
- Chapter 10 Working with Executives
- MS Project Short Tutorial
Good Meeting
Members exhibited Supportive Roles
- Initiators
- Information Seekers
- Information Givers
- Encouragers
- Clarifiers
- Harmonizers
- Consensus
- Gate Keepers
Bad Meeting
- Destructive Roles
- Aggressor
- Dominator
- Devil’s Advocate
- Topic Jumper
- Recognition Seeker
- Withdrawer
- Blocker
- Tank
House II
Chapter 6 Time Management
Project management involves numerous meetings, report writing, conflict
resolution, continuous planning and re-planning, communications with customers, and crisis management.
What do you do when an employee comes in your office with a problem?
The author says that the key to time management is delegating and learning to say NO.
Time Management Analysis Tools (p.288)
- Prioritized “To Do” List
- Ratio – Delay study
This analysis can be performed on yourself or used to see what your staff/team is doing.
Ratio – Delay Study
- A technique for determining the
proportion of time spent by workers
in various defined categories of activity ,e.g. setting up a machine, assembling two parts, idle…etc
- important as all other statistical techniques because it permits quick analysis, recognition, and enhancement of job responsibilities, tasks, performance competencies, and organizational work flows.
To Be Effective
The Project Manager needs to ask 4
questions.
Why am I doing that:
Do I have to do it at all?
Can it be better done by others?
Can it be done as well by others?
And finally…
4) Am I prioritizing my activities properly?
Chapter 7 Conflict Management
Conflicts are inevitable in
project management & are
usually the result of conflicting objectives.
When project objectives are poorly written or not communicated accurately to all project personnel and organizational management, they become subject to interpretation, inviting conflict.
SMART Objectives (p. 366)
S = Specific
M= Measureable
A = Attainable
R =Realistic
T = Time Bound or
Tangible
Example: Increase the number of scholarships available to Business & Law students by introducing 3 new scholarships for students to apply in 2008. Each scholarship awarded will be a minimum $3,000 per scholarship.
SMART Objectives examples
- Decrease the number of steps required to complete an order by 30% by the end of this quarter.
- Increase the percent of children bicycling to school from 1% to 5% within 3 years.
- Reduce the average time for resolving customer service issues from [20] minutes to [15] minutes by the end of the calendar year.
Objectives That are NOT SMART
- Find a cure for cancer by 2015
- Wipe out malaria world wide by 1/1/2015
- Start and Finish the $6 Million building project in 6 wks
Conflict (p. 365)
Project conflicts are inevitable.
Conflicts and resolutions can be planned.
Top 4 sources of project
conflict:
Tight Schedules
Shifting Priorities
Scarce Resources
Technical Matters/Trade-offs
Conflict is best resolved by those involved.
Conflict Handling Styles
Avoiding
Compromise
Competition
Accommodation
Collaboration
*
- Which conflict handling style will you use?
*
- Which conflict handling style will you use?
- Project Managers may have a preferred style for managing conflict
*
- Which conflict handling style will you use?
- Project Managers may have a preferred style for managing conflict
- You should use different styles depending on the problem – and get there by using your ability to read situation
*
avoiding
accommodation
competition
compromise
collaboration
*
- Characteristics
ignoring conflicts and hoping they’ll go away
putting problems under consideration or on hold
use of secrecy to avoid confrontation
appeal to bureaucratic rules
Avoiding
When to use
Trivial, small/unimportant issue
no perceived chance of resolution
To allow a cool down period
To allow others to resolve the situation
*
Photo by niznoz
Characteristics
negotiation
looking for deals and trade-offs
finding satisfactory or acceptable solutions
When to use
goals are important, but not worth effort
opponents with equal power are committed to mutually exclusive goals
achieve temporary settlements to issues
arrive at solutions under time pressure
back-up to collaboration or competition
Compromise
*
Photo by zimbia
- Characteristics
create win-lose situations
use of power plays
forcing submission
When to use
quick, decisive action is vital, very important
unpopular actions eg. cost cutting
issues are vital to company welfare
against people who take advantage of non-competitive behavior
Competition
*
Characteristics
giving way
submission and fulfillment
When to use
find you are wrong
issues more important to others than yourself
maintain cooperation
build social credits for later on
minimize loss
harmony and stability are important
allow team members to learn from their mistakes
Accommodation
*
Photo by Mike Burns
Characteristics
problem-solving carriage
tackle differences
sharing ideas and information
seeing problems and conflicts as challenges
When to use
find an integrative solution when both sets of concerns are important
objective is to learn
Collaboration
*
Photo by francistoms
- 2 Methods for Resolving Conflict in a team
Role Clarification Technique (RAT)
Intergroup Conflict Resolution
*
Photo by estherase
- Role Clarification Technique (RAT)
- This is a systematic procedure which involves all team members understanding the requirements of their of own and everyone else's position, duties and expectations
- You’ll need to clarify roles for team and individuals; for example via questionnaires (or for project teams - RAM matrices!)
*
- Intergroup Conflict Resolution
- Each group should prepare list of what they would like the other groups to start doing, stop doing, and continue to do.
- This list narrows he scope of the dispute and makes it easier to work on the core problems.
