university of sunderland professionalism and personal skills unit 5 professionalism and personal...

University of Sunderland

Professionalism and Personal Skills Unit 5

Professionalism and Professionalism and Personal SkillsPersonal Skills

Lecture 5:

Teamwork

and

Project Management



ObjectivesObjectives

• Introduction to Project Management • Introduction to team development and group

roles• Understand relevance of Task Identification

and allocation• Planning Schedules and identifying

Deliverables• Understanding Gantt Charts• Summary



IntroductionIntroduction

• What is ‘Teamwork’?

• What is the difference between a ‘Team’ and a ‘Group’?

• They are both a collection of people• A Team has a common goal or objective that they work

together to achieve




• But why have a Team?• Too much work for one person to achieve in the time

available• To bring together different skills and abilities• To learn from each other -

– Social Skills– Organisational Skills– Technical Skills– “SYNERGY”




• So what do Teams do?

• One possibility is work on a “PROJECT”

• What do we mean by a “Project”?

• Characteristics of a Project are:– It has a recognisable deliverable– There is an element of risk which needs to be

controlled– It is new or one-off rather than a well-defined,

regular set of operations



• Dr, Bruce Tuckman's published in 1965 his Forming Storming Norming Performing team-development model

• He added a fifth stage, Adjourning, in the 1970s.

Team-development Team-development modelmodel



Forming - stage 1Forming - stage 1

• High dependence on leader for guidance and direction.

• Little agreement on team aims other than received from leader.

• Individual roles and responsibilities are unclear. • Leader must be prepared to answer lots of

questions about the team's purpose, objectives and external relationships.

• Processes are often ignored. • Members test tolerance of system and leader. • Leader directs.



Storming - stage 2Storming - stage 2

• Decisions don't come easily within group. • Team members vie for position as they attempt to establish

themselves in relation to other team members and the leader, who might receive challenges from team members.

• Clarity of purpose increases but plenty of uncertainties persist.

• Cliques and factions form and there may be power struggles.

• The team needs to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by relationships and emotional issues.

• Compromises may be required to enable progress. • Leader coaches.



Norming - stage 3Norming - stage 3• Agreement and consensus is largely forms among team,

who respond well to facilitation by leader. • Roles and responsibilities are clear and accepted. • Big decisions are made by group agreement. • Smaller decisions may be delegated to individuals or small

teams within group. • Commitment and unity is strong. • The team may engage in fun and social activities. • The team discusses and develops its processes and

working style. • There is general respect for the leader and some of

leadership is more shared by the team. • Leader facilitates and enables



Performing - stage 4Performing - stage 4• The team is more strategically aware; the team knows clearly why it is

doing what it is doing. • The team has a shared vision and is able to stand on its own feet with

no interference or participation from the leader. • There is a focus on over-achieving goals, and the team makes most of

the decisions against criteria agreed with the leader. • The team has a high degree of autonomy. • Disagreements occur but now they are resolved within the team

positively and necessary changes to processes and structure are made by the team.

• The team is able to work towards achieving the goal, and also to attend to relationship, style and process issues along the way. team members look after each other.

• The team requires delegated tasks and projects from the leader. • The team does not need to be instructed or assisted. • Team members might ask for assistance from the leader with personal

and interpersonal development. Leader delegates and oversees



Adjourning - stage 5Adjourning - stage 5• Tuckman's fifth stage, Adjourning, is the break-up of the

group, hopefully when the task is completed successfully, its purpose fulfilled; everyone can move on to new things, feeling good about what's been achieved.

• From an organizational perspective, recognition of and sensitivity to people's vulnerabilities in Tuckman's fifth stage is helpful, particularly if members of the group have been closely bonded and feel a sense of insecurity or threat from this change.

• Feelings of insecurity would be natural for people with high 'steadiness' attributes (as regards the 'four temperaments' or DISC model) and with strong routine and empathy style (as regards the Benziger thinking styles model, right and left basal brain dominance).



