IMBEDDED PROJECT

Some companies like to imbed projects in an established functional organization. Such a practice has to be done with a great deal of study. The project has to be compatible with the functional organization

Project as a part of the Organization

ADVANTAGE of having functional organization as the administrative home.

• Flexibility• Utilize experts between projects• Specialists will group and share knowledge • Structure provides technical continuity• Provides opportunity for professional growth

DISADVANTAGES

• The client may not be the control focus• Not usually a “problem oriented” group• Responsibility is not focused• The project has to “Fit In”• Usually several layers of management to go

through • Projects often get suboptimized• Service on a project by a technical person

may be viewed as a road block to growth• No Holistic approach

SELF CONTAINED UNIT

Pure Project

1. PM has full line of authority but reports at some very high level in the parent organization

2. Only one OK required to get action3. Communication is improved4. Team of Experts “The Lockheed experience”5. Ability to make swift decisions6. Unity of command7. Organization is usually pure and simple8. Focus is on the “whole project”9. Flexible

Disadvantage of Self Contained Project

1. Over staffing2. “Just in Case” hiring3. The depth of technical knowledge from a

department can be lost4. Company policy and corner cutting is

quite prevalent 5. We - They identities develop6. People worry about life after the project

ends!

Matrix Organization

Combination of pure project andorganization based

Program Manager Research Manufacturing Engineering

Project A

Project B

Project C

Advantage

1. Project Mgr. is responsible (Time, Cost, Spec.)

2. Reduces duplication of people3. Less anxiety4. Response to client needs is rapid5. Policies, practices and procedures tend to

be preserved6. More balanced and responsible approach to

resource management 7. Project Managers might not always have

full control

Matrix Organization

1. Balance of power is delicate and people move slower

2. Project must be monitored as a set3. Project resist death4. The project manager must negotiate

everything5. Project managers share workers:6. Project workers have more than one

boss

The Mixed Organization

Project that lives within an organization but is independent of

the organization

Selecting An Organizational Form

1. Define Projecta. Statement of objectivesb. Node diagram

2. Determine key tasks – Understand functional requirements

3. Arrange key task by sequence and decompose into work packages

4. Determine which project subsystems are required to carry out the work package

5. List any special characteristics and assumptions associated with the project especially problems and technical requests.

6. Studying the pros and cons of each structure : select a form

ASSEMBLE THE PROJECT TEAM AND SET PROJECT GOALS

• The management support system.

• The core team.

• The data sources.

• The activity support people.

Team Building

• The effectiveness of a team is affected by its size

• Small teams are appropriate when responsiveness and prompt action are required.

• Large teams are useful for a widespread information base, inclusion and participation

Barriers To Team Building

• The work environment• Level of member commitment• Communication skills of the project

manager• Upper Level management is not

supportive of the effort

Team Efficiency

• Just as in a mechanical system to achieve high levels of efficiency we must carefully design our system (team).

• The research on team building indicates that in order to achieve high levels of team efficiency we must avoid:

1. Matrix based frictions,2.poor communications 3. Poor coordination of the efforts of the team

Matrix Based Friction

• A major source of matrix based friction is when a project is highly dependent on temporary borrowed staff leading to a lack of staff continuity.

• Lack of control over project staff and material resources often leads to delays and added efforts to acquire the necessary resources

Poor Communication• Communicating information effectively to team

members is vital to a projects success. • Planning is vital to keeping the number of

communication channels to a minimum. A two member team has the potential for one communication channel, a three member team three channels, a four person team six channels,… a twenty member team 190 channels

• The project manager must work hard to keep the information freely flowing along the channels

Coordination

• Project managers must integrate the pieces of their projects, bringing the output from various subtasks together in a timely fashion to achieve the goals of the project.

• The extent to which a project manager is an effective systems integrator will play a significant role in determining the success of a project.

Team Structures“Organizational architectures” by

David Nadler • There is no one configuration that fits the needs

of every project.• Many variables have to be examined when

developing a team structure.Project SizeWill staff be permanentTechnical nature of the workCorporate culture(attitude towards projects)Team members personality

Team Structures

• Task assignment approach: The team is structured so that it closely resembles the deliverables.- Organizationally simple since we assign staff to each deliverable and hold them accountable.

- This form allows simultaneous work on the tasks if they are independent.

- Easy for new staff members to understand their role and responsibility

Team Structures

• Specialty Team Structure; This team structure is similar to the matrix organization we discussed earlier. The main difference is that the team members are specialists but reside in the project.

• Decision making shifts substantially from the project managers to team members.

Team Structures• Leaderless Team Structure: Originally recommended

by Gerald Weinberg in the text “The Psychology of Computer programming”. The objective of this structure is to eliminate the negative effects of team members with big egos.

