Project Management

Chapter 2: Individual and team issues

Project management technology, through computer software assists in all the technical aspects of project management. However, projects generally do not fail because the hardware or software broke down. People make projects succeed or fail. They make decisions, predict, plan for and control the progress.The technical tools for time, cost and quality management and control can only be used effectively if the project team operates properly.

The project manager

One of the most important decisions in project management is the choice of project manager.

Selecting the project manager:Project managers are sometimes qualified and experienced project management specialists who are employed on a permanent basis by an organisation. Other times they are external consultants who are contracted to manage a project for the duration only.

The concept of the project manager:

A project manager is similar to a chief executive or managing director, and project management assignments are frequently being used as a means of developing future general managers.Different kinds of projects call for different types of project managers; not all capable project managers are suitable for all project types.Because of the temporary nature of being a project manager, project managers do not have the power associated with hierarchical positions. Project managers must work across functional and organisational lines and frequently have few direct subordinates. Therefore one of the difficult tasks of a project manager lies in the authority to make decisions about project priorities, schedules, budgets, objectives and policies, but not having authority to give direct orders to people who must carry out the work of these decisions. Thus a disparity between responsibility and authority develops, and the project manager must rely on other forms of influence. That influence may be directed at individuals or at managers within the organisation.If the project manager cannot secure necessary co-operation, the assistance of the project sponsor will be sought. It is therefore important to find a project sponsor with sufficient seniority within the organisation.

The central position of the project manager:

A key ability is to be able to focus on the important details of the project at the same time as keeping a clear view of the project as a whole. (The ability to focus within the overview)The project manager occupies a central position relating to communications between the various people and organisations involved, much like a spider at the centre of a web.Thus, the project manager is responsible for receiving and issuing more information than anyone else on the project.When there is no direct authority, the project manager also has responsibility for influencing decisions relating to the well being of the project.

The role of the project manager:

The primary roles:1) Planning the project activities, schedules and budgets2) Organising and selecting the project team3) Interfacing with the client, the organisation and all other interested parties4) Negotiating with suppliers and clients5) Managing project resources6) Monitoring and controlling the project status7) Identifying issues and problem areas8) Finding the solutions to problems9) Resolving conflicts

These roles are intrinsically linked and cannot be regarded in isolation

These skills and competencies have to work in compliance with reaching the project success criteria;1) Within the agreed time limit2) Within the agreed cost limit3) To at least the minimum quality standards laid down

4) To the satisfaction of the client5) In compliance with the strategic plan of the organisation6) Within the agreed scope (determines what is, and what is not, part of the project)

Changes during the project evolution affect these criteria (project creep)The role of the project manager in relation to changes is making sure that only changes in scope agreed by the client are authorised or contracted for.Creeping scope occurs because there is a tendency for clients or their advisors to change the scope as their perceptions change while the project is being executed, and can lead to an expansion of the project beyond its original limits.Because the project manager has little authority within the formal structure of the organisation, it can be difficult tot control project creep. Therefore part of the role involves navigating or controlling the boundaries between the project and functional teams/departments within the organisation. This role is sometimes referred to as interface management, with the system for control and delivery being known as the interface management system (IMS)

Interface management is the control procedure that allows the project manager to work simultaneously across several different authority boundaries within the system. Interface management maintains a balance between managerial and technical functions. In order to develop a interface management system, the project manager must use both management and technical skills.

Personal, managerial and leadership roles:

Generally, in terms of “soft” management skills and attributes, the project manager should:1) Be flexible and adaptable2) Be able to concentrate on more than one thing at a time3) Demonstrate initiative4) Be persuasive5) Be a good communicator6) Be able to keep multiple objectives in sight and be able to balance them7) Be well organised8) Be prepared to generalise rather than (always) specialise9) Be a good planner and implementer10) Be able to identify problems, find solutions and make sure they work11) Be a good time manager12) Be good at negotiating and influencing (rather than arguing or giving orders)13) Be diplomatic

Technical and business skills:

Typical “harder” skills include:1) Understand how to set up a team and run it2) The ability to develop complex time and cost plans, and achieve them3) Understanding of contracts, procurement, purchasing and personnel4) Active interest in training and development5) Understanding of the technology that is central to project success6) Ability to translate business strategy into project objectives

Selecting the project manager:

For internal projects, a good functional manager is by far the best option because of the understanding of the industry and the organisation. The internally appointed project manager is likely to know key players an also have established a relationship with them. One problem that may arise, is that the organisations may be reluctant to release a good functional manager because it may be difficult to find a replacement. For one person to have the role of both functional and project manager is not advisable.

The other primary alternative is to find an external consultant. This has the obvious disadvantage that the person appointed is not familiar with the organisation, and there will therefore be a learning curve involved, and there may also be some disparity of interest since an external consultant does not owe any allegiance to the client organisation.

Some essential project manager requirements:

The project manager must have reasonable command of:1) Project planning2) Authorising3) Team organising4) Controlling

5) Directing6) Team building7) Leadership8) Life-cycle leadership

Project management uses these functions in order to execute specific projects that are subject to:1) Time constraints2) Cost limits3) Quality specifications4) Safety standards

Project planning:

This is usually the first stage of a project and is one of the most critical. Planning activity is at its greatest during the early stages, and as it progresses, the level of planning activity usually reduces substantially.Errors discovered during the early stages are usually relatively inexpensive to correct. Errors discovered in later stages may involve significant cost implications.Planning covers the activities that are to be accomplished, and in what sequence they are to be executed.

- Technical planning for project time planning and control- Cost planning and control- Quality management- Planning and establishing both individual and team authority and communication relationships

The usual method of defining authority linkages is through a task responsibility matrix (TRM).A TRM typically shows:- Key milestones- Individual important activities- General responsibilities- Specific responsibilities- Dates

Responsibilities would include such detail as responsibility for:1) Approval2) Preparation3) Checking4) Making and input5) Authorising

Special software exists for developing TRM’s

Authorising:

Project managers are interested in authority for 2 reasons:1) Accumulating sufficient authority to get the job done2) Determining how much authority to delegate to others involved in delivering the project.

Authority is not the same as power. Authority is a type of ability to control and direct that is delegated from higher levels in the organisation; power, in contrast, is given to an individual by subordinates at lower level.Generally, the level of authority given to a project manager should be in direct relation to the size and complexity of the project, and it is generally accepted that authority levels that exceed what is immediately required is granted.

Team organising:

The project manager is responsible for organising how the work is executed. This includes devising the organisational structures and team-management approaches to support the project. However, also other managers in the organisation will also probably have opinions on how things should be organised, especially if it affects their area of responsibility. Therefore it is important that the project managers acquire an understanding of organisational politics and how this is expressed in present organisation structures and team management approaches. Current modes will likely be influenced by different managers views on the different philosophies that exist concerning organisational structure and function. These views may, in turn, differ from that of the project manager, particularly with regard to the aims and objectives for particular parts of the organisation. By understanding the different viewpoints of the various stakeholders, the project manager is more likely to devise ways to gain the support of key managers.

One way of identifying the dominant prevailing philosophies is to contrast the current practices with the main views on organisational procedures. The main characteristics of these are:

1) Classical theory:- Under this view management is the process that is executed in order to meet some form of

organisational objective or group of objectives. The goals could be strategic, tactical or operational, and are usually some combination of these. In classical theory, the people involved are simply components of the production process. Most emphasis is placed on the produced goods and services. It is still applicable to some extent in large-scale, repetitive manufacturing processes. There will be little requirement for tactical organisation as there is little flexibility within the system.

2) Empirical theory:- Under the empirical theory, there are basic and essential similarities between the systems and processes

adopted by the organisation. Empirical theory and research is based on observation and interpretation. The idea is that if enough observations are carried out , the correct approach or process will materialise from the sample and data set. The end result is that managerial skill and organisational efficiency can be predicted and estimated by observing various management and organisational processes. Therefore it may be applicable in a situation where a new process is being set up, but where other organisations have already been using that process for some time. The ultimate end result is finding the absolutely best way of running the process out of all possible ways.

3) Behavioural theory:- There are 2 main schools within behavioural theory:- 1) The human relations school: Considers the interpersonal relationships between people and their

work, and suggests there are intrinsic links between the behaviour of individuals and the behaviour of the organisation as a whole. The ideal solution is to match organisational and individual goals and objectives. This is one of the basic underlying theories of Total Quality Management (TQM). Examples are profit-sharing schemes, and expectancy theory behaviour schemes.

