IMBEDDED PROJ ECT

Some companies like to imbed projects in

an established functional organization.
Such a practice has to be done with a
great deal of study. The project has to be
compatible with the functional
organization
Project as a part of the
Organization
ADVANTAGE of having functional organization as
the administrative home.
Flexibility
Utilize experts between projects
Specialists will group and share knowledge
Structure provides technical continuity
Provides opportunity for professional growth
DISADVANTAGES
The client may not be the control focus
Not usually a problem oriented group
Responsibility is not focused
The project has to Fit In
Usually several layers of management to go
through
Projects often get suboptimized
Service on a project by a technical person
may be viewed as a road block to growth
No Holistic approach
SELF CONTAINED UNIT
Pure Project
1. PM has full line of authority but reports at some
very high level in the parent organization
2. Only one OK required to get action
3. Communication is improved
4. Team of Experts The Lockheed experience
5. Ability to make swift decisions
6. Unity of command
7. Organization is usually pure and simple
8. Focus is on the whole project
9. Flexible
Disadvantage of Self Contained Project
1. Over staffing
2. J ust in Case hiring
3. The depth of technical knowledge from a
department can be lost
4. Company policy and corner cutting is
quite prevalent
5. We - They identities develop
6. People worry about life after the project
ends!
Matrix Organization
Combination of pure project and
organization based
Program Manager Research Manufacturing Engineering
Project A
Project B
Project C
Advantage
1. Project Mgr. is responsible (Time, Cost,
Spec.)
2. Reduces duplication of people
3. Less anxiety
4. Response to client needs is rapid
5. Policies, practices and procedures tend to
be preserved
6. More balanced and responsible approach to
resource management
7. Project Managers might not always have
full control
Matrix Organization
1. Balance of power is delicate and people
move slower
2. Project must be monitored as a set
3. Project resist death
4. The project manager must negotiate
everything
5. Project managers share workers:
6. Project workers have more than one
boss
The Mixed Organization
Project that lives within an
organization but is independent of
the organization
Selecting An Organizational Form
1. Define Project
a. Statement of objectives
b. Node diagram
2. Determine key tasks Understand
functional requirements
3. Arrange key task by sequence and
decompose into work packages
4. Determine which project subsystems are
required to carry out the work package
5. List any special characteristics and
assumptions associated with the project
especially problems and technical
requests.
6. Studying the pros and cons of each
structure : select a form
ASSEMBLE THE PROJ ECT TEAM
AND SET PROJ ECT GOALS
The management support system.
The core team.
The data sources.
The activity support people.
Team Building
The effectiveness of a team is affected by
its size
Small teams are appropriate when
responsiveness and prompt action are
required.
Large teams are useful for a widespread
information base, inclusion and
participation
Barriers To Team Building
The work environment
Level of member commitment
Communication skills of the project
manager
Upper Level management is not
supportive of the effort
Team Efficiency
J ust as in a mechanical system to achieve high
levels of efficiency we must carefully design our
system (team).
The research on team building indicates that in
order to achieve high levels of team efficiency
we must avoid:
1. Matrix based frictions,
2.poor communications
3. Poor coordination of the efforts of the team
Matrix Based Friction
A major source of matrix based friction is
when a project is highly dependent on
temporary borrowed staff leading to a lack
of staff continuity.
Lack of control over project staff and
material resources often leads to delays
and added efforts to acquire the necessary
resources
Poor Communication
Communicating information effectively to team
members is vital to a projects success.
Planning is vital to keeping the number of
communication channels to a minimum. A two
member team has the potential for one
communication channel, a three member team
three channels, a four person team six
channels, a twenty member team 190
channels
The project manager must work hard to keep the
information freely flowing along the channels
Coordination
Project managers must integrate the
pieces of their projects, bringing the output
from various subtasks together in a timely
fashion to achieve the goals of the project.
The extent to which a project manager is
an effective systems integrator will play a
significant role in determining the success
of a project.
Team Structures
Organizational architectures by
David Nadler
There is no one configuration that fits the needs
of every project.
Many variables have to be examined when
developing a team structure.
Project Size
Will staff be permanent
Technical nature of the work
Corporate culture(attitude towards projects)
Team members personality
Team Structures
Task assignment approach: The team is
structured so that it closely resembles the
deliverables.
- Organizationally simple since we assign staff to
each deliverable and hold them accountable.
- This form allows simultaneous work on the
tasks if they are independent.
- Easy for new staff members to understand their
role and responsibility
Team Structures
Specialty Team Structure; This team
structure is similar to the matrix
organization we discussed earlier. The
main difference is that the team members
are specialists but reside in the project.
Decision making shifts substantially from
the project managers to team members.
Team Structures
Leaderless Team Structure: Originally recommended
by Gerald Weinberg in the text The Psychology of
Computer programming. The objective of this structure
is to eliminate the negative effects of team members with
big egos.