Adjourning - stage 5Adjourning - stage 5• Tuckman's fifth stage - Adjourning• Bruce Tuckman refined his theory around 1975 and added a

fifth stage to the Forming Storming Norming Performing model - he called it Adjourning, which is also referred to as Deforming and Mourning.

• Adjourning is arguably more of an adjunct to the original four stage model rather than an extension - it views the group from a perspective beyond the purpose of the first four stages.

• The Adjourning phase is certainly very relevant to the people in the group and their well-being, but not to the main task of managing and developing a team, which is clearly central to the original four stages.

• Alan Chapman 1995-2005 review and code and reference is made to the www.businessballs.com website.



The Belbin Team Roles The Belbin Team Roles

• The personal skill inventory identifies eight team roles.

• There is also another team role called the Specialist which is not identified in the questionnaire.



ShaperShaper

• SH Shaper• Characteristics• Highly strung, outgoing, dynamic.• Shapers are highly motivated people with a lot of nervous

energy and a great need for achievement. Of ten they seem to be aggressive extroverts with strong drive. Shapers like to challenge, to lead and to push others into action ‑ and to win. If obstacles arise, they will find a way round ‑ but can be headstrong and emotional in response to any form of disappointment or frustration.

• Shapers can handle and even thrive on confrontation.



ShaperShaper

• Function• Shapers generally make good managers because

they generate action and thrive on pressure. They are excellent at sparking life into a team and are very useful in groups where political complications are apt to slow things down. Shapers are inclined to rise above problems of this kind and forge ahead regardless. They like making necessary changes and do not mind taking unpopular decisions. As the name implies, they try to impose some shape and pattern on group discussion or activities. They are probably the most effective members of a team in guaranteeing positive action.



ShaperShaper

• Strengths

• Drive and a readiness to challenge inertia, ineffectiveness, complacency or selfdeception.

• Allowable Weaknesses

• Prone to provocation, irritation and impatience, and a tendency to offend others.



Co‑ordinator Co‑ordinator

• Characteristics• Calm, self‑confident, controlled.• The distinguishing feature of Co‑ordinators is their

ability to cause others to work to shared goals. Mature, trusting and confident, they delegate readily. In interpersonal relations they are quick to spot individual talents and to use them to pursue group objectives. While Co‑ordinators are not necessarily the cleverest members of a team, they have a broad and worldly outlook and generally command respect.




• Function• Co‑ordinators are useful people to have in charge

of a team with diverse skills and personal characteristics. They perform better in dealing with colleagues of near or equal rank than in directing junior subordinates. Their motto might well be 'consultation with control' and they usually believe in tackling problems calmly. In some organizations, Co‑ordinators are inclined to clash with Shapers due to their contrasting management styles.




• Strengths

• Welcome all potential contributors on their merits and without prejudice, but without ever losing sight of the main objective.

• Allowable Weaknesses

• No pretensions as regards intellectual or creative ability.



Plant Plant • Characteristics• Individualistic, serious‑minded, unorthodox.• Strengths• Genius, imagination, intellect, knowledge.• Plants are innovators and inventors and can be highly

creative. They provide the seeds and ideas from which major developments spring. Usually they prefer to operate by themselves at some distance from the other members of the team, using their imagination and often working in an unorthodox way. They tend to be introverted and react strongly to criticism and praise. Their ideas may often be radical and may lack practical constraint.

• They are independent, clever and original and may be weal in communicating with other people on a different wave‑length.



Plant Plant • Function• The main use of a Plant is to generate new proposals and to

solve complex problems. Plants are often needed in the initial stages of a project or when a project is failing to progress. Plants have often made their marks as founders of companies or as originators of new products.

• Too many Plants in one organisation, however, may be counter‑productive as they tend to spend their time reinforcing their own ideas and engaging each other i combat.