- 2) The social system school: Considers the social characteristics of an organisation and of its component individuals. As the social characteristics of an organisation changes, so there is a need for the social characteristics of the individuals who make up the organisation to change. Attitudes to work and individual aims and objectives may have to change as the organisation changes. The changes may go beyond aims and objectives, and may involve whole working practices and processes.

4) Decision theory: Decisions theory is based on the concept that management and organisations can be studied mathematically. Organisations can be observed and modelled and the models can then be used to interpolate and predict organisational efficiency in organisations. Decisions theory makes use of management science and operational research techniques.

5) Systems management theory: The organisation can be characterised by the throughput of resources, and each stage in the production process can be characterised separately. All organisational systems have inputs, some form of processing and an output. The inputs, processes and outputs can be considered separately as component parts of the whole.

It is clear that a manager, who subscribes mainly to any one of these theories, could be resistant to the introduction of any structures or processes that are derived from any one of the others. It is not possible to define which theory would be applicable to any type of organisation. However, managers within traditional functional structures tend to favour classical, behavioural or empirical theory, while project managers tend towards a more scientific and analytical approach, favouring decisions theory and systems management. This essential difference in viewpoint results from the characteristics of the managers responsibilities. The function of organising has to be carried out throughout the life cycle of the project. However, the greatest organisational development requirement occurs during the earliest stages of the project. The project manager has to review the available resources and make a decision on the appropriate organisational structure as early as possible. Once this is decided, a meeting is arranged to communicate the decision and its implications to team members. Typical items that would be communicated at such a meeting include:

- Individual responsibilities- Project organisational breakdown structure- Project task responsibility matrix- Communication links- Authority links- Information configuration management system- Project programme

Controlling:Controlling involves the project manager being responsible for establishing desired targets for performance, measuring actual performance against the targets, and initiating corrective action where the actual performance deviates too far from that desired. Controlling is essentially a 4-stage process:

1) Targeting: Involves establishing some kind of workable and achievable target or series of targets. These targets should align and correspond with the stated success and failure criteria for the project and its sub-components

2) Measuring: The measurement of the extent to which actual progress is achieving targeted progress. This could be formal, such as by the use of earned value analysis, or informal, such as by the indirect appreciation and evaluation of progress.

3) Evaluating: Most forms of evaluation is carried out through some form of variance analysis, and includes identification and isolation of areas where progress is not being made in accordance with the overall project plan, and consideration of any alternative appropriate corrective action. Variance analysis is a retrospective tool, because it is based on established performance data. It should therefore not be the only method being used, but should be used in conjunction with some type of forecasting or prediction system. A forecasting system has the advantage of helping to identify areas where past variances are likely to correct themselves without any management intervention required. I addition it may be important in areas where planned actions are likely to result in poor future performance.

4) Correcting: This includes implementing the proposed corrective actions for reducing or eliminating the effects of deviations from target. Correcting is certainly one of the most important management functions of the project manager. The correction process identifies why the problems are occurring, puts a programme in place for correcting them, and then monitors actual and planned correction performance in order to ensure that any programme of corrections is working. (Second-level variance analysis)

Directing:

Directing is the process involved in converting organisational goals into reality through the use of organisational and project resources. It involves directing other people in order to ensure that their actions are appropriate to achievement of the overall objectives and aims.Typical directing activities:1) Setting up the project team: Includes ensuring that the team has sufficient human resources to allow it to

function. It involves ensuring that each team member fits into the team as efficiently as possible, and that individuals are compatible and work well together.

2) Team training and development: Project teams develop and evolve in response to team-member and project changes throughout the project life cycle. Training and development are essential in order to ensure that team members remain attuned to the needs of the project.

3) Supervision: Involves giving tactical guidance to team members at all levels. It covers setting individual targets, personnel evaluation, discipline, and the definition of individual and group objectives and responsibilities.

4) Individual and team motivation: Motivation is of absolute importance for performance, and may be supported by individual and group reward systems, evaluation and feedback, and the reconciliation of individual and organisational goals.

5) Co-ordination: Includes the directing of groups and individuals in order to ensure that all actions are being carried out toward achieving the common objectives of the project team and the overall organisation in an efficient and effective manner. It includes classification and prioritising of work, and monitoring resources to avoid conflict between functional and project teams.

Directing in a project team setting is one of the more complex issues to be dealt with for a project manager. The main source of difficulty is that team members may be part of both project and functional teams, and project and functional managers may give counter or contradictory direction orders. Team members may also be assigned to project responsibilities for a short time only, and it may be difficult to establish directional trust and commitment.

Team building:

This is the process of taking a series of functional specialisation individuals and welding them together into a unified project team. Because of the changes occurring in a project life cycle, team-building processes must be a continuous through all stages. This can be changes in personnel or project requirement changes in different life cycle stages. Team culture is established in the early stages, and is therefore the most critical. The initial culture tends to prevail through the project life despite of any occurring changes.There are 10 primary sections in any good team-building process:1) Individual and team commitment: The minimum level of commitment is that team members share

the overall aims and objectives of the project. This may obviously be an easier task in an internal project management structure. Commitment can be ensured or increased through: reward systems, individual and group motivation drivers, or linked to individual interests and external factors. A major objective for the project manager is a duality of objectives, where team members reach their own goals through their work, and ensuring that these individual goals align with project aims and objectives. This duality can be either direct or indirect.

2) Developing a sense of team spirit: The more competitive and interactive the project process, the more important will team spirit be. Team spirit cannot be easily defined. It is a measure of the motivation of the team and the extent to which its members can work effectively together. Team spirit is not the same as commitment. It is possible to have a highly committed team with very little team spirit, or well-developed team spirit with little commitment.

3) Obtaining the necessary project resources: It is very important for the success of a project team that increases in workload are matched by increases in resource investment. Inadequate matching between success criteria and resource investment is one of the main reasons why project teams tend to suffer

from quality compromises as productivity increases. Resources include not only ensuring the appropriate quantity of team members, but also the right mix of quality and skills.

4) Establishment of clear individual and team goals and success/failure criteria: A common issue in team building is when established and defined project success criteria change without sufficient redefining and re-establishment for the project team. Further, it is important the project success criteria are clearly identified in a form that can be quantified and against which project performance can be compared. The most common success and failure criteria relate to time, cost and quality, although there could be others.

5) Formalisation of visible senior management support: Since the project team will be operating within the overall organisation, it is important, both for the success of the project and for the perceptions of the team members, that senior management support is evident through interest and concern for the functioning of the project and project team.

6) Demonstration of effective programme leadership: The project will depend on the project leaders abilities and effectiveness regarding issues like development, implementation and accuracy of planning, efficiency of monitoring and control systems. In addition he must take personal ownership of problems and issues as they arise, and to ensure these are resolved.

7) Development of open formal and informal communications: Communications is important in many ways. First it is important regarding the output and efficiency of the project, and also to the motivation of project members, who may feel and work better if they can communicate with other people in the system, including section heads and managers. In practice, effective communications is one of the most neglected areas in many organisations. This is equally true in project management. Traditional communication methods may not be sufficient in a project environment, and the development of communication management and configuration-management systems seek to answer this need and complex requirements of project management.

8) Application of reward and retribution systems: During the project , some individual will show themselves as hard workers, while others may be relatively poorer performers. The project manager must establish monitoring and control systems in order to reward good performers and reprimand poor performers. A failure to do this will lead to further development of bad feeling, and if left unattended, will cause reductions in overall motivation and team fragmentation.

9) Identification and management of conflict: The high degree of pressure in most project systems, tend to increase the potential for arising interpersonal conflicts. However, conflict can also take other forms, like between incompatible design and cost information, or design of one aspect being unacceptable in terms of the design of associated sections. Good project managers, in any cause of conflict, recognise that a sudden drop in energy levels or performance by individuals or groups of people can be a sign of emerging conflict. However, not all conflict is bad. In creative groups, conflict can provide a stimulus toward higher levels of achievement and the emergence of novel solutions. The project managers task is to ensure that any conflict does not evolve out of control.

Leadership:

Effective leadership covers a wide range of qualities and skills, and these can vary from project to projectClassical leadership traits:

1) Decision making ability: Making good decisions based on relevant and available information2) Problem solving ability: The project manager cannot solve all problems, but must act as a catalyst

and focus for the team’s attempt to solve problems3) Ability to integrate new team members: For projects of longer duration it is important that the

project team is flexible enough to allows new members to join and to ensure that they are given enough time to adopt necessary skills and get sufficient information.