This structure places all members of the team at the
same level of decision making and when properly
implemented results in a truly collaborative team
environment
To be successful these teams require continuity in team
membership
This structure seems to work effectively on state of the
art ill defined projects such as R&D work
Surgical Team Structure
The Mythical Man-Month
byFrederick Brooks
Sometimes called the chief programmer model.
A highly skilled specialist is the center of the
team (the surgeon). All other members of the
team strive to eliminate any distractions that
might get in the way of the skilled specialists
work (nurses, anesthesiologist, scrubs)
This structure addresses the issues of
integration since the output flows from one
individual.
Duplication of effort is eliminated.
Team Identity
Creating a sense of responsibility to each other
and team cohesion is very important if we are to
achieve the desired levels of efficiency. J .
Davidson Frame in his text Managing Projects In
Organizations suggests that team building
efforts should focus on three things:
- Making the team tangible
-Building a reward system
- building team spirit through the personal touch
Making The team Tangible
Effective use of meetings: Providing
participants with a sense of their
importance to the project.
Kick Off meeting recognizes the existence
of the team.
Status Review meetings helps to reaffirm
each team members commitment to the
project
Making The team Tangible
Co-location of the team members in a
common space
Creation of a war room
Team Logo
Anything that makes the team standout
(mugs, hats, t shirts)
Building a reward system
The project manager must develop a
number of rewards:
Letters of recommendation
Public Recognition
J ob Assignments
Flexible work schedule
New Equipment
The Personal Touch
Team identity is enhanced when the
project manager establishes a good one
on one relationship with the team;
Project managers should be :
Supportive of team members
Provide clear explanations of expectations
Learn something about the team members
Be accessible
Team Effectiveness
From Management of Technology
by H. Thamian
Work and Team structure
Communications and control
Team leadership
Attitudes and Values
Work and team structures
Team participants involved in project
definition
Team Structure and responsibilities
change as needed
Team leadership evolves based on
expertise and trust
Minimal dependency on procedures and
politics
Communication and Control
Effective cross-functional channels,
linkages
Ability to seek out and process information
Effective group decision making and
consensus
Clear sense of purpose and direction
Self-control, accountability, and ownership
Control is stimulated by visibility,
recognition, accomplishments, autonomy
Team Leadership
Minimal hierarchy in member status and
position
Internal team leadership based on
situational expertise, trust, and need
Clear management goals, direction, and
support
Inspires and encourages
Attitudes and Values
Members are committed to established
objectives and plans
Shared goals, values and project
ownership
High involvement, energy, work interest,
need for achievement, pride, self-
motivated
Capacity for conflict resolution and
resource sharing
Attitudes and Values, contd
Team building and self-development
Risk sharing, mutual trust and support
Innovative behavior
Flexibility and willingness to change
High morale and team spirit
High commitment to established project goals
Continuous improvement of work process,
efficiency, quality
Ability to stretch beyond agreed-on objectives
Effective Team Management
Early Project life cycle team involvement
Develop infrastructure conducive to
technology transfer and cross functional
teamwork
Define information interfaces, task
responsibilities, reporting structure
communications channels and work
protocols
Effective Team Management
Develop interfaces with support
organizations: product assurance, legal
services outside contractors
Staff and organize the project team
Make project goals and mission
objectives standout through visible
management support
Build a high performance image
Effective Team Management
Build commitment through conflict
reduction and the reduction of negative
views
Manage conflict and problems
Conduct Team Building Exercises
Convey a concern for the well being of the
team members
Foster a culture of continuous support and
involvement (be there)
SET A CLEAR PROJ ECT GOAL
Having a clear goal and being able to state
it to others is of paramount importance.
Goals provide direction
A clearly stated goal statement should
conjure up a vision of the final product in
the mind of the reader.
A goal statement will:
-- Focus the team on target
-- Create commitment and agreement
Goal clarification is an iterative process
A good way to capture a project goal is
in terms of a projects results
Take the user or customer perspective
or point of view
A goal should be so clear that anyone in the
same field or market can read your goal
statement and understand what you are
trying to produce.
To the extent possible, a goal should be
measurable. Sometimes the measures are
very crude, but still they allow the team
members to measure how close they are to
their target expressed in terms of
requirements.
Buy in or agreement must exist.
Project goals must be realistic
-- Timing
-- Cost
-- Technology
-- Consistent with company goals
Always write the goal down and distribute
it.
Constant reminding of what we are trying
to accomplish is in order.
Keep the goal squarely in front of the
project team
Focusing on the goal improves
communication
Focusing on the goal reduces confusion
Focusing on the goal allows stepwise
comparison of actual progress against
desired progress.
DEVELOP MASTER PLAN FOR
THE SYSTEM
Write a WBS
Establish responsibility
Build a schedule
GET THE PLAN ON PAPER
Prepare are estimate of schedule
Estimate overall resource requirements.