*
Photo by Swiv
Traditional & Contemporary Views of Conflict
Traditional view
Contemporary view
* caused by trouble
makers
* bad
* should be avoided
* must be suppressed
* inevitable between
humans
* often beneficial
* natural result of change
*can and should be
managed
Antecedent Conditions Leading to Conflict
1 Ambiguous jurisdiction - two bosses
2. Conflict of interest - engr & mgr
3. Communication barriers - misunderstandings
4. Dependence on one party - provided needed resource
Conflict Resolution (p. 300)
The author says the most effective method of conflict resolution is:
The establishment of
conflict resolution
procedures during the
project planning phase.
Examples include:
A issue log recording issues raised & resolved.
Break-out sessions grievances are aired.
Over-communication of key decisions, changes, constraints and project status.
Project Organization Major Source of Conflict
- Associated with change
- Concentration of
professionals of diverse disciplines in more or less autonomous group effort with limited life
- Conflict readily exists in traditional - even more evident in projects
- Conflict is inevitable in organizations
- Limited means satisfy divergent interests
Management of Conflict (p. 303)
- Conflict is beneficial because it presents opportunities for
improvement.
Conflict resolution modes:
Confronting – problem solving face-to-face.
Compromising – give and take.
Accommodating – emphasize agreements.
Forcing – impose solutions on others.
Avoiding – ignore issues (not recommended).
Management of Conflict
- Conflict needs to be
effectively managed
- especially in projects because of imminent time, cost and performance constraints imposed
- primary responsibility with project manager
- critical issue of PM
- uncontrolled conflict can literally tear a project apart
Five Conflict Management Modes
1. Withdrawal temporary
- 2. Smoothing fails to resolve
- 3. Compromising provides
- 4. Forcing resolution
- 5. Problem solving
Styles of Conflict Resolution
- Per. Goals Relation.
- Force win-lose hi low
- Smooth yield-lose low high
- Withdraw lose-leave low low
- Com-
promise comprom. med med. - Problem
solver integrative high high
Conflict Management Video
Chapter 8 Performance Management
Q: How do you motivate project
team members, since they report
to their functional managers?
A: Make it clear to them that if they perform well on the project, then the PM will inform their functional manager of their progress and achievements.
Recognition and Reward
Another great way to
motivate is to have a
recognition and reward
system. Some ideas:
Say “thank you” more often.
Milestone parties.
Pay for team member skills training.
Assign to requested activities (or removal).
Special compensation for overtime, travel.
Bonus pay for pre-established results.
* Bonus situations must be clearly defined or they become preferential & demoralizing.
Chapter 9 Variables for Success
Even if projects meet their triple
constraints, there still may have
been out-of-tolerance
conditions that should be
analyzed to prevent recurrence
on future projects.
In this chapter we’ll review
success factors & two
retrospective project analysis processes.
1) Lessons Learned
2) Best Practices
Success Factors
Successful project management
programs need the support of
top management & a recognition that “this is a sanctioned project.”
Other general factors include:
Multi-talented project managers and a cohesive, cross-functional team.
Good controls & change management process
Communicate and share successes
Keep your integrity; no bait & switch
Plan for success; commit to excellence.
Effective Project Managers
(p.370)
- Credibility – comes with experience
; making sound decisions, emphasizing facts & data, and sharing the glory.
- Priority – make it clear how the project will be good for the team & the organization.
- Accessibility – be familiar with and communicate frequently w/ top management
- Visibility – professional presentations, sell your project, spread the word informally.
Lessons Learned (p. 372)
Lessons can be learned from every
project, even if the project is a
failure.
- many companies don’t document well & are prone to repeating mistakes of the past.
- document successes and failures in case studies, log books, post mortems.
- study past project schedules, risk analysis, and change management documents (content and volume) during the initial phases of new projects.
Best Practices (p. 373)
Use Lessons Learned to
promote best practices.
The author states:
“Best practices are those actions or activities undertaken by the company or individuals that lead to a sustained competitive advantage in project management.”
- Organizations should publicize them both internally and externally generate future business.
Institutionalizing Best Practices (p.375)
3 critical questions to determine best practices:
1) Who decides what a best practice is?
- Committees reporting to management
2) How are best practices evaluated & validated?
- Templates that measure value & application for other projects.
3) How to gain support & spread best practices?
- Quantify to convince management & create a library.
The Project Sponsor
- Provides financial Resources
- Grants authority
- Issues the charter
- Provides the preliminary scope
- Protects the project
- Approves plans and changes
- Provides expert judgment and guidance
- Resolves conflict
When to Seek Help? (p. 391)
- The project manager will provide
the sponsor with status reports, often with a “traffic light” reporting system.
Projects (or work tasks) in the “red” require the direct intervention of the sponsor.
- If the project is running out of funds or resources, or if scope creep or un-planned work is added, the sponsor acts to keep the project on track, backing up the decisions of the PM.
MS Projects Tutorial
Class Assignments
- Smart Objective Assignment Due Feb 12th
- House III in MS Project Due April 2nd-add resources and costs to House II and crash House III using techniques in section 12.9
- Manager Interview Due March 26th