4) Interpersonal skills: Project managers should have good interpersonal skills and be able to develop trust and comradeship in the team

5) Ability to identify and manage conflict6) Communication skills: The communication element is compounded because of the requirements of

interface management.7) Interface management skills: The project manager works within a three level continuum consisting

of reporting upwards to the functional managers, and downwards to the individual team members. In addition, project managers could be in charge of a range of external consultants and authorities that all report to different managers.

8) Factor balancing skills: The project manager must be able to balance between all relevant factors affecting the performance of the project, and weigh these factors in order to make the right decisions.

Life-cycle leadership:

Project management is somewhat unique in terms of the way leadership requirements vary over time:1) Most of the project members only operate as a part of the team for a short duration. The project

manager therefore has little time to gain sufficient knowledge of the project and project-team to be able to lead it.

2) Due to the different requirements of each stage of the project life cycle, the project manager must be able to apply a range of different leadership skills and styles, and to choose to apply those that are appropriate to the particular circumstances as the project progresses.

This concept of life cycle leadership is not common to all leadership applications. It is only relevant where one person is involved in leading one or more project teams through the entire life cycle of a project. Most forms of management concentrate on a relatively small number of specific phases or stages. Most research suggests that leadership in any organisation has to change in relation to the maturity of the employees. The longer the employees are employed in the organisation then the more relevant experience they acquire. Thus their leadership requirements, namely what they require from their leaders, change.Phases of project team leadership regarding task-oriented and people-oriented leadership:Phase Characteristic Task People Effect 1 Inception High Low Telling2 Development High High Persuading3 Stabilisation Low High Participating4 Maturity Low Low Delegating

The transition from high-task, low-relationship operation to one that is low-task and low-relationship is a characteristic of the development of any project team. Not all teams reach the last stage. Regarding to the fact that teams progress through definable stages implies that the appropriate leadership style also has to change.

Most people who have worked in teams will recognise these basic phases:1) A command process, in where the project manager is simply telling people what to do2) The action is no longer to tell them, but to persuade them.3) The team leader allows team members to participate4) Delegation of control to other members of the team, leaving them in charge.

The project team:

Project teams within functional organisations

Project teams are established within the existing system, using resources from within one functional department or across several functional departments. Pure project teams on the other hand, exist solely for the purpose of the project or for a group of projects. A pure project organisational structure is most often set up to deliver a project for an external client or customer. Many project organisations have total freedom to organise themselves according to their own preferences but within limits of financial accountability, while others have functional support assigned to them by their parent company.

In most project management applications, project teams are set up within existing functional organisational groups and therefore lie somewhere between the pure functional and pure project extremes.There are numerous advantages associated with operating project teams within functional organisations

The structure provides excellent flexibility and full use of employees Employees are given the opportunity to gain new experience and to develop new skills The overall team and cross-functional working attitude of employees is improved Individual experts can share their expertise across a number of different projects Experts working together can create synergies that would cannot evolve in a rigid

functional structure Employees working on projects are not prevented from following their primary career path

within the function Project membership provides new potential career paths within the organisation Making use of an internal project structure often is less costly than employing a series of

external consultants to provide the same service.

There are also disadvantages associated with running project teams within an existing functional organisation: The function continues to operate as normal despite being depleted of resources by the

project. This can become a problem when key people are assigned to the project. Functional managers often try to unload their less efficient or productive people to projects

in the hope that this will minimise the negative effect on the function People who have worked for a long time in a functional environment may have difficulty

in adapting to the demand of a project environment Several projects are likely to be running simultaneously within organisations. A project

manager sometimes has difficulty in ensuring that his project is given the priority and attention it requires

There are often communication buffers and bureaucratic layers between projects and senior management while functional units tend to have more clear and longer established communication channels

Motivation can be a problem unless the project is given high profile senior management support. Project team members tend to see their project responsibilities as secondary to those of the functional unit

Team multi-disciplinary and heterogeneity issues

A project team usually consists of several functional specialists, and the team manager’s task is to blend these specialists into an effective project team. Some types of project teams, for example construction project teams, tend to suffer from high levels of sentience and interdependency, and as a result they have needs for deliberate team-building activities if they are to perform satisfactorily. Sentience is the tendency for individuals to identify with their own professions and background rather than with the projects or organisations goals.Interdependency is the tendency for teams to depend on input from more than one individual in order for the whole system to develop. Systems can feature pooled interdependency, where individual sections or divisions make contributions to the whole. There may also be sequential interdependency or reciprocal interdependency, where an input is required from a number of individuals or sections before the process or systems can move past a milestone or project gateway and onto its next phase. Differentiation (specialism) contributes to sentience and causes teams to fragment.

Integration mechanisms are a basic requirement for teams containing highly differentiated individuals and groups. Integration is simply the process of defining responsibilities and control, and ensuring everyone adheres to the definition. A highly integrated team is one where everybody knows exactly what they have to do in order to meet their targets. Generally, the greater the multidisciplinary nature of the team, the greater is the tendency towards sentience and interdependency. Team performance is also affected, and the greater the range of team member characteristics and backgrounds, the less chance there is of an overall bias or sentience affecting the operation of the team. In addition it is more likely that the team will generate new ideas. Make effective use of brainstorming, and become more efficient at problem solving. However, there is also likely to be more discussion and conflict. Whether the team should be homogenous or heterogeneous depends on the nature of the project that is to be undertaken.

Group and team processes

Groups are collections of individuals who work together in pursuance of a common objective. Teams are collections of individuals who work under the direction of a team leader in pursuance of a common objective. A team is therefore a specific type of group. Organisations contain many formal and informal groups and there is a tendency for groups or sub-groups to form wherever large numbers of people come together. Formal groups are those that are deliberately created by organisations in pursuit of their goals and objectives. A project team is one example of formal group. Formal groups include the selection of a leader and establishment of performance criteria that are in accordance with the aims and objectives of the department.Informal groups tend to form because of social reasons such as racial and sexual similarity, economic, social and political similarity, actual and perceived status, and even attitude similarity. Informal groups tend to form quickly and voluntarily.

It is important that project managers are aware of both the formal and informal groups that exist within organisations and the constraints/opportunities they present in executing the project. Informal groups can be as powerful-sometimes even more so- than formal groups. The project team is subject to both individual and group behaviours. Individuals tend to behave differently depending on whether they are on their own or are acting as part of a team. Groups tend to perform better at problem solving than individuals. Teams tend to:

brainstorm problems more effectively consider a wider range of factors develop an enhanced logic flow generate more new ideas and original thoughts discuss and consider a wider range of potential solutions and implications develop better approaches to weighing up the consequences of a range of potential actions solve problems more accurately and quickly

Project team performance

Team performance is a complex issue. Many internal and external factors can influence the performance level of any project team. The strongest single factors in determining a multidisciplinary groups performance are heterogeneity and cohesiveness:

Heterogeneity: This is the extent to which project team members are unlike each other in terms of qualifications, experience, outlook or a range of other factors that could influence team performance. Generally, the greater the heterogeneity the greater problem solving effectiveness. They will consider more information and will brainstorm more effectively. However, the increase in efficiency is at a cost of increased discussion and conflict.

Cohesiveness: Cohesiveness is a combination of how much team members want to be part of the project team, how well their personal goals align with team goals, and to the overall

commitment and morale of the team members. Generally, the more cohesive the team, the better it will perform.

In general terms, the higher the heterogeneity and cohesiveness of the team, the more effective it will become. Thus, multidisciplinary teams are good as long as they are established and controlled properly.

Project team staffing profile and operation

The characteristics of the individual specialists that make up the project team will influence the project manager’s choices in a number of areas, including organisation structure, monitoring and control.

Project team staffing

In selecting team members, a balance of various skills and experience is sought in terms of: Technical skills Management skills Administrative skills Interpersonal skills

The project manager recruits people from different functional teams, and this is done by assembling some kind of schedule of the resources estimated to be required and then submitting this in the form of a bid or proposal for approval by senior management. At the same time the project manager has to negotiate with various functional managers in order to secure the people required for the team.Different factors have to be considered in this negotiation process:

Immediate and long-term availability Ability Continuity requirements Team working skills Special skills

The best people in the organisation will be the most demanded people, and the project manager may have to consider trade-off’s regarding continuity and ability. Should he have the better people some of the time, or the less capable for the whole project duration?Another important factor to consider is the mix of internal and external staff. This is relevant to the classic internal and external project-management organisational breakdown structures. If the right calibre of people is not available internally, it might be necessary to hire an external consultant with the required qualities. This has obvious advantages and disadvantages and it has far reaching organisational and leadership implications.Characteristics found in a successful project team staffing process include:1) Staffing is generally voluntary: It is of importance what causes project team membership for the

individual, are they drafted or is it voluntary2) The project team is staffed in relation to the value of the project: Project member know that they

have been picked because of their skills and qualities3) Project teams are staffed and operated in a less formal manner than functional teams: The project

is small and dynamic, and requires less bureaucracy and in addition generates a requirement for smaller and more compact formal and informal communication systems.

