mbl3 exec pm lecture 2

DEVELOPING A CORE TEAM PROCESS, ORGANISING FOR PM & DEVELOPING A PM INFORMATION SYSTEM

Developing & supporting core teamsOrganizing the Project Management effortDeveloping the Project Management information system

>Graham & Englund (2004): Chapters 4,5 & 6

The Role of Project Core Teams (1)

The organisation of people into ad hoc groups 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

Collecti()n The bringing to,gether of individuals into a group with a collective task or problem to solve. The participants ave a d gree of eagerness and initial enthusiasm and generally rely on the authority and hierarchy to provide a degree of certainty in 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 comes

when 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 i'ssues 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.ears little relationship to the goals of the project.

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

starts to put aside the negative social effects and inove ro 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 the component parts, otherwise stated as 2 + 2 = 5. This is the peak of effectiveness of the team, leadership is shared, and there is a new m tivation 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 the

task 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 they have done.


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

R oles and descriptions - team -ro le contribution

Allowable weaknesses

Plant: creative, im aginative, unorthodox. Solves difficult problems.

Resource investigator: extrov ert, enthus iastic, com m unicative. Explores opportunities. Develops contacts.

Ignores details. Too pre- . occupied to com m unicate effectively.· Overoptimistic. Loses interest once initia l enthusiasm has pa ssed.

Coord inator:m ature, confident, a good chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decis ion-m aking, dele gates w ell.

Can be seen as m anipulative. Delegates persona lwork.

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

Can provoke others.Hurts people's feelings.

M onito r evaluator:s.ober, strategic and disterning. Sees all options. Judges accurately.

Lacks drive and ability to inspire others.Overly critical.

Team worker:cooperativ e, m ild, perceptive and diplom atic. Listen s, builds, averts friction,calm s the waters.-

Im plem enter: d iscip lined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Turns ideas into practical actions.

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

· and omissions. Delivers on tim e.

Indecisive in crunch s ituations. C an be easily influenced. Somewhat inflex ib le. Slow to respond to new possib ilities.

llnc lined to worry unduly. Reluctant to delegate. Can be a nit-p icker.

Specialis t: s ingle-m inded, self starting, dedicated. Provides knowledge and skills rn rare supply .

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


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.


Internationalisation & globalisation (1) The culture shock!

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


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

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The Relocation Transition CurveThe 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 intuitive risks 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 intuitive risks 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 authority over 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

DEVELOPING THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION

SYSTEM(PMIS)

“Information is no longer simply a strategic asset; it is a critical enabler of success.”

Birnbaum (2001)Hewlett-Packard Senior VP of R&D

Developing the Project Management Information System (PMIS)

For a continuously operating Project Portfolio Process, monitoring the critical project measures, such as the PM Office, is required so projects can be determined, if necessary, and new projects initiated. Monitoring is collecting, recording, and reporting information concerning any and all aspects of project performance that the PM or others in the organisation wish to know.>Hence the need for a PMIS

Information - food for the system

Client’s ability to evaluate tenders - quality of information will determine the strength of base informationVendor/or Contractor’s ability to produce a reliable tender - depends on the quality of information availableAbility to manage risks - depends on the quality of information available

Contents of PMIS

According to Graham & Englund (2004), the PMIS should do the following:

Answer questions of the major stakeholdersFacilitate communication between team members, team members & other stakeholders, between PMs, & PMs and upper managersHelp to answer “what if?” questions (allocation of resources)Help organisation learning (e.g., audit & close-out information)

Developing a PMIS

The need to agree up front on the specifications of the PMIS (what should be the content & how much information)Upper managers to agree on what they require from the PMIS - What should be the input? What should be the output?