Prepare activity chart.
WRITING A WORK BREAKDOWN
STRUCTURE
It is not enough to have goals and objectives;
You need to know the tasks that will have to be
accomplished to achieve the goals, milestones,
concurrence relationships, and time estimates.
The development of a project work breakdown
structure will provide the vehicle for arriving at well
defined project tasks, schedules, and milestones.
The work breakdown structure is very often
likened to a Gozinto chart or a hierarchical bill
of materials.
The WBS subdivides the project into
hierarchical tasks or work packages.
It is essentially a collection of work units each
of which is relatively short and has clearly
defined beginning and ending points
(activities).
EXAMPLE
Bid Inventory Project
1.0 Introduction to Program
1.1 Attend Bidders Meeting
2.0 Understand Problems
2.1 Secure Proposal Request (RFP)
2.2 Study Proposal Request
2.3 Allocate work on understanding request
2.4 Identify due dates for individuals to report
findings
3.0 Write Preliminary Draft Proposal
3.1 Allocate tasks
3.1.1 Define subtask for writing
3.2 Define due dates
3.3 Define Review cycle
3.3.1 Establish reviewers names
3.4 Develop schedule
4.0 Write final project proposal
4.1 Read and review committee work
4.2 Clean-up all minor errors
4.3 Word process and place in cover
5.0 Submit proposal to agency
The element of a WBS should be defined
according to the following criteria:
Each element of a WBS must be of such a
duration that responsibility can be assigned to it.
Each element must be defined clearly enough
that it can be assigned as one of the many jobs
that the team must perform.
The individual elements of the WBS should be
selected to be budgetable in terms of money,
labor hours and relevant resources.
The WBS is the single instrument that can
be used easily to illustrate how each piece
of a project is tied to the whole in terms of
performance responsibility, budgeting, and
scheduling. A general set of steps to follow
when preparing a WBS is as follows.
1. Utilizing the personnel who will perform
the tasks, break the work units into finer
levels of detail. Work very hard at
obtaining definitions (clearly stating
beginning and ending points) for all
meaningful tasks. Tasks can only be
considered to be well defined when they
can be individually planned, scheduled,
budgeted, monitored and controlled.
2. For each such work element:
A. Write a work statement that includes the
inputs, end results, contract stipulations,
unique activities, and references.
B. Identify all people, vendors, and
subcontractors involved.
C. Clearly define the product (end item) of the
activity such as: Reports, Design Specs,
Hardware, etc.
D. Identify the resources needed, possible
tradeoffs and cost estimates. Resources
at this level will be equipment, materials,
facilities, support functions, etc. The
accounting numbers will need to be
established.
E. Generate a list of personnel and organizations
responsible for each task.
A linear responsibility matrix is very helpful for
interrelating tasks, people and organizations.
This chart shows who is responsible for what.
The PM can use a responsibility chart to gain a
clear understanding of who can approve of
what and who must report to whom.
The linear responsibility chart can take on at
least 20 different formats.
3. Once the WBS budget and time estimates are
documented they must be reviewed by the
people and organizations who will have the
responsibility for the work first and then by the
whole team.
The review process is not a trivial exercise; it
assures that the most significant issues surface
and are dealt with in an appropriate fashion.
(conflicts often result)
4. After approval the WBS should be aggregated
with regard to budgets, schedules, and
responsibilities.
5. After aggregation up through the schedule
hierarchy a project summary budget must be
created.
The total project budget will consist of four major
categories of cost:
A. Director cost- straight from WBS
A. Indirect cost Including general and
administrative costs: usually Formula driven
(derived)
A. Project specific cost Historically derived
D. Contingency reserve Company policy
6. A Master plan or master schedule with
appropriate milestones (evens) should be
created for planning and sales purposes. The
graphic display of this plan can be the key to
maintaining schedules and budget.
7. Correlate WBS with project plan to be certain
of feasible sets of requirements.
8. Establish a method for comparing the actual
values of time, money, and resources to the
planned values. (Charting techniques or
graphical displays).
9. Make adjustments to schedules and resources
as the requirements surface during project
implementations.
The networking tools will allow this work to be
automated or at least supported by computer
implementation.
The above steps will be required in nearly
every project management exercise. The
degree of detail required at each step will
change from project to project.
The linear responsibility chart is most
useful in identifying the interface points
between various organizations and groups
that will be required to work with each
other on a project.
To gain a clear understanding of the
interdependency among various groups an
organizational overlay can be created.
Graphical images of how individual groups
will be required to pass data or product are
very useful in preventing misunderstanding
and making the correct task assignments.
Block plans with data flows or function
diagrams show the interface points.
Graphically illustrate the project and task
overlaps
There are two commonly accepted
methods for drawing a project or illustrating
how the pieces of a project fit together
Bar Charts
Network Diagrams
These graphical illustrations allow us to
speculate on what if types of questions.