4) Project managers lead by example: Project managers tend to work with less rigidly defined authority5) Project teams are flexible and responsive: Projects tend to operate within conditions of constant

change and project team members must be able to respond to change quickly and efficiently. Functional units tend to operate under conditions that are more stable. Good project managers can use this adaptability to advantage.

6) Project teams interface: They often work across both internal organisational boundaries and across the organisational boundary where external consultants, contractors and suppliers are involved. This leads to a reduced sense of insulation from outside, and tends to promote a greater commercial awareness

7) Project teams innovate and evolve: Constant change generates a requirement for rapid problem analysis and innovation. Successful project teams can identify new solutions and implement the corresponding processes quickly and effectively

8) Functional managers who provide resources for project teams receive recognition or credit when the project team performs well: All deals and agreements between functional and project managers in order to ensure that staff are released to the project, should be strictly honoured.

9) There is some research evidence to suggest that conflict should be promoted during the staffing process: Assuming that the usual team-building process of forming, storming, norming and performing is to be followed, the sooner the storming process begins the better. Sources of conflict should in other words be highlighted and identified as early as possible in the teams evolutionary process. The later that sources of conflict are recognised, the more damage is likely to have been done to team cohesiveness and morale.

The probability of the project being allocated the project managers first choice of potential project team members depends on:

Availability Willingness to work on the project Cost per hour of each specialist in relation to the cost limit for the project as a whole Changing priorities within the existing functional groupings Changes in perceived value of the project to the organisation

Project team profile

Project team mix

Because of the wide range of possible individual specialists that may contribute to the project for different durations, it is well worth to consider the project team in the widest possible terms:

Contractor’s personnel Subcontractors Clients In-house staff Any other interested bodies such as inspectors, government, community groups and lobby

groups

All but perhaps the last group, all participants are interested in a successful outcome for the project. This is best achieved in a good open, close-working relationship. Often client personnel are seconded into the contractors team. Alternatively the client may establish an office next to a contractor on the project site.

Even for the smallest projects it may be useful to have a project office to act as a hub for the project.

Uniqueness of project teams

The differences between project teams may be marginal or enormous, from two people to thousands. They may come from the same office or they may originate from different companies and work in different geographical locations. Thus there is no set profile for an effective project team. The skills employed must fully reflect the nature of the project. There are however, 3 specialist project management positions that need to be filled:

Project manager (managing director) Project planner (operations director) Project controller (financial director)

As with every team there are behavioural profiles across the team that can increase its chances of effectiveness. A team full of natural leaders, despite their technical competences, is unlikely to be the most effective project team. When potential team members have been identified with the skills required to tackle the project successfully, consideration must be given to whether the various personalities will work together effectively.

Project team operation

Team working approaches and techniques that claim to enhance the operation of teams by improving team performance and assisting in the development of good team spirit reveal that they share many underlying characteristics:1) Establishing measurable objectives* Identify and acknowledge the stakeholders who will determine, on completion of the project, whether or

not it has been successful. They may be the client, a project sponsor, members of the project management team, or some combination of interested individuals and groups. Stakeholder identification, and reconciliation with the project and project team, can be achieved through a stakeholder mapping and management exercise.

* Work with the stakeholders to determine and state explicitly what their dimensions of success are. Use this to establish how good performance could be measured. There may be a need for a trade-off between the conflicting desires of the various stakeholders.

* The importance of determining and agreeing the criteria for success cannot be overemphasised. It is important to find out what stakeholders expectations of success actually are

2) Stakeholder management* Stakeholders are sometimes referred to as the invisible team. If managed properly, these stakeholders

who are members of the extended project team, outside the project management team, will be a source of support if managed properly.

* Protect the image of the team: It not enough to do a good job. Good performance has to be recognised by people outside the project team.

* Develop a network of useful contacts who may be able to help or advise the project team as required. Key relationships should be established

* Use the network to identify and provide quality project resources when and where they are required

3) Establishing and planning measurable targets* Plans should be prepared in a manner that is understandable and that can be used in practice by the

members of the project team* Plans should be prepared at different levels and should contain as much information as is known and is

appropriate for the particular level of communication* Plan for the unknown. Have contingency arrangements in place to cover any unexpected events that

may occur* Set realistic and achievable milestones that will act as celebration points throughout the project. These

have an important effect on motivation as the project progresses

4) Planning and establishing processes* Establish ground rules for participants regarding their own roles and as many aspects of the project as

possible, including how they should respond to people outside the project team in different circumstances

* Plan for creating an open environment that acts as a catalyst for airing opinions, taking responsibility, and be creative when confronted with problems.

* Develop a plan for managing and developing relationships. This will not happen automatically and requires conscious effort by the project manager

* The rules of operation should be firm, but if the environment, including the project team itself changes, rules must be adapted and be flexible.

5) Leadership* Strong, credible leadership is required to provide clear direction and stimulate high performance from

its members.* Continual research should be carried out into ways of improving the internal and external workings of

the team, and then actions on the findings should occur.* Reward good performance. Poor performance must not be tolerated.

6) Membership and identity* There has to be a mutual respect between project members and project manager. The project team must

believe in the manager’s ability to get the job done* The project team should support and reward, and debate and challenge internally in the project team

environment* Temporary members of the project team should be seen in a positive light and not regarded as a

nuisance.* Team members should clearly understand their roles and what these entail* Team members should be aware of their individual contributions to the project, but must not forget their

value to the team as a whole and the need for co-operation

7) Communication systems* Both formal and informal meetings are important, not only concerning the status of the project, but also

to celebrate successes and develop a sense of common purpose and commitment* Meetings have to be well prepared and well run to be useful* Accept and address conflict* Establish effective formal and informal communication systems* Establish efficient communication with external bodies as well* Meetings should always result in action, preferably with time scales and individual or group

responsibilities

8) Team separation* The individual task responsibilities are to be achieved even in situations where team members are not

situated in the same place as the rest of the team. The expectations for performance are the same.* There should be mutual trust concerning the ability of team members, and the ability to deliver what is

agreed* Commitment and momentum have to be maintained even when team members are working in different

locations or cannot attend meetings are frequently as might be desired* Keeping in regular contact enables clear communication lines

9) Information technology* Due to advancements in technology; e-mail, the internet, groupware and client-server technology,

enable project team members to work autonomously at remote locations at any time of the day or night. For the project, this means that some project team members may never have to meet face to face.

Advantages of using IT advances:

Reduces the need for specific accommodation and facilities. Video link conference facilities mean that project teams can still meet when geographically separated.

Reduced interaction can lead to fewer conflicts resulting from personality clashes Records can be kept so that accountability and audit become simpler Team members work under less supervision and therefore have greater freedom of action Less control bureaucracy is required

Disadvantages of using IT: Supporting individual team members from a remote location can be expensive if face-to

face meetings are required Loneliness can be major factor. Team members may be used to work in teams, and many

of them may be motivated by daily interaction with their workmates. There may be fewer opportunities for development of team spirit

Managers lose control of work If there are significant time differences between team members locations, co-ordination

may be a problem People often say that video-conferences are not the same as meeting face-to face Some people have a natural hostility against the use of advanced IT-systems IT can always go wrong Team building processes and the formation of cohesion are severely restricted and the

team has to develop alternative approaches to these requirements

10) Teams in general: Most teams operate at their optimum efficiency under the following conditions:* There are regular face-to face meetings with team members* Performance measures and completion criteria are clear* Team members are given responsibility and accountability for their part of the project* Clear time commitments are established to which team members are expected to adhere

Project team evolution

Project life cycles

The following is an example of typical phases associated with new product development:1) Inception2) Feasibility3) Preliminary research and development4) Manufacture of prototype5) Development and testing of prototype6) Feedback and analysis7) Second stage research and development8) Final trials and approvals9) Production10) Commissioning11) Use12) Decommissioning13) Recycling

This is one example, but the stages or phases could be different from project to project. Nevertheless, in one form or another, there will be 5 clear stages:

1) Conception and feasibility: It involves the client identifying the need for a project and establishing some form of scope or limitations in the form of project boundaries. The feasibility analysis will include an evaluation of the likely need or demand for the project claim, what will be required to produce it, how much it will cost, how long it will take, and so on

2) Outline proposals and definition: Involves a more detailed analysis of what the project will entail, and greater precision in defining the precise scope of the project requirements. These proposals will include more detailed cost and time estimates, a clear statement of the production and manufacturing requirements of the project, clears time scales, etc. In most cases, the proposals would also include a summary of the project resources that will be required. The project manager will use this information to gain the approval from senior management to proceed. There will generally be some form of approval at the end of each lifecycle stage. These approval barriers are sometimes referred to as gateways.