• This structure places all members of the team at the same level of decision making and when properly implemented results in a truly collaborative team environment

• To be successful these teams require continuity in team membership

• This structure seems to work effectively on state of the art ill defined projects such as R&D work

Surgical Team StructureThe Mythical Man-Month

byFrederick Brooks• Sometimes called the chief programmer model.• A highly skilled specialist is the center of the

team (the surgeon). All other members of the team strive to eliminate any distractions that might get in the way of the skilled specialists work (nurses, anesthesiologist, scrubs)

• This structure addresses the issues of integration since the output flows from one individual.

• Duplication of effort is eliminated.

Team Identity

• Creating a sense of responsibility to each other and team cohesion is very important if we are to achieve the desired levels of efficiency. J. Davidson Frame in his text Managing Projects In Organizations suggests that team building efforts should focus on three things:

- Making the team tangible-Building a reward system- building team spirit through the personal touch

Making The team Tangible

• Effective use of meetings: Providing participants with a sense of their importance to the project.

• Kick Off meeting recognizes the existence of the team.

• Status Review meetings helps to reaffirm each team members commitment to the project

Making The team Tangible

• Co-location of the team members in a common space

• Creation of a war room• Team Logo• Anything that makes the team standout

(mugs, hats, t shirts)

Building a reward system

• The project manager must develop a number of rewards:

• Letters of recommendation• Public Recognition• Job Assignments• Flexible work schedule• New Equipment

The Personal Touch

• Team identity is enhanced when the project manager establishes a good one on one relationship with the team;Project managers should be :Supportive of team membersProvide clear explanations of expectationsLearn something about the team membersBe accessible

Team EffectivenessFrom Management of Technology

by H. Thamian

• Work and Team structure• Communications and control• Team leadership• Attitudes and Values

Work and team structures

• Team participants involved in project definition

• Team Structure and responsibilities change as needed

• Team leadership evolves based on expertise and trust

• Minimal dependency on procedures and politics

Communication and Control

• Effective cross-functional channels, linkages

• Ability to seek out and process information• Effective group decision making and

consensus• Clear sense of purpose and direction• Self-control, accountability, and ownership• Control is stimulated by visibility,

recognition, accomplishments, autonomy

Team Leadership

• Minimal hierarchy in member status and position

• Internal team leadership based on situational expertise, trust, and need

• Clear management goals, direction, and support

• Inspires and encourages

Attitudes and Values

• Members are committed to established objectives and plans

• Shared goals, values and project ownership

• High involvement, energy, work interest, need for achievement, pride, self-motivated

• Capacity for conflict resolution and resource sharing

Attitudes and Values, cont’d• Team building and self-development• Risk sharing, mutual trust and support• Innovative behavior• Flexibility and willingness to change• High morale and team spirit• High commitment to established project goals• Continuous improvement of work process,

efficiency, quality• Ability to stretch beyond agreed-on objectives

Effective Team Management

• Early Project life cycle team involvement• Develop infrastructure conducive to

technology transfer and cross functional teamwork

• Define information interfaces, task responsibilities, reporting structure communications channels and work protocols

Effective Team Management

• Develop interfaces with support organizations: product assurance, legal services outside contractors

• Staff and organize the project team• Make project goals and mission

objectives standout through visible management support

• Build a high performance image

Effective Team Management

• Build commitment through conflict reduction and the reduction of negative views

• Manage conflict and problems• Conduct Team Building Exercises• Convey a concern for the well being of the

team members• Foster a culture of continuous support and

involvement (be there)

SET A CLEAR PROJECT GOAL

• Having a clear goal and being able to state it to others is of paramount importance.

• Goals provide direction• A clearly stated goal statement should

conjure up a vision of the final product in the mind of the reader.

• A goal statement will:-- Focus the team on target-- Create commitment and agreement

• Goal clarification is an iterative process• A good way to capture a project goal is

in terms of a project’s results• Take the user or customer perspective

or point of view

• A goal should be so clear that anyone in the same field or market can read your goal statement and understand what you are trying to produce.

• To the extent possible, a goal should be measurable. Sometimes the measures are very crude, but still they allow the team members to measure how close they are to their target expressed in terms of requirements.

• “Buy in” or agreement must exist.

• Project goals must be realistic-- Timing-- Cost-- Technology-- Consistent with company goals

• Always write the goal down and distribute it.

• Constant reminding of what we are trying to accomplish is in order.

• Keep the goal squarely in front of the project team

• Focusing on the goal improves communication

• Focusing on the goal reduces confusion

• Focusing on the goal allows stepwise comparison of actual progress against desired progress.

DEVELOP MASTER PLAN FOR THE SYSTEM

• Write a WBS

• Establish responsibility

• Build a schedule

GET THE PLAN ON PAPER

• Prepare are estimate of schedule

• Estimate overall resource requirements.

