Managing People in a Project Environment & Learning From a Project

Professor P D Rwelamila PhD, FCIOB, AMIC, MAACE, PrCPM

Module 6: Managing People in a Project Environment & Learning From a Project

At the end of this module the learner should be able to:Understand fully the difference between a group and a team within a project environment Develop groups into teams and practical undertakings in a project settingManage a team and maintain its effectiveness within different cultural set-ups Select and manage team members within a project environment and under a variety of

challengesPlan and set-up a project audit regime for any type of a project Manage the process of carrying out a project audit at different stages of the projectDevelop the requirements of a project audit and appoint a suitable project audit teamPlan and set-up a project close-out regime for any type of project Manage the process of carrying out a project close-out process

Managing People in a Project Environment

The Role of Project Core Teams (1)

The organisation of people into ad hocgroups takes advantage of bringing together individuals from different specialism/departments (engineering, IT, marketing, etc.) as needed for a project task

the need to differentiate between ‘team’ & ‘group’

The Role of Project Teams (2)A ‘group’ is simply a collection of people.A ‘team’ meets the following characteristics:

the output of the group is greater than the sum of the outputs of the individuals;a greater range of options can be considered by exploiting differences in individual thought process;decision-making by team is likely to be better;more openness to taking risks, as the risk is shared between the team rather than carried by one individual;higher overall level of motivation as there is an inherent responsibility to others in the team & a desire no to let them down; andbetter support for the individuals within the team, who are more likely to be included in a greater range of activities than they would normally be exposed to, but without their having to work alone.

The Role of Project Teams (3)

Why focus on the role of teamwork?to help the PM in the design & selection of the workgroup;to enable the monitoring of the degree to which the team is functioning effectively; andto provide feedback to the team to help improve effectiveness.

The Role of Project Teams (4)

Life-cycle of Teamsteams have various stages of developments (See Figure 9.6 & Table 9.2):

• collection• entrenchment• resolution/accommodation• synergy• decline• break-up

using this knowledge, the organisation can resist moving core team members once they are assigned

Table 9.2 Team life-cycle

. Stage Characteristics

Collection The bringing to,gether of individuals into a group with a collective task or problem to solve. The participants ave a dgree of eagerness and initial enthusiasm and generally rely on the authority and hierarchy to provide a degree of certaintyin this uncertain environment. They will use this initial phase to establish themselves and find what is expected of them.

Entrenchment As the group starts work they begin to findout where each person stands on various issues. The entrenchment comeswhen people:;arrive with preconceived ideas as to how the project should be proceeding and are unwilling to be persuaded of the merits of allowing the group to decide on the course of action. This phase can be very destructive and is generally fairly unproductive . The reasons for this unproductiveness are issues such as disillusionment with the goals of the project,competition for power or attention within the group, or general confusion as the work being undertaken b.earslittlerelationship to the goals of the project.

Resolution/ The disagreements begin to be resolved, and characteristics such as mutual accommodation trust, harmony, self-esteemand confidence are seen. This is where the team

starts to put aside the negative social effects and involver being more productive.

Synergy Based on Ansoff (1968), synergy is defined as when the output of the whole is greater than what would be obtained from thecomponent parts, otherwisestated as 2 + 2 =5. This is the peak of effectiveness of the team, leadershipis shared, and there is a new motivation to complete the tasks at hand.

Decline At some point the team will meet an event when its effectiveness starts to decline - this can be through the nature of thetask being undertaken not changing or the focus of the activities being allowed to move towards a social group.

Break-up If this occurs naturally before the task is finished, there can be problems in getting a new team to take up the remaining work. They will be expected to get 'up to speed' very quickly and have an additional pressure on them.Where the group finishes its·task and it is during one of the earlier stages of development, either in resolution or synergy,the effects on future projects can be highly beneficial as the participants go away with good memories of the work theyhave done.

The Role of Project Core Teams (5)

Personalities in teams (See Figure 9.7)understanding of the ways in which individuals behave in group situationsthe curriculum vitae & interview, though maligned, is still the normal mode for recruiting in most project environments

Roles and descriptions - team-role contribution

Allowable weaknesses

Plant: creative, imaginative, unorthodox. Solves difficult problems.

Resource investigator: extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities. Develops contacts.

Ignores details. Too pre- . occupied to communicate effectively.· Overoptimistic. Loses interest once initial enthusiasm has passed.

Coordinator:mature, confident, a good chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decision-making,dele- gates well.

Can be seen as manipulative. Delegates personalwork.

Shaper:challenging, dynamic, thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles.

Can provoke others.Hurts people's feelings.

Monitor evaluator:s.ober, strategic and disterning. Sees all options. Judges accurately.

Lacks drive and ability to inspire others.Overly critical.

Teamworker:cooperative, mild, perceptive and diplomatic. Listens, builds, averts friction,calms the waters.-

Implementer: disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions.

Completer: painstaking, conscien- tious, anxious. Searches out errors

· and omissions. Delivers on time.

Indecisive in crunch situations. Can be easily influenced. Somewhat inflexible. Slow to respond to new possibilities.

llnclined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate. Can be a nit-picker.

Specialist: single-minded, self- starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills rn rare supply.

Contributes on only a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities. Overlooks the 'big picture'.