Developing a PMIS - PM Software

•What are the common features in most PM software?•Any criteria for selecting a PM software?•Merits & Demerits of using PM software•Vendors offering PM software

PM Software Features (1)

Budgeting & Cost Controlit is possible to associate cost information with each activity and each resource in a project individual’s pay can be usually defined in hourly rates, overtimes rates, etc.dates when payments are due can be specified

PM Software Features (2)Resource Management

modern PM software can maintain a resource list consisting of resource name, time resources are availablethe system can highlight and help correct over-allocation & perform resource leveling & resource smoothing

PM Software Features (3)Planning

allowing the user to define the activities that need to be performed for @ task the user can provide a title, a start date, a finish date, comments, and estimated duration's (including optimistic, most likely & pessimistic times)allowing the user to create a WBS to aid in the planning process


Project monitoring & trackingproducing numerous report formats associated with monitoring & tracking features (tracking progress, actual costs & resource use)


Schedulingmost systems will build Gantt charts and network diagrams based on task & resource listusers can establish logic and adjust schedules accordingly

PM Software Features (6)Security

a relatively new feature in PM software is securitysome systems provide password access to the PM program itself, password access to individual project files, and password access to specific data within a project file (e.g., unit rates)

PM Software Features (7)Sorting and Filtering

a relatively new feature in PM software is securitysome systems provide password access to the PM program itself, password access to individual project files, and password access to specific data within a project file (e.g., unit rates)

PM Software Features (8)What if Analysis

one helpful feature of PM software is the ability to perform what-if analysis. This feature allows the user to explore the effects of various scenarios

Factors to Consider Before Purchasing a PM Software Package (1)

Capacitycan the system handle the number of tasks you expect to perform, the number of resources you will need, and the number of projects you expect to be managing simultaneously?


Ease of use‘the look’ and ‘feel’ of the system - the menu structures, available short-cut keys, colour displays, the amount of information in @ display, the ease of entering data, ease of modifying existing data, ease of generating reports, amount of learning required to become proficient, etc.


Features availablecan the system provide the features that are required for your organisation?


Integration with other systemsdoes the system allow a significant integration of PM software?does it allow export of information to word processing & graphic packages & through e-mail?


Installation requirements the hardware and software required to run the PM software - memory required, amount of hard disk space required, processing speed & power required, printer requirements, etc.


Reporting capabilities (rated highly)

current PM systems vary in number and types of reports they can provide - some support just basic planning, scheduling & cost reports, whereas others have extensive facilities for doing the same


Internet featuresdoes the PM software allow project information to be posted directly to the Web?


Securitydoes the PM software provide greater levels of security than others?


Vendor supportspecial attention should be given to whether the vendor or dealer provides technical support (the price of that support, and the reputation of the vendor)

Advantages of Using PM Software (1) Accuracy - easy to improveAffordability - at a firm level excellent PC-based PM software packages are affordable (worth the money)Easy of use - over the past 5 years PM software packages have become easy to useAbility to handle complexity - ability to handle complex numeric aspects

Advantages of Using PM Software (2) Maintainability & modifiability - with manual systems it’s often difficult to maintain & modify project informationRecord keeping - a major benefit of PM software is its ability to keep excellent recordsSpeed - with quality data, almost every calculation can be done very rapidly by the softwareWhat-if analysis

Concerns About Using PM Software (1)Becoming distracted by the software

spending too much time playing with & focusing on software (reports, etc.) - forgetting people!

A false sense of securitymanagers might believe that because they have powerful software, they can manage & accomplish more!!

Information overloadthe sheer quantity of information can be overwhelming - deal with what is useful

Concerns About Using PM Software (2)The learning curve

it does take sometime to become proficient in the use of PM software - for those not currently using computers there can be a significant learning curve

Over-reliance on software individuals with little knowledge of the fundamentals of PM sometimes use the software without really understanding what they’re doing (the software is just a tool to help you do your job more effectively & efficiently)

PM Software Vendors (1)A number of software packages are available that provide for the PM processAlmost all of the vendors for packages have home pages on the WWW

PM Software Vendors (2)

PMI list: PM software vendors and consultants: www.pmi.org/links/links.htm Project Management Centre: details & links for PM software: www.infogoal.com/pmc/pmcswr.htm or www.infogoal.com/pmc/pmchome.htm or www.google.com

mbl3 exec pm lecture 2

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