• Prepare activity chart.

WRITING A WORK BREAKDOWN STRUCTURE

• It is not enough to have goals and objectives; You need to know the tasks that will have to be accomplished to achieve the goals, milestones, concurrence relationships, and time estimates.

• The development of a project work breakdown structure will provide the vehicle for arriving at well defined project tasks, schedules, and milestones.

• The work breakdown structure is very often likened to a Gozinto chart or a hierarchical bill of materials.

• The WBS subdivides the project into hierarchical tasks or work packages. It is essentially a collection of work units each of which is relatively short and has clearly defined beginning and ending points (activities).

EXAMPLE

Bid “Inventory Project”

1.0 Introduction to Program1.1 Attend Bidders Meeting

2.0 Understand Problems2.1 Secure Proposal Request (RFP)2.2 Study Proposal Request2.3 Allocate work on understanding request2.4 Identify due dates for individuals to report

findings

3.0 Write Preliminary Draft Proposal

3.1 Allocate tasks3.1.1 Define subtask for writing

3.2 Define due dates3.3 Define Review cycle

3.3.1 Establish reviewers names3.4 Develop schedule

4.0 Write final project proposal4.1 Read and review committee work4.2 Clean-up all minor errors4.3 Word process and place in cover

5.0 Submit proposal to agency

The element of a WBS should be definedaccording to the following criteria:

• Each element of a WBS must be of such a duration that responsibility can be assigned to it.

• Each element must be defined clearly enough that it can be assigned as one of the many jobs that the team must perform.

• The individual elements of the WBS should be selected to be budgetable in terms of money, labor hours and relevant resources.

The WBS is the single instrument that can be used easily to illustrate how each piece of a project is tied to the whole in terms of performance responsibility, budgeting, and scheduling. A general set of steps to follow when preparing a WBS is as follows.

1. Utilizing the personnel who will perform the tasks, break the work units into finer levels of detail. “Work very hard” at obtaining definitions (clearly stating beginning and ending points) for all meaningful tasks. Tasks can only be considered to be well defined when they can be individually planned, scheduled, budgeted, monitored and controlled.

2. For each such work element:

A. Write a work statement that includes the inputs, end results, contract stipulations, unique activities, and references.

B. Identify all people, vendors, and subcontractors involved.

C. Clearly define the product (end item) of the activity such as: Reports, Design Specs, Hardware, etc.

D. Identify the resources needed, possible tradeoffs and cost estimates. Resources at this level will be equipment, materials, facilities, support functions, etc. The accounting numbers will need to be established.

E. Generate a list of personnel and organizations responsible for each task.

A linear responsibility matrix is very helpful for interrelating tasks, people and organizations. This chart shows who is responsible for what.

The PM can use a responsibility chart to gain a clear understanding of who can approve of what and who must report to whom.

The linear responsibility chart can take on at least 20 different formats.

3. Once the WBS budget and time estimates are documented they must be reviewed by the people and organizations who will have the responsibility for the work first and then by the whole team.

The review process is not a trivial exercise; it assures that the most significant issues surface and are dealt with in an appropriate fashion. (conflicts often result)

4. After approval the WBS should be aggregated with regard to budgets, schedules, and responsibilities.

5. After aggregation up through the schedule hierarchy a project summary budget must be created.

The total project budget will consist of four major categories of cost:

A. Director cost- straight from WBS

A. Indirect cost – Including general and administrative costs: usually Formula driven (derived)

A. Project specific cost – Historically derived

D. Contingency reserve – Company policy

6. A Master plan or master schedule with appropriate milestones (evens) should be created for planning and sales purposes. The graphic display of this plan can be the key to maintaining schedules and budget.

7. Correlate WBS with project plan to be certain of feasible sets of requirements.

8. Establish a method for comparing the actual values of time, money, and resources to the planned values. (Charting techniques or graphical displays).

9. Make adjustments to schedules and resources as the requirements surface during project implementations.

The networking tools will allow this work to be automated or at least supported by computer implementation.

The above steps will be required in nearly every project management exercise. The degree of detail required at each step will change from project to project.

The linear responsibility chart is most useful in identifying the interface points between various organizations and groups that will be required to work with each other on a project.

To gain a clear understanding of the interdependency among various groups an organizational overlay can be created.

Graphical images of how individual groups will be required to pass data or product are very useful in preventing misunderstanding and making the correct task assignments. Block plans with data flows or function diagrams show the interface points.

Graphically illustrate the project and task overlaps

There are two commonly accepted methods for drawing a project or illustrating how the pieces of a project fit together

• Bar Charts• Network Diagrams

These graphical illustrations allow us to speculate on “what if types” of questions.