The Role of Project Core Teams (6)

Effective Teamwork (See Table 9.3 & Figure9.8)Project teamwork must make a positive contribution to the success of the project:• the structure of the team & its composition are broken

down into 3 basic categories - related to the appropriate or most likely phase in the project life-cycle

• how teams work? - the disintegrated group (no agreement between team members & decision process in turmoil); - the integrated team (there is complete consensus on all matters, but gone over the edge in terms of effectiveness)

The Role of Project Core Teams (7)

Effective Teamwork - the internationalisation & globalisation environment (1)

in the last 12 years there has been a massive increase in internationalisation & globalisation of business.This process has been institutionalised by various international agencies, such as:

• GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade)• GATS (General Agreement of Trade & Services)• WTO (World Trade Organisation)• EU (European Union)• NAFTA (North American Free Trade), etc.

The Role of Project Core Teams (8)

Internationalisation & globalisation (1) The culture shock!

• A PM as an encapsulator?• A PM as an absconder?• A PM as a cosmopolitan?

The Role of Project Core Teams (9)

Internationalisation & globalisation (2) The PM relocation transition curve:• unreality• fantasia• interest• acceptance of reality • experimentation• search• integration

14-18

The Relocation Transition Curve

ORGANIZING THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT EFFORT

There is no ‘best’ kind of organisation structure- the most appropriate structure depends on the organisation’s goals, type of work, and environmentAs organisations grow or the environment changes, additional subdivisions and new groupings are implemented to better handle new situations & emerging problems.

CHOOSING AN ORGANISATIONAL FORM (STRUCTURING PROJECTS)

choice is determined by the situation, but even so is partly intuitiverisks involved in the project!cultural preferences of the parent organisation

Choosing an Organisational Form (Structuring Projects)

choice is determined by the situation, but even so is partly intuitiverisks involved in the project!cultural preferences of the parent organisation

Pure Project (Dedicated/or Fully projectized) Organisation(1) Fig.2-8

the project is separated from the rest of the parent systemone individual, the programme/project manager , maintains complete line authorityover the entire project

Pure Project Organisation (2)

Merits:control over resourcesresponsiveness to customers

Demeritscost-inefficiencylow level of knowledge transfer among projects

Functional Project / or Mixed Organisational System (1) Fig.2-7

nearest to the traditional functional hierarchy where the PM co-ordinates the resources across functional departmentslittle formal authority to the PM to manage the project, control resources, or make decisionssuitable for nurturing smaller projects that are not yet stable under the wing of an existing dept. (later allow them to have autonomy when ready)

Functional Project / or Mixed Organisational System (2)

Merits:no duplication of activities functional excellence

Demerits:insularityslow response timelack of customers focus

Matrix Project (1) Fig.2-11a combination of pure & functional projectthe topology of the matrix structure has same format as a mathematical matrix(vertical lines represent the functional dept.’s responsibility & authority, while horizontal lines represent the project’s responsibility & authority)there is no single executive to whom PMs generally report

Matrix Project (2)

Merits:efficient utilisation of resourcesfunctional expertise available to all projectsincreased learning & knowledge transfer improved communication & customer focus

Demerits:dual reporting relationshipsneed for balance of power

Project Organisation (Comments)The positive & negative features of alternative organisational forms & their variants (hybrids) need to be understood by top management so that they can select the organisational form most suitable for their situation

Establishing a PMOffice (PMO)(1)Evidence from practice (Bolles & Hubbard 2012) strongly suggest that PMOs should not be classified into some artificial types or groups in an attempt to create a guideline or a standard. Significant reasons:

Organisational & political contexts are enterprise specificPolitical contexts vary by industry/sector, geographical region & country Enterprise Environmental Assets are enterprise specificOrganizational Process Assets are enterprise specificService and product focus is both enterprise and industry/sector specificEnterprise intentionally establish a PMO as either temporaryor permanent Project Support Offices & Project Administrative Offices do not manage and are not PMOs.

Establishing a PMOffice (PMO)(2a)Only simple (flexible) guidelines are suggested:

Establish whether the PMO is to be temporary or permanent (governance)Issue the PMO vision & mission statements (governance)Assign the PMO manager or executive (PMO Office –governing)Define the PMO reporting relationships & organizational structure (governance)Develop, document, and issue the methodologies to be used (methodology)Identify, acquire, and enhance the capabilities required to perform the mission (capability)

Establishing a PMOffice (PMO)(2b)Only simple (flexible) guidelines are suggested (contd.):

Put in place the needed planning based on upon approved methodologies (planning)Manage & supervise the performance, monitoring, control & completion of projects as per plans & procedures (execution)For permanent or multi-year mission PMO institute & execute personnel training & process improvement (sustainability)

Establishing a PMOffice (PMO)(3)Having the PMO as a separate office from other undertaking units is a good thing as it helps the office maintain neutrality and harness organisation resources in a more cohesive manner.As the organisations stabilize in their undertakings & become mature in PM, they begin to take on greater responsibilities.To leverage the full potential of PMO capabilities, organizations typically allow the PMO to take full ownership of project manager training, project prioritization, cross-business-unit project coordination, as well as the development of PM standards.

Establishing a PMOffice (PMO)(4)Emerging PMO structures take on the following roles & benefits:

Improved collaboration on cross-business unit projectsIncreased visibility of project performance across the organizationEnhanced career pathing for project managers

What is the Global State of PMOs?“The lack of executive support …..as the number one reason for the disbandment of the PMO …….These findings show that executive buy-in is crucial for the health of the PMO.”

– ESI International (2012)

“…temporary nature of many PMOs is a direct result of organizational politics & the selfish self-interest of personnel managing competing permanent functions within enterprises in which those PMOs were created.”

– Bolles & Hubbard (2012)