Human Resource Management 9.4 Manage project team

Quick Link to Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management 9.1 develop human resource plan

Human Resource Management 9.2 Acquire Project Team

Human Resource Management 9.3 Develop project team

Human Resource Management 9.4 Manage project team

Managing the team involves tracking team performance, providing feedback, resolving issues and coordinating changes. Important management skills for managing the team include communication, negotiation, conflict management and leadership.

·         Management of the team is complicated when members report to more than one boss (common challenge in matrix organizations wherein employees report to a functional manager as well as a project manager).

·         Management of these dual reporting relationships is a critical success factor in project management.

Manage Project Team
Inputs	Tools	Outputs
1.       Project staff assignments 2.       Project management plan 3.       Team performance assessments 4.       Performance reports 5.       Organizational process assets	1.       Observation and conversation 2.       Project performance appraisals 3.       Conflict management 4.       Issue log 5.       Interpersonal skills	1.       EEF updates 2.       OPA updates 3.       Change requests 4.       Project management plan updates

 Five Key Inputs for Manage Project Team:

1.       Project Staff Assignments: A list of team members whose performance will be evaluated.

2.       Project Management Plan: Contains the HR plan which establishes roles and responsibilities, the organizational structure, and the staffing management plan.

3.       Team Performance Assessments: Ongoing formal or informal assessments of the entire team's performance as a group. Through this process, it is possible to identify and resolve issues, deal with conflict, and improve team communication.

4.       Performance Reports: Provides documentation of actual performance against the plan. Areas such as cost, schedule, quality, scope verification, and procurement audits are of special interest.

5.       Organizational Process Assets: Organizational Process Assets that can influence managing the team include:

·         Certificates of appreciation

·         Newsletters and websites (for recognition)

·         Bonus structures

·         Corporate apparel

·         Other organizational perquisites (benefits offered as motivation and rewards such as parking or a window office)

Five Key Tools for Manage Project Team:

1.       Observation and Conversation: These techniques are used to remain in touch with the feelings of team members and identify any developing problems early.

2.       Project Performance Appraisals: The need for performance appraisals during a project depends on factors such as organizational policies on appraisals, length of the project, and the organizational structure (for instance, the project manager would have little input to appraisals in a weak matrix).

Feedback for appraisals can come from supervisors directly observing the project work or it can come from external sources. A common practice involves the use of 360-degree feedback from multiple sources (peers, superiors, subordinates, customers).

3.       Conflict Management: Team members are responsible for initially attempting to resolve conflict at their own level (before escalating to higher levels). lf conflict escalates, the project manager should ensure that the issue is addressed early, in private, and involves a collaborative approach, This area has historically been the subject of numerous questions.

PMI cites seven major sources of conflict in the project environment. Ln descending order of importance or likelihood, they are:

1.       Schedule

2.       Priorities

3.       Resources

4.       Technical opinions

5.       Administrative procedures

6.       Cost

7.       Personalities

NOTE: Personality conflicts are the least likely kind of conflict on this list; however, our intuition might lead most of us to consider personality to be a major cause of conflict. Therefore, beware of personality conflict as a "distractor" (incorrect) choice on these questions about conflict!

Conflict can sometimes be avoided through the following techniques:

·         Clear assignment of tasks (avoid ambiguity or overlapping responsibilities)

·         Inform the team:

o   Exactly where the project is headed: goals and objectives

o   Results of key decisions (involve the team when appropriate)

o   Changes

·         Make work assignments challenging and interesting

Conflict may have a negative or a positive effect on the project depending on how it is handled. Project managers must recognize the following aspects of conflict:

·         Conflict is natural and promotes a search for alternatives.

·         Conflict is a team issue; openness promotes resolution of conflict.

·         Conflict resolution should focus on issues and problems, not personalities.

·         Conflict resolution should focus on the present, not the past.

·         PMI encourages the possibility of off-site team building as one effective method to defuse conflict.

PMI recognizes six methods for responding to conflict. The methods were adapted from the original work of Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann (TK) whose original model contained five methods.

Technique	Description
1.       Problem Solving/Confronting	·         Approaching conflict as a problem to be solved ·         Using open exchange of information; searching for alternatives that satisfy the needs of both parties, i.e. "win-win" ·         Used when the issues are too important for compromise ·         Historically, PMI@ called this the best method for conflict resolution ·         This now says each approach has its place (which is what TK originally said) ·         TK originally called this collaborating
2.       Collaborating	·         Incorporating multiple viewpoints ·         Searching for consensus and commitment to the solution ·         PMI incorporated collaborating as a technique separate from problem solving
3.       Compromising	·         Searching for solutions that bring "some degree of satisfaction" to both parties (partial wins) ·         May be a back-up approach if problem solving fails or powerful parties cannot agree or there is time-pressure for a solution ·         TK: Might result in a lose-lose if solution not supported
4.       Smoothing	·         Emphasizing areas of agreement rather than areas of disagreement ·         Used when contentious issues threaten ability to reach an agreement ·         Concern: the agreement may be temporary because the difficult issue was not resolved and will re-emerge ·         TK: Called this accommodating
5.       Withdrawing	·         Retreating (temporarily) from conflict ·         Used when angry, belligerent behavior threatens both the agreement and personal working relationships ·         Used when the issue is not vital to you and you do not wish to risk damaging the relationship ·         TK: Called this avoiding
6.       Forcing	·         Satisfying your needs at the expense of others ·         Results in a win-lose ·         Should be used sparingly because of the following 2 problems: o   creating antagonism (an enemy waiting to get you back), o   stalemate (the other party has more power than you believed or simply gets angry and won't cooperate) ·         TK: Called this competing

4.       Issue Log: An issue log is used to assign an owner to a particular issue and to track progress in resolving the issue.

5.       Interpersonal skills as: Appropriate interpersonal skills help a project manager bring the best from their team members. PMI identifies the most frequently used interpersonal skills as:

·         Leadership: Among other things, leadership is the ability to effectively communicate a vision and inspire individuals and team to high performance.

·         Influencing: Ability to be persuasive, clearly articulate position, listen effectively, consider all perspectives, gather important information and promote trust. Influencing is crucial because many project managers have little or no direct authority over key stakeholders (functional or weak matrix organizations).

·         Decision making: The ability to negotiate identity alternatives and make a timely decision.

·         NOTE: remember that PMI has added some additional skills in Appendix G (covered earlier in Section 9.3.2.1).

Five Key outputs for Manage Project Team:

1.       Enterprise environmental factors updates: Factors that may be updated as a result of managing the team include:

·         Inputs to performance appraisals

·         Personnel skill updates

2.       Organizational process assets updates: Organizational process assets that may be updated as a result of managing the team include:

·         Historical information and lessons learned

·         Templates

·         Organizational standard process

3.       Change requests: Staffing changes may affect the project management plan in numerous ways (the schedule or budget may change). Staffing changes may include rotating someone to a different assignment, outsourcing or replacing someone who left unexpectedly. If change requests because occur because of staffing issues, they should be promised using integrated change control.

4.       Project management plan updates: The staffing management plan may be updated.