3) Tooling up: This is the process of producing all the manufacturing equipment and other process requirements of the project. Once the bid has been approved, the project manager has to set up the organisation and production systems. This could represent a major investment in some production systems. Tooling up tends to form a high proportion of project costs, and a lower proportion of mass production costs.

4) Operation and production: The production system produces whatever the outcome or result of the project requires

5) Decommissioning: Involves reassigning all the resources that remain after the project is completed, including reassigning people back to their functional units or to other project teams, and scrapping the production equipment or reusing it elsewhere if possible. It should also include recycling of the product where possible.

The requirements of the project team will obviously vary in relation to the project life cycle. The composition and success criteria of the team will change, as well as the type and level of effort required at each stage. In addition, as the team and objectives change, the project manager’s leadership approach also has to change. The whole process is fluid, and a high degree of flexibility and adaptability is required. The relative importance of each life cycle phase will vary in relation to the characteristics of the project

Project change control and management

Although the project and project team are subject to changes during the project stages, there has been historically very little attempt to standardise life cycle phases and either the individual or the team responses in these to change. The situation is changing to some extent with the introduction of new national and international standards on project management practice. The new British Standard for Project Management Practice (BS6079) advocates the use of a standard generic strategic project plan (SPP). This defines standard planning and control systems and gives recommended standard approaches to change control.

Project team evolution

There are 4 widely recognised stages of general group development: Forming: The team meets for the first time, the introductions are made and the project

aims and objectives are established. The main project and team characteristics and aims are summarised in the form of;

1. A task responsibility matrix (TRM)2. An organisational breakdown structure (OBS)3. A project staff register4. A baseline set of team and project objectives establishing duality

The forming process ensures that all team members know each other, the rules of operation is established, and that everyone knows their own responsibilities and objectives. A team may or may not have a leader at this point

Storming: This stage is about establishing cohesiveness. Team members build up clearer perceptions of other team members abilities, commitment, skill, interpersonal skills etc. As these perceptions develop there is an increasing potential for conflict. In an open system, the group might depose the existing leader and elect one who matches the group’s perceptions of leadership ability. In closed systems, where there is no flexibility of leader change, conflict and resentment may increase. Cohesiveness is essential to productivity and effectiveness. However, cohesion can only develop in the storming process if managed subtly. If the storming process is overly restrained, and the team is forced to accept members or leaders who they believe have insufficient ability or value, interpersonal conflicts will arise and the cohesiveness of the group is compromised. This can result in a reduction in commitment and individual motivation, and the group could fragment. The leader, depending on personal levels of authority and power, may use influence to support and promote the leader positive school while restricting the leader negative school. Managed poorly, the whole process can lead to destructive conflict and an inability of the team to emerge from the storming phase

Norming: Norms are team standards. Any group or team will develop both formal and informal standards of behaviour that all members will be expected to observe. The norming process starts as soon as the storming stage is complete, and the organisational hierarchy and power structure has been established. Team norms vary widely according to a range of individual, team, organisational, and external influences. Standards of performance are likely to differ between projects because of differences in the expectations and demands of different clients. They can also differ due to different project managers views of what constitutes acceptable behaviour in any set of circumstances.

Performing: Once the team norms are in place, the process of actually performing begins. The team can only perform at anything like full capacity if it has overcome any internal fragmentation that may have occurred in the storming process. A full set of norms must also be in place for performance to be of high quality. All team members must feel that the team is balanced and that the contributions of each member are adequate. The performing team has resolved most or all of its interpersonal conflicts. Any new conflicts can be dealt with professionally by the team and would not require the intervention of higher authorities.

Groupthink:

Groupthink can occur where a group of individuals become very highly-sometimes totally-committed and motivated towards a set of beliefs, aims and objectives that the group shares. These may or may not be consistent with those of the other members of the project team, with the remainder of the organisation, or with the reasons for the undertaking the project. Groupthink is sometimes an unintended consequence of highly successful team development and often starts to express itself during the performing stage of development. Individuals start to substitute the groups emerging beliefs, aims and objectives for their own. Typical symptoms of groupthink are:

Absolute commitment to the project: Groupthink develops misdirected certainty in the minds of project members as to the right and justice of the project. It may also include delusions of the relative importance of the project to the overall corporate strategy of the organisation. Individual project managers may develop disproportionate perceptions of the value of their projects

Lack of respect for competitors: High cohesion and commitment can lead to the development of misdirected perceptions of direct and indirect competition. It can in any case be very dangerous to underestimate the competition

Intolerance: Dissenters of the group will not be tolerated, and formal or informal rules are put in place to ensure that team members either follow the “party line”, or leave the group.

Fear: Some members of the team may feel that something about the operation of the team is wrong, but may choose to be silent in fear of being seen as in opposition with the groups aims and objectives

Self-delusion: A false sense of invincibility may develop because the team effectively filters all incoming information to align with the built up image of the group and its performance levels. No one wants to be the one to criticise the team or its leadership. Individuals or groups that have experienced success over a period of time often exhibit it.

Selective reporting: Team filters are developed to sort out any incoming information that could portray the team in any negative way.

Project team motivation

The approaches required in order to increase of influence the levels of motivation in project teams will depend on the characteristics of the particular team. Individuals and teams can be self-motivated or may need to be externally motivated.

McGregor and Maslow

McGregor advocated his famous Theory X and Theory Y to characterise opposing views on motivation within teams and organisations. Theory X states that operatives are basically lazy and unmotivated; they dislike work and will avoid it if possible. They must therefore be carefully supervised and threatened with punishment if they do not perform. Theory X implies that a highly centralised and authoritarian management structure would be most appropriate. Theory Y states that operatives are willing to work and complete their work without close supervision. They want to do well in their jobs, find work stimulating and satisfying and like to succeed because this generates greater self-respect. Theory Y implies a less authoritarian management style, with more operative initiative and enterprise.In practice, most operational systems fall somewhere in between of these two theories. This relative imbalance between perceptions in Theory X and Theory Y can lead to problems within a project management context. Functional managers often tend to be more autocratic, an naturally more oriented towards Theory X. Project managers, on the other hand, tend to be more flexible and less autocratic in their approach and operation, and have to have more faith in the abilities of project team members.On the other hand, project managers often work to much closer tolerances of time, cost and quality performance than many functional managers. As a result, project managers have to engender a much closer understanding of time, cost and quality limits by team members, and therefore closer adherence to measurement and control systems. Problems occur when one manager regards a member of staff as a Theory X employee, while another manager regards the same person a a Theory Y employee.

Maslow suggests a hierarchy of needs rather than two alternative and contrasting theories. In the hierarchy of needs, operatives value different desires and preferences according to which of them they already possess.Maslows hierarchy:

Self-actualisation Esteem Belongingness Safety Physiology

Maslows hierarchy has direct implications for project management, and the hierarchy should be considered from a number of different project management perspectives:

Relative importance of needs: The relative importance of each element will vary from project to project, from team to team, and from individual to individual.

Time-based requirements: Generally, the higher the level of need being considered, the more there is a time element involved. Developing a sense of comradeship and togetherness takes time. In some cases, like with self-actualisation, it may take a great deal of time. However, project teams are of relatively short duration. In many cases, the project manager cannot offer to fulfil this kind of higher level need because of the time-frame involved. Project managers therefore have to motivate using lower levels of need satisfaction.

Unsatisfied needs: When needs at different levels are expected by team members to be fulfilled, but are not, resentment and employee dissatisfaction can be the result, which in turn affects performance and output

Complex needs: Higher-level needs are generally more subjective than lower levels. It is easy to determine when and how physiological needs may be met than self-actualisation, and different employees may be satisfied and fulfilled at different levels.