• Allowable Weaknesses• Up in the clouds, inclined to disregard practical details or

protocol.



Resource Investigator Resource Investigator • Characteristics• Extroverted, enthusiastic, curious, communicative.• Resource Investigators are good communicators both inside

and outside the organisation, They are natural negotiators, adept at exploring new opportunities and developing contacts. Although not necessarily a great source of original ideas, they are quick to pick up other people's ideas and build on them. They are skilled at finding out what is available and what can be done, and usually get a warm welcome because of their outgoing nature.

• Resource Investigators have relaxed personalities with a strong inquisitive sense and a readiness to see the possibilities of anything new. However, unless they remain stimulated by others, their enthusiasm rapidly fades.



Resource Investigator Resource Investigator • Function• Resource Investigators are quick to open up and exploit

opportunities. They have an ability to think on their feet and to probe other for information. They are the best people to set up external contacts, to search for resources outside the group, and to carry out any negotiations that may be involved.

• Strengths• A capacity for finding useful people and promising ideas or

opportunities, and a general source of vitality.• Allowable Weaknesses• Liable to lose interest once the initial fascination has

passed.



Monitor Evaluator Monitor Evaluator • Characteristics• Sober, unemotional, prudent.• Monitor Evaluators are serious‑minded, prudent individuals

with a built‑in immunity from being over‑enthusiastic. They are slow deciders who prefer to think things over usually with a high critical thinking ability. Good Monitor Evaluators have a capacity for shrewd judgements that take all factors into account and seldom give bad advice.



Monitor Evaluator Monitor Evaluator • Function• Monitor Evaluators are at home when analysing problems

and evaluating ideas and suggestions. they are very good at weighing up the pro's and con's of options and to outsiders seem dry, boring or even over‑critical. Some people are surprised that they become managers. Nevertheless, many Monitor Evaluators occupy key planning and strategic posts and thrive in high‑level appointments where a relatively small number of decisions carry major consequences.

• Strengths• Judgement, discretion, hard‑headedness.• Allowable Weaknesses• Lack of inspiration or the ability to motivate others.



Implementer Implementer • Characteristics• Implementers are well organised,enjoy routine, and have a

practical common‑sense and self discipline. They favour hard work and tackle problems in a systematic fashion. On a wider front they hold unswerving loyalty to the organisation, and are less concerned with the pursuit of self‑interest.

• However, Implementers may find difficulty in coping with new situations.



Implementer Implementer • Function• Implementers are useful because of their reliability and

capacity for application. They succeed because they have a sense of what is feasible and relevant. It is said that many executives only do the jobs they wish to do and neglect those tasks which they find distasteful. By contrast, an Implementer will do what needs to be done. Good Implementers often progress to high management positions by virtue of good organisational skills and efficiency in dealing with all necessary work.

• Strengths• Organising ability, practical common sense, hard working,

self discipline.• Allowable Weaknesses• Lack of flexibility, resistance to unproven ideas.



Team Worker Team Worker • Characteristics• Socially oriented, rather mild and sensitive.• Team Workers are the most supportive members of a team.

They are mild, sociable and concerned about others with a great capacity for flexibility and adapting to different situations and people. Team Workers are perceptive and diplomatic. They are good listeners and are generally popular members of a group. They cope less well with pressure or situations involving the need for confrontation.



Team Worker Team Worker • Function• The role of the Team Worker is to prevent interpersonal

problems within a team and allow everyone to contribute effectively. Since they don't like fiction, they will go to great lengths to avoid it. The diplomatic and perceptive skills of a Team Worker become real assets, especially under a managerial regime where conflicts are liable to arise or to be artificially suppressed. Team‑ Worker managers are seen as a threat to no one and therefore can be elected as the most accepted and favoured people to serve under. Team Workers have a lubricating effect on teams. Morale is better and people seem to co‑operate better when they are around.