Anticipation: Fulfilled needs are no longer motivators. Much of the motivation element is therefore based on anticipation of needs being fulfilled in the future or after some given level of performance. The reward system therefore has to reflect this belief. Although fulfilled needs no longer act as motivators, they are hygiene factors that are necessary for other motivators to function.

Equity theory and expectancy theory

Equity theory is based on the perceptions of individuals in relation to what they do and how they are rewarded. Employees perceive the fairness or otherwise of their rewards by comparing these, and the level of effort necessary to obtain them, with those of other employees. Any perception of being rewarded inadequately generates perceived inequity. This is a common perception in organisations and acts as a powerful motivator. For an employee experiencing inequity, there are a number of alternative actions:

Seek promotion: This will increase the rewards, but it may also increase the effort required.

Seek increased reward level: If employees feel they are doing a god job, they could ask for an increase in salary. In a project setting this may be difficult because of the established cost limits. If granted, it will likely cause inequity in some other level of the project team

Make a lesser contribution: The easiest way to reduce felt inequity is to reduce effort, while maintaining the same reward. This will reduce the overall efficiency of the project, and perceived inequity elsewhere in the system may arise.

Increase other inputs: If some individuals are making a reduced contribution, additional resources may be added to cover for loss in output.

There can be positive inequities and negative inequities. Positive inequities refer to situations where the employee feels the inequity is in favour of the employee. Negative inequity is where the individual feels the reward is not in proportion with the effort. Negative inequity is the more powerful motivator of the two.

Expectancy theory

Suggests that people are motivated to make efforts ton achieve goals they believe will result in obtaining the rewards they value. It is related to the idea that motivation is related to personal goals and objectives. Expectancy theory suggests that project managers can motivate team members even where the individuals have no immediate financial incentive to improve their performance. The individual employee can be motivated provided that the successful completion of the project in some way be linked to the personal goals of the individual.

Project team communication

Good flows of information are necessary for ensuring good working relationships, to monitor and control, and to take swift corrective actions when required. Information flows in two directions; Inwards to the project manager from other people and organisations, and outwards from the project manager to others. Both formal and informal communications will be used as appropriate. One reason for establishing informal communication lines is the reduction in time needed for identifying and reporting problems compared to formal communication systems. Informal channels can respond faster on occasions, but not always.

Project communication

Communication among the various people and organisations involved in a project is analogous to the central nervous system of a body. Communication is the process by which a project manager sends out information, directives and objectives and then monitors actual performance. The quality of the information and the quality of the system it will pass through is vitally important. The communication system effectively integrates the efforts of project participants and facilitates the project management and system development processes.

Good communication partly depends on the quantity and quality of face-to face meetings. In successful projects there tends to be frequent review meetings to exchange information and instructions about project objectives, status, policies, problems that arise, and changes taking place. Seminars can be held to inform project members about issues that have arisen in other areas of the project.

Inadequate project communications is a common cause of many project failures. Problems often stem from poor quality information, inaccuracies, or being out-of-date, or from information that is ineffectively collected or distributed. The project environment is particularly suitable for effective communications with the horizontal and un-authoritarian management system. This type of communication results in quick decision making, which is an important aspect of projects with their conflicting constraints and commercial deadlines.

Project managers can choose from a wide range of ways of communicating: Meetings Telephone conversations Letters and memos E-mail Notice boards Chats Seminars Project plans and reports Newsletters

Whatever the method used, communication basically falls into two of four principle categories; formal or informal, and internal or external.

Formal and informal communication

Organisations naturally develop barriers to communication through departmental boundaries based on specialisation and power. The various sections of the organisation that are defined by the power and functional boundaries are sometimes known as operational islands.

Formal lines of communication are set up with the purpose of ensuring that project stakeholders get the information they need, delivered in a suitable format when and where they need it, and that there is a means of providing a reciprocal service delivering accurate and timely information into the system as required.However, todays formal communication systems often become choked with volumes of relatively low-value information because it is easy to rely on the latest project management software. The output from such packages is frequently distributed to large numbers of people who have little or no use for the information they are receiving. The use of e-mail has increased this problem.

Formal communication tools include: Frequently issued reports on all aspects of the project, with clearly defined distribution

lists to ensure that only relevant people receive the information Regular project meetings, where information is disseminated in person- this encourages

debate and discussion, but can result in conflict, which needs to be carefully managed to prevent it obstructing the communication lines.

Project memos Project newsletters that are useful for distributing information of lower urgency or of a

social nature around the project team. This is helpful in the integration of the team. A project notice board Project away-days and events

Informal communication systems are more difficult to control and manage, but they are essential to the project in terms of a social and integrative perspective. Most informal systems in a project tends to revolve around the grapevine, which is impossible to control, but possible to influence. The grapevine must be influences in such a way that it remains healthy, and not a source for resentment and counterproductive attitudes and feelings.

Informal communication lines are established by: Lunch and dinner appointments with colleagues Telephone conversations Coffee breaks Evenings in the bar after away-days Social events

Some well-known examples of influence attempts by management on informal lines of communications: Name badges that introduces an immediate perceived report because of customers

knowing the name of a company representative

Call centre employees who identify themselves by name Staff who are encouraged to use first names only in order to reduce formality Open-plan offices including management Weekly “walk-abouts” by senior management to raise their contact profile amongst

employees

Internal and external communications

Project communication is either internal to project team members, or external to all other people, and it important to know who is being communicated to. In general, the informal channels are solely used for the purpose of internal communications. External communications are generally conducted through explicit formal channels.Good internal communications rely on team members willingness to communicate and disseminate information openly, particularly that relating to problem areas and issues.Good external communication is almost the antithesis of this and requires absolute control in the dissemination of information. (Sometimes there is a specially assigned communications manager)

Project team stress

Stress is important because it affects the effectiveness and performance of the team and each individual team member. It is therefore important that the project manager identifies individuals that are especially susceptible to stress, and identify symptoms of stress as early as possible.

Origins and symptoms of team member stress

Typical reasons for stress are: Team members having project and functional bosses, who sometimes make conflicting

demands on their time Having to work to strict time, cost and quality limits Teams having only a relatively short life-span Projects tending to be relatively complex Operating within a frequently changing environment

Perhaps the greatest stress-inducer today is companies continuing efforts to reduce costs. This efficiency drive creates two pressures on employees: the constant need to work harder, and the fear of losing one’s job as fewer workers are needed to produce the same outputs.

Stress leads to a real loss in productivity and efficiency. The main sources of project team stress are often grouped under the following headings:

1) Personal stress: originates from within the project team member concerned. Personal problems can accumulate in addition to perhaps acceptable work stress levels , and reduce the performance of the employee. Personal stress is almost always outside the control of the project manager, although he could initiate seeking professional help

2) Work stress: Originates from the work environment: High workload, individual responsibility, conflict, leadership responsibility. The project manager has some control over these factors and can take action to reduce them.

3) Environmental stress: Originate outside of both the individual and the work setting: Fear of unemployment, level of national economic activity, changes in technology, new working practices, and changes in government. The project manager has little influence on these factors

Symptoms

The symptoms are grouped under the following headings: Physiological symptoms: raised blood pressure, increased heart rate, nausea, migraine,

sweating, visual disturbance Psychological symptoms: sleep interruption, depression, anxiety, aggression Behavioural symptoms: loss in energy and enthusiasm, complaints and listlessness,

absenteeism, attendance reduction, disregarding of regulations

These symptoms are obviously harmful to the project team, and it is the cumulative effect of all types of symptoms that create an overall stress perception within the individual.

Stress management

Individual stress management

A stress-aware culture has developed because of the increase in stress-related illnesses due to increasing efficiency and performance demands in work-life.Research on stress reducing schemes include:

Healthy diet Reduced tobacco and alcohol consumption Regular exercise Physiological awareness and control Communication Periodic re-alignment and reconciliation between goals and self-limits Psychological self examination and seeking advice where necessary Breaks and holidays

Communication is perhaps the single most stress reducing element, and the inability of many to talk openly with others about their problems, increase the danger of stress becoming destructive. Project teams that act empathetically and communicate well, tend to exhibit fewer symptoms and lower levels of stress.

Project-team stress management

Since stress related problems annually cost companies large sums of money and lost sales, an increased focus on work practices that attempt to control work-stress are developing. These include:

Deregulation: More flexible work-rules and work-times Reasonableness: The project manager must try to understand the situation of the project

member Fairness: To avoid stress caused by inequality if work efforts, a balancing of the workload

should be established across all team members according to their abilities, and making sure adequate levels of performance are achieved

Open-mindedness: Project changes may require changes in project work-practices, and the project manager must detect and act on this.

Flexibility: If possible during the project process, periods of reduced work-demand could be used to give team members a break or possibility of output reduction.

Approachableness: The project manager must establish a position where he is viewed as immediately approachable. A lack of communication and feelings of isolation are significant elements in stress development.

Conflict identification and resolution

Since conflicts in different ways can act to reduce the performance of a project, it is important that conflict is detected and acted on as early as possible.

Sources of conflict

Conflict is a natural by-product of human interaction. When it is constructive it can be useful in developing team relationships, and it is a feature of the decision-making and problem-solving approaches used by most successful heterogeneous teams.

Sources of conflict in project-environments: Onerous resources constraints and limitations Pressure to increase speed or reduce costs Pressure to meet demanding deadlines Imposition of new aims and objectives Change and consequent need for re-alignment Conflicting functional and project demands Personality clashes Misunderstandings and differing interpretations of requirements Incorrect or late information and communications Individual perceptions of inequalities Underlying resentment

Conflict characteristics

There is a tendency for more multidisciplinary teams to have increased potential for conflicts. Project management, by making use of shared resources, is particularly susceptible for conflict. In addition, when project pressure puts a lot of stress on the project team, conflict can arise or levels of conflict can increase.

Research has indicated some key elements that are regularly found when conflict occurs, and there appears to be a relationship between conflict levels and organisational factors:

The greater the heterogeneity or multidisciplinary nature of the team, the greater the potential for project team conflict

The lower the project managers degree of power and authority within the functional organisation, the greater the degree of potential conflict

The lower the degree of specified and quantifiable objectives, the greater the degree of potential project team conflict

The lower the level of individual communication and accountability within the project team, the higher the degree of potential project team conflict

The greater the degree of change required, the greater the potential for conflict to arise The lower the relative perceived prestige of the project, the greater degree of potential

conflict

Approaches to conflict

There are two main approaches to conflict within organisations. The traditional view is that conflict is always negative and should be avoided if possible. The contemporary view considers that some conflict may be useful, it can be used to maintain group dynamics and prevent team stagnation.

In the project environment there are 6 principle areas where conflicts regularly occur:1) When onerous deadlines have to met2) Where change occurs3) Where errors or omissions are discovered4) When resources are reduced or are supplied at an inadequate level5) Where people clash because of personalities6) In agreeing areas for concentration7) In agreeing priorities8) Where uncertainty is high

Experienced project managers should ask the following questions when seeking to identify the source of conflict: What is the source of the conflict? (The most important) Why is the conflict occurring? What is the potential impact of the conflict on the project? Can the conflict be reduced or eliminated and if so how? Could the conflict have been foreseen and can similar occurrences be avoided in the

future?

Clear communication of project objectives is very important to avoid sources of conflict about the main objectives and aims of the project. Project objectives should be:

Clear and precise Realistic Related to each other Achievable with the resources and constraints given Measurable Compatible with the overall strategic plan Agreed by senior management Communicated to everybody in the project team Communicated to stakeholders

These principles should be implemented at an early stage. However, they are subject to change as the project evolves and develops.

Conflict management

There are several approaches to managing conflicts: Conflict avoidance: When no acceptable or reasonable solution can be found, or the matter

is not sufficiently important to justify using time and resources to get involved in the conflict

Conflict absorption: When it is not possible to avoid a conflict and it is seen as inevitable, the project manager must try to minimise the impact of the conflict on the project.

Conflict resolution imposition: In extreme or emergency situations the manager may have to take immediate action and make a decision without consulting with others. This approach mat create further conflict, but there may no be any alternatives

Negotiated conflict resolution: This is about accepting that there is a conflict and negotiating or agreeing to a mutually acceptable solution. This usually involves some form of compromise from both parties.

In a case of conflict, it is the project manager’s task to mediate and to calm down the situation; Calm everyone down and give the team members time to get their emotions in check Clarify the facts of the situation Acknowledge each party’s position and feelings and respect their viewpoints Focus on the cause of the conflict and do not apportion blame Establish the best option in view of the project goals and priorities Attempt to get everyone to accept the decision Present the decision as a win-win situation in terms of the projects success Look for any evidence for personality clashes and speak to the people involved Look for any evidence of victimisation or specific targeting Examine the project-function interface and see if it is working correctly Attempt to talk to everyone and gather any relevant background information Talk to the functional managers concerned and ascertain if there is any functional

involvement or connotations Set a timetable for reconciliation, if possible Set up a monitoring system to make sure that things improve Learn from this occurrence and try to avoid future conflicts that may arise from similar

sets of circumstances

Version 2

Introduction

In practice, managing the many internal and external people necessary for a project to succeed is a major activity and can be a source of difficulty for project managers. Thus, this module covers the human issues that are relevant to project management.

There is a well-developed literature on individual and team human issues. This module will give a brief overview of some of the main areas that are relevant to effective project management. The overview concentrates on those aspects that are the most relevant to the functional requirements of the project manager and the project team.

The tools and techniques used in project management are becoming ever more refined and sophisticated. Complicated techniques are used in almost every aspect of project management today. At the same time, developments in information technology have provided much-improved capabilities for planning, budgeting, monitoring and controlling, using highly complex but easy to use computer programs. Relatively low-cost software will calculate variances, smooth out resources, define the critical path, forecast cash flows, and carry out many other complex tasks at the push of a button or click of a mouse. Plans, budgets, detailed drawings and reports are easily generated and beautifully presented in formats that are easy to understand. Information can be processed and distributed quickly and accurately, around the world if need be. This provides project managers with a level of effective support that could not have been imagined ten years ago.

Although it is logical to assume that the tools and techniques used in project management will continue to develop, such has been the rate of development to date that future developments are likely to provide progressively more limited advancements. Certainly, today’s tools are very effectively used in even the largest projects, and life without them is unimaginable. With the exceptions of speed of information generation and distribution, it is not clear how much more effective they need be.

Despite all the assistance from the use of modern computerized tools and techniques, projects still continue to incur difficulties in all areas of project management. Many projects run out of money; some run out of time; others do not conform to specification; some projects fail altogether. On the other hand, many projects are completed ahead of schedule, well inside the budget, easily meet the specifications, and are very successful. We should not be surprised by any of this. If project management relied only on tools and techniques, it would be a surprise if projects failed or were “too successful”.

There is no urgent need for developing further the methods used in project management. Projects, in general, do not fail because the planning hardware or software broke down. People make projects succeed or fail. They make the decisions, predict, plan for, and control the progress. Every project is unique, and the people involve contribute to the uniqueness more than any other aspect. The people and how the relate to the project environment are a major factor in the success of any project.

Most project management practice has to be team based. The complexity and information requirements of most projects effectively preclude individual operation except for the most simple of projects. As a result, project managers have to operate both as team members and as project team leaders. The technical tools for time, cost, and quality management and control can only be used effectively if the project team operates properly.

This module begins with the person who is, arguably, likely to have the greatest influence over whether the project has a successful outcome. That person is the project manager. The module then examines the classic management skills requirements of all managers, and relates this to a project management setting. These include a strong human element, such as managing the team-building

process. The project manager has to be able to build the team and then maintain control and co-ordination as the team evolves and develops.

The next section discusses project-team staffing, transition, and change. Nearly all project operate within some kind of defined life cycle. A project team may exist for a significant period of time and involve transitions as people join and leave the team at various stages as the project team progresses. The staffing process is considered, together with the effects of transition and change as the team evolves.

The module then moves on to examine some theories on motivation. This is perhaps the single most important aspect of team performance. The management functions of leadership and team building are important for good group performance, but the team has to be motivated, both collectively and in terms of each individual, in order for it to perform effectively. The module then considers project team communications. After motivation, communication is perhaps the most important single element in project team effectiveness. This section considers informal and formal communication, and also internal and external communications.

Even with efficient leadership, team-building processes, and communications, the team is unlikely to operate in complete harmony at all times. Workload pressures, real or perceived inequities, team member transition, and a range of other variables can all bring about stress and conflict within a project team. The final text section of the module considers project team stress. This section analyses the origins of team stress and appropriate stress-management options. Conflict is considered in terms of its characteristics and management.