Team Worker Team Worker • Strengths• Ability to respond to people and situations and to promote

team spirit.• Allowable Weaknesses• Indecision at moments of crisis and some failure to provide

a clear lead to others.



Completer‑Finisher Completer‑Finisher • Characteristics• Painstaking, orderly, conscientious, anxious.• Completers, or Completer‑Finishers, have a great capacity

for follow‑through and attention to detail, and seldom start what they cannot finish. They are motivated by internal anxiety, although outwardly they may appear unruffled. Typically they are introverts who don't need much external stimulus or incentive. Completer‑Finishers dislike carelessness and are intolerant of those with a casual disposition. Reluctant to delegate, they prefer to tackle all tasks themselves.



Completer‑Finisher Completer‑Finisher • Function• Completer‑Finishers are invaluable where tasks demand

close concentration and a high degree of accuracy. They foster a sense of urgency within a team and are good at meeting schedules. In management they excel by the high standards to which they aspire, and by their concern for precision, attention to detail and follow‑through.

• Strengths• A capacity for fulfilling their promises and working to the

highest standards.• Allowable Weaknesses• A tendency to worry about small things, a reluctance to 'let

go'.



Specialist Specialist • Characteristics• Professional, self‑starting, dedicated.• Specialists are dedicated individuals who pride themselves

on acquiring technical skills and specialised knowledge. Their priorities are to maintain professional standards and advance their own subject. While they show great pride in their own work they usually lack interest in other people's work and even in other people themselves. Eventually, the Specialist becomes the expert by sheer commitment along a narrow front. Few possess the single‑mindedness, dedication and aptitude to become a firstclass Specialist.



Specialist Specialist • Function• Specialists play an indispensable part in some teams, for

they provide the rare skill upon which the organisation's service or product is based. As managers, they command support because they know more about their subject than anyone else and can usually be called upon to make decisions based on in‑depth experience.

• Strengths• Provide knowledge or technical skills in rare supply.• Allowable Weaknesses• Contribute only on a narrow front.



Decide Who you Decide Who you would like it to bewould like it to be

• There are implicit ground rules in every social situation: for example about how polite you should be, whether it is OK to swear, whether personal questions can be asked, and so on. In a new team these ground rules are very fluid at the start ‑ people will bring with them all sorts of assumptions about how things should be. It can be helpful to set up the ground rules that you want, and that will make your group pleasant to be in and to work effectively. The following examples illustrate the kinds of ground rules you might want to operate:



Decide how you Decide how you would like it to bewould like it to be

• Sexist and racist remarks are not acceptable.• Decisions should be made democratically ‑ in the absence

of a clear consensus there should be a vote.• Aggressive and dominating behaviour is not acceptable.• All members should turn up to all meetings unless it has

been agreed beforehand or unless there are unavoidable circumstances such as illness.

• Meetings will start five minutes after the agreed start time and everyone should be there by then.

• Work should be shared around fairly and be seen to be shared fairly.




• Tasks which individuals agree to undertake should be completed to the agreed deadline. If it looks as though there will be a problem meeting a deadline the individual concerned will seek help from other members of the team in time to avoid a delay.

• Members should try to encourage contributions from everyone ‑ to discussions and to decisions ‑and to accept the value of all contributions.

• Roles such as chair of a meeting and note‑taker should be clearly allocated and should rotate round the team so that responsibilities and leadership are shared.

• Each person has the right to point out when these rules are being broken.




• Draw up your own list of ground rules and copy it out so that everyone has a copy. Every so often go back to your list and see if you are keeping to it or if you need new or different ground rules to make your team work well

• Discuss how it is going• All teams have problems and it isn't always easy to discuss

them and sort them out. But if you don't tackle them they won't go away. The checklist below can help you to raise and discuss issues in your team. Go through it on your own, first, ticking the items which describe what is happening in your team and add one observation of your own. Then sit down with the others in your team and see if you have ticked the same things. Once you have accepted that you have some problems it is easier to discuss what to do about them.




• We don't listen to each other• We keep repeating arguments instead of moving on.• We constantly interrupt each other• We just push our own views instead of developing and encouraging

others' ideas• We allow dominant members to dominate• Some of us don't contribute• We don't compromise enough• We concentrate on making impressions rather than on getting the jobs

done• We don't have clear tasks or objectives• We are not clear about what has been decided• We don't make it clear who is to take action on decisions• We put each other down• We don't recognise that others have feelings about what is happening in

the team



Control LoopControl Loop



Steps in Planning a Steps in Planning a ProjectProject

• Define the TASKS– What are they?– How long should each take?– What order do they have to be done in?– Draw the “Plan” e.g. Gantt Chart

• Resource the Plan– Define who/what is to be used– Allocate to appropriate Task(s)– Remove any ‘overloads’



What Are Tasks? What Are Tasks?

• How do we decide how to divide a project into tasks?

• Some points are worthy of note. The first is that a ‘task’ must have a deliverable, that is, at the end of the task there is a defined, observable change which is a required outcome. E.g. “The fence is now painted”.

• As well as having a deliverable, a task should have a single, well-defined operation to achieve the outcome.



Tasks Tasks

• How long should a task take?

• This depends on the nature of the project – a project can span a number of days to a number of years.



TasksTasks

• One reason is to ensure that the work is done in a sensible sequence (e.g. we build the walls before putting on the roof), and a second is we need to control the project by measuring progress at suitable points and taking corrective action if needed.



How often should we How often should we measure progress?measure progress?

• If we said weekly and our project comprises tasks which take a few hours each and the whole project lasts a week, then we may only have one opportunity to take corrective action if things are going wrong! There is obviously at relation between the length of the project and the interval for measuring progress.



Sample GanttChart

week1 week2 week3 week4 week5 week6

Task 1Task 2Task 3Task 4Task 5



Practical ExercisePractical Exercise

• “Your Team is to organise a visit to HMS Tyneside on the River Tyne by a group of Boy Scouts from Bristol on Saturday January 8th 2005”

• Draw up a list of tasks required to prepare for the visit

• Estimate how long each task will take• Draw a plan (Gantt Chart)• Allocate resources to tasks• Question. When do you have to start to finish

by January 8th?



Practical Exercise - Practical Exercise - How?How?

• Work in your team

• Decide key “roles” for your team members

• Produce your ‘Day Out’ plan via a list of tasks and a Gantt Chart for next week



Worth noting…… Worth noting……

• You have to use the plan (and modify it) to control the project

• You can use project management in a team

• BUT you can also use it to control your own individual work



SchedulesSchedules

• A Key Project Planning Technique

• Effective Scheduling Requires:– An Unambiguous definition of requirements– A careful breakdown of work– Coherent and consistent list of tasks which shows when activities will

start and end– Careful monitoring of progress against the schedule



Task No Task NamePlannedHours

ActualHours

Planned Start Date

Actual Start Date

Planned End Date

Actual End Date Deliverable*

1 Prepare Terms of Reference 10 01/10/2001 05/10/2001 Accepted TOR2 Prepare Schedule and Gantt Chart 10 05/10/2001 09/10/2001 Schedule and Gantt Chart3 Initiate Research, Order papers 20 09/10/2001 18/10/2001 Abstracts4 Research for Topic 1 30 18/10/2001 05/12/2001 Formal Research Notes for Topic 15 Research for Topic 2 30 18/10/2001 05/12/2001 Formal Research Notes for Topic 26 Requirements Specification 20 09/10/2001 02/11/2001 System Specification, Notes of meetings7 System Design 20 02/11/2001 25/11/2001 System Design Documentation8 System Development - Stage 1 20 25/11/2001 11/12/2001 First System Prototype - Code etc9 System Testing - Stage 1 20 11/12/2001 19/12/2001 Test Design, Documentation and Results