Learning Objectives

By the time you have completed this module you will be familiar with:

The concept of what a project manager is The typical position and role of the project manager The essential project management skills The concept of what a project team is and how it works Project team staffing and profiling Project team life cycle and evolution Project team communication and motivation Project team stress and conflict

Learning Summary

The Project Manager

There is no one single model for a project manager. Different projects require different approaches

Project managers tend to operate across the usual vertical functional boundaries within organizations. Their projects tend to be of relatively short life span and the position of the project manager is always temporary.

The temporary nature of a project, and the cross-functional nature of the project administration, tend to limit the project manager’s authority.

The official authority of the project manager is often lower than the project requires. Frequently, there is a mismatch between the project manager’s level of responsibility and level of authority.

The project manager needs to have a good range of managerial, professional, and technical skills. These skills must be applied within the overall success

and failure criteria for the project. These criteria usually revolve around time, cost, performance, and safety limits.

Project managers work across interfaces. Project managers have to be good at interface management.

Project managers are usually either converted functional managers or, increasingly, specially trained professionals.

The primary requirements for effective project management are planning, authorizing, organizing, controlling, directing team building, leading, and the provision of life-cycle leadership.

Project management involves numerous applications for the planning of a project. Technical planning is required for project planning and control, cost planning, and control, and quality management. In addition, the project manager has a responsibility for planning individual and team authority and communication relationships.

Project management is a special condition in terms of organizational authority. The project manager is in a unique position and the project manager has to operate within the constraints of the ‘project management chair’.

Project managers and functional managers might have completely different views on how their organization works, and should be structured. Different approaches can be considered from viewpoints arising from empirical, behavioral, decisional, and systems theories.

Project managers must be able to control. This skill involves targeting, measuring, evaluating and correcting. Most forms of controlling used in project management are based on historical variance analysis and forecasting the future.

Project managers have to be good at directing people. This function involves achieving organizational goals through the use of organizational and project resources. The function also involves directing other people in order to ensure that their actions appropriate to achieving the overall aims ad objectives of the organization.

Team building in a project management context is the process of taking a series of individuals from different functional specializations and welding them together into a unified project team. The process involves establishing commitment, developing team spirit, obtaining necessary resources, establishing success and failure criteria, securing senior management support, developing good leadership and communications, and establishing reward and conflict controls.

Project managers have to be good leaders. Leadership skill requirements vary from project to project. Classical leadership traits are decision-making ability, an ability to handle conflict, communication skills, interface management skills and factor balancing skills.

Project management leadership is involved with the life cycle of the project. The leadership demands and style change through the course of the project life cycle. The general trend of leadership evolution from high task/low relationship to low task/low relationship is a characteristic of the development of any project team.

Project Team Processes

Many projects teams operate as individual entities within functional departments. Larger ones operate across functional departments. Some operate externally.

In most project-management applications, project teams are set up within existing functional organizational groups and therefore lie somewhere between the purely functional and purely project extremes. Although projects carried out in this environment may be strategically important to the

organization, they are highly unlikely to be the reason for its existence. The projects are likely to be developmental in nature and would tend to be projects to improve systems, procedures, methods or products and would tend to be internal projects for the benefit of the organization’s effectiveness.

Project teams tend to be unusual in that they are often highly multidisciplinary. The project manager assembles specialists from a number of different functional groups and then welds them into a project team.

Project teams tend to exhibit pronounced sentience, interdependence and differentiation.

The project team is subject to individual and group behavioral variations. Individuals behave and function differently when they are on their own than when they are acting as part of a team.

The strongest factors in determining a multidisciplinary group’s performance are heterogeneity and cohesion.

Project Team Staffing Profile and Operation

Most frequently, the project manager recruits people from different functional teams within the organization. The project managers does this by assembling some kind of estimated schedule of resources required and then seeks senior management approval to implement it.

Simultaneously, the project manager has to negotiate with the various functional managers in order to secure the people desired for the team.

The team requires a balance of technical and management skills, with the appropriate blend of individual specializations.

The project team is the group of people contributing to meet the objectives of the project. Some team members, for example, specialists whose expertise is only required for a particular activity—will have very small parts to play in the project, and probably will not see that they are a part of the close body of people who have more active and longer lasting roles.

The senior manager on the project team acts like a managing director, financial director, and operations director of the business that is the project. Although knowledge of the technology underpinning the project is vital in performing each of these roles, the primary function in each position is a project management one.

The project management team members should cover the main areas of the project in terms of skills and expertise, or at the very least should recognize and explicitly state any gaps or weaknesses. This identified shortfall will draw special attention to that area and is important because any aspect of the project with a competent project management team member supervising and supporting it is in danger of running out of control without the fact being recognized.

Project Team Evolution

All projects have a life cycle, including a definite start and completion point. The life cycle represents the phases of development and evolution through which the project passes.

There are four generally recognized stages of group development. These are summarized by Tuckman as forming, storming, norming, performing.

“Groupthink” is on possible stage of project evolution. It occurs as a result of the normal performing process. Groupthink tends to occur in highly cohesive

and motivated groups and can lead to undesirable behaviors that can compromise the project’s chances of success on occasions.

Project Team Motivation

Project managers are responsible for developing high motivation levels within their teams. There are a wide range of models and theories that can be used to guide them in this process.

McGregor’s “Theory X and Theory Y” model offers on approach to motivational theory. Theory X states that operatives are basically lazy and unmotivated, disliking work and avoiding it if at all possible. Theory Y states that operatives are willing to work and complete the job without close supervision; they want to do well at their jobs, they find work stimulating and satisfying, and they want to improve themselves and generate greater self-respect.

Problems occur when on manager regards a member of staff as a Theory X employee, and another manager regards the same person as a Theory Y employee.

Maslow’s ‘hierachy of needs’ is an alternative viewpoint. This theory suggests there are different levels of need depending on the relative position of the individual within the needs hierarchy. The different levels of needs are termed physiology, safety, belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization.

Equity theory is another approach to motivation theory. It is based on the perceptions of individuals in relation to what they do and how they are rewarded versus how other employees or groups are treated. Any perception of unfair personal reward generates a feeling of inequity.

Expectancy theory is another approach, based on the idea that motivation is related to personal goals and objectives. Expectancy theory allows project managers to motivate project team members, even where there is no immediate or direct financial incentive from the project itself. Individual employees can be motivated provided that the successful completion of the project can in some way be linked to achieving the personal goals of the individual.

Project Team Communications

Successful projects are often characterized by good communication and high quality information sharing and exchange. Good communication implies a system for effectively integrating the efforts of the project participants.

Inadequate project communications can be a significant factor in project failure. Problems often stem from poor-quality information, inaccuracies, out-of-date information, or from information that is ineffectively collected or distributed.

There are four principal categories of communications: formal, informal, internal, and external.

Formal lines of communication are set up with the purpose of ensuring that project stakeholders get whatever information they need, delivered in a suitable format, when and where they need it, and that there is a means of providing a reciprocal service by delivering accurate and timely information into the system as required.

Informal communications systems are much less easy to manage and control. They are nevertheless essential to the project team from a social and integrative perspective. The informal communication system in most projects and organizations tends to revolve around the ‘grapevine’ and while it is largely impossible to control the grapevine, it is possible to influence it.

Good internal communications rely on team members’ willingness to openly communicate and disseminate information, particularly that relating to problem areas and issues.

Good external communication requires absolute control over the dissemination of information.

Project Team Stress

Stress is more than just an unpleasant aspect of a demanding work environment. Stress leads to real losses in productivity and efficiency. Employees who are subject to high levels of stress take more time off work and are less efficient than employees who are subjected to tolerable levels of stress.

Project team stress can originate from numerous sources. The three main sources are personal stress, work stress, and environmental stresses.

Personal stress originates from within the project team member concerned. Work stresses originate from the work environment. Environmental stresses originate from outside both the individual and the workplace.

Conflict Identification and Resolution

The greater the heterogeneity, or multidisciplinary nature of the team, the greater the potential for project team conflict. This tendency is almost certainly because the greater the range of backgrounds and opinions, the greater the probability of differences of opinion arising.

The lower the project manager’s degree of power and authority within the functional organization, the greater the degree of potential for project team conflict.

The lower the degree of specified and quantifiable objectives, the greater the degree of potential project team conflict.

The lower the level of individual communication and accountability within the project team, the higher the degree of potential project team conflict.

Conflict tends to be at its greatest during the highly active phases of a project and is lower at both the start and the end. Other than this, it is difficult to generalize on the nature of conflict within the project environment.