10 Review Schedule 5 07/01/2002 09/01/2002 Revised Schedule11 System Development - Stage 2 20 09/01/2002 17/01/2002 Second System Prototype - Code etc12 System Testing - Stage 2 20 17/01/2002 31/01/2002 Test Design, Documentation and Results13 Develop Web Interface 20 31/01/2002 14/02/2002 Web Interface14 Testing of interface 20 14/02/2002 23/02/2002 Test Design, Documentation and Results15 System Integration 20 23/02/2002 04/03/2002 Complete System16 Test Full System 10 04/03/2002 08/03/2002 Test Design, Documentation and Results17 System Evaluation 20 08/03/2002 17/03/2002 User Evaluation - Design, Documentation and Results18 Modify System as necessary 10 17/03/2002 21/03/2002 Modified System19 Write User Guide 20 08/04/2002 16/04/2002 User Guide20 Dissertation - Chapters 1 to 3 20 17/01/2002 10/02/2002 Draft Chapters for Dissertation21 Dissertation - Chapters 4 to 7 20 11/02/2002 29/03/2002 Draft Chapters for Dissertation22 Dissertation Review and Revision 20 16/04/2002 25/04/2002 Review of Dissertation and Preparation of Final Version23 Prepare for Viva 10 25/04/2002 13/05/2002 Preparation of Viva Presentation

TOTAL HOURS 415



TasksTasks

• At it is simplest, a list of the activities needed to ensure the project hits all its targets



Deliverables Deliverables

• Products created by the project

• Something tangible• Interview Notes• New web interface• Completed chapter• Test data



Task No Task Name

PlannedHours

Planned Start Date

Planned End Date October November December January February March April May

Preparation1 Prepare Terms of Reference 10 01/10/2001 05/10/20012 Prepare Schedule and Gantt 10 05/10/2001 09/10/2001

20

Research

3Perform Primary Research Gathering 15 05/10/2001 17/10/2001

4 Initiate Research, Order papers 15 09/10/2001 18/10/20015 Initial Research for Topic 1 15 18/10/2001 05/12/20016 Initial Research for Topic 2 15 18/10/2001 05/12/20017 In-depth Research for Topic 1 20 05/12/2001 06/12/20018 In-depth Research for Topic 2 20 05/12/2001 07/12/20019 Additional Research 20 06/12/2001 08/12/2001

Sub Total 120

System part one10 Requirements Specification 20 09/10/2001 02/11/200111 System Design 15 02/11/2001 25/11/200112 System Development - Stage 1 20 25/11/2001 11/12/200113 System Testing - Stage 1 15 11/12/2001 19/12/200114 Review Schedule 5 07/01/2002 09/01/2002

Sub Total 75

System part two15 System Development - Stage 2 20 09/01/2002 17/01/200216 System Testing - Stage 2 20 17/01/2002 31/01/200217 Develop Web Interface 15 31/01/2002 14/02/200218 Testing of interface 20 14/02/2002 23/02/200219 System Integration 20 23/02/2002 04/03/200220 Test Full System 8 04/03/2002 08/03/200221 System Evaluation 20 08/03/2002 17/03/200222 Modify System as necessary 8 17/03/2002 21/03/200223 Write User Guide 20 08/04/2002 16/04/2002

Sub Total 140

Dissertation24 Dissertation - Chapters 1 to 3 17 17/01/2002 10/02/200225 Dissertation - Chapters 4 to 7 17 11/02/2002 29/03/2002

26Dissertation Review and Revision 20 16/04/2002 25/04/2002

27 Prepare for Viva 10 25/04/2002 13/05/2002Sub Total 64

Total Hours 419



SummarySummary

• Looked at the Planning of Schedules

• Examined the relevance of choosing Tasks

• Identification of Deliverables

• Understand how Gantt Charts are used to control the project

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