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Management
Managing Project Teams
Submitted by
Adeel Ahmed Khan CIIT/DDP-SP11-BBA-001/LHR
Muhammad Kashif CIIT/DDP-SP11-BBA-008/LHR
Shanza Haider CIIT/DDP-SP11-BBA-030/LHR
Assignment on:
Project team management with relation to the team's identity, and the
factors that may encourage them to positively contribute to a project
success.
Introduction:
Anyone who has slightest of ideas about how various organizations pursue
most of their activities in todays world would be quite familiar with the
basics of what project is. In simple words a project is a planned set of
interrelated tasks and activities that are to be executed over a fixed
period of time and that too within a certain cost and other limitations.
Most of the projects today are carried in the form of teams. These teams
are normally formed while ensuring representation from various project
relevant departments and those with various relevant expertises. Thus a
typical project team comprises of members who are from different
departments or groups and are assigned the responsibility of carrying out
related activities that will allow them to complete a project. Success of
project relies heavily on careful considerations that have been made in
selecting the team members. Well thought out and properly planned
teams have often resulted in positive synergies thus adding up the efforts
of all its members to give an output that is far more than what could have
been achieved if these members would have worked independently. On
the other hand poorly established teams have resulted in creation of
negative synergies which have ultimately resulted in project failures and
even organizational failures.
Therefore if we are to turn any project into a success than it is very
important to not only ensure establishment of effective teams. However,
only constituting these projects in an effective manner with top
performing and capable team members is not just enough. In fact more
important is to manage these teams in an effective manner as even a
project team comprising of ordinary folks if managed properly can make
miracles happen while on the other hand, the one with top class members
but poorly managed can result into massive failures.
Taking into account the introductory discussion presented above, we will
now first discuss effective team development and then we will move on to
the topic of project team management. Later we will discuss establishing
teams identity while also covering the factors that motivates the team
members to work effectively for the projects success.
Project Team Management:
Managing project teams is not an easy task however if done efficiently
and
effectively
results
in
success
of
the
project.
Project
Team
This team
3. Norming: The norming stage is the real stage where close relations
and affiliations are developed and the group starts portraying
cohesiveness.
Project
team
members
start
taking
shared
This model suggests the development of project teams and thus allows
the project manager as well as the projects team members to understand
and accept the rifts and tensions of the project team development phases
and how to overcome any negative effects of the team development
process.
When it comes to developing an effective project team, you have to start
by choosing the best people for the job. This sounds obvious, but
determining the best candidates isn't always straightforward. Many
factors concerning potential members have to be considered, including
factors such as:
other tasks, but at least he will have a written document to fall back on
should it be necessary to hold a manager accountable to the commitment.
Roles and responsibilities:
Whether the project team is composed of part-time or full-time members,
defining the responsibilities and role of each member type (such as
technical lead, business process owner, and subject-matter expert) is
critical. The project manager should draft the roles and responsibilities
and use these definitions when discussing resource needs with functional
managers. He should also discuss and agree to these definitions with his
team members.
Project manager can build a foundation for successful performance before
the project kickoff meeting by working individually with the team
members. Often team members will share different information when
talking with him one-on-one than they will in front of a group. He should
take advantage of the time before the kickoff meeting to discuss any
concerns or assumptions made by individual team members. When work
on the project begins, he can continue to build on this foundation by
drawing on the relationships he established.
Establishing a Team Identity:
As can be easily interpreted from our previous discussion, one of the
major challenges project managers often face in building a team is the
lack of full-time involvement of team members. Many team members
work on different phases of the project while also spending majority of
their time and energy on some other task. Similarly many members are
simultaneously members of many other teams. This all leads to a situation
where they are often not interested in associating their allegiance to any
one team. Project managers in such situations have a huge role to play for
ensuring establishment of team identity. Creating a team identity can help
project managers manage their project. But often, the people project
managers collect to work on their project dont know one another. He can
use the tips provided below to help his project participants coalesce into a
team. Committing to work with others to achieve a common goal
encourages people to overcome problems they may encounter along the
way. The following tips can help clarify his teams purpose and encourage
team members to support one another as they work together to achieve
it:
establish
comfortable
and
productive
interpersonal
collective identity.
Co-location of team members: The best possible way to create
team identity is to make project team members work together in a
common space. Though this is not possible in all organizations set
Merely assigning people to tasks doesnt create a project team. Any good
project manager knows that a team is a collection of people who are
committed to common goals and who depend on one another to do their
jobs. Project teams consist of members who can and must make a
valuable and unique contribution to the project.
As soon as project manager identifies his project team members, he must
take steps to define and establish his teams identity as well as its
operating practices. Develop the following elements, making sure your
team understands and accepts them:
accomplish
Roles: Each members areas of specialty, position on the team,
As soon as people join the team, have them review the approved project
plan to reinforce the projects goals, clarify the work planned, confirm the
feasibility of time and resource estimates, and identify any potential
problems. Meet as a group to discuss peoples thoughts and reactions,
after theyve reviewed the plan.
Team members who contributed to the proposal can remind themselves of
the projects background and purpose, their planned roles, and the work
to be done. They can also identify situations and circumstances that may
have changed since the proposal was prepared and then review and
reassess project risks and risk-management plans.
New team members can understand the projects background and
purpose, find out about their roles and assignments, raise concerns about
time frames and budgets, and identify issues that may affect the projects
success.
Team members commit to a project when they believe their participation
can help them achieve worthwhile professional and personal goals. Help
team members develop and buy into a shared sense of the project goals
by doing the following:
Discuss the reasons for the project, its supporters, and the impact of
its results
Clarify how the results may benefit your organizations clients.
Emphasize how the results may support your organizations growth
and viability.
Explore how the results may impact each team members job.
Encourage people to think about how their participation may help them
achieve personal goals, such as acquiring new skills and knowledge,
meeting new people, increasing their visibility in the organization, and
enhancing their opportunities for job advancement. Obviously, projects
arent only about helping team members achieve personal benefits.
However, when team members can realize personal benefits while
performing valued services for the organization, the members motivation
and commitment to project success will be greater.
Factors that Motivate Employees to Contribute Positively to a Project
Success:
Motivation plays a key role in effective teams. A team lead must celebrate
successes along the way to maintain high levels of motivation and
camaraderie. Motivation has been shown to be one of the strongest
factors that determine team effectiveness according to a recent global
survey by the Project Management Institute of 120 project professionals
that included team members and project, program, and portfolio
managers.
The
survey
found
that
two-thirds
of
the
respondents
When the project meets peoples professional and personal needs in each
of these four areas, it strengthens their commitment to the projects
success. Following are some tips to help motivate a project team:
Increase commitment by clarifying the projects benefits:
Although some people commit to completing an assignment because
someone tells them to do so, there is a much more serious commitment
when a person recognizes and appreciates a projects benefits. When
discussing the projects benefits with the team, consider those benefits
that are most important to the organization, its employees, and its clients.
Encourage persistence by demonstrating project feasibility:
A project is feasible if its possible to accomplish. No matter how desirable
may feel a project is, if the team is convinced that nothing they do can
lead to its success, theyll give up more easily when they encounter the
slightest of difficulties. They dont need a guarantee of success, but they
must believe that they have a reasonable chance at it.
Let people know how theyre doing:
Getting the team members to appreciate projects value and feasibility
helps the organization to motivate them initially. However, if the project
lasts longer than a couple of weeks, the teams initial motivation can die
out without continual reinforcement from the managers.
Provide rewards for work well done:
Rewarding
people
at
projects
conclusion
for
their
effort
and
Model
the
behaviours
you
expect
from
your
team
members.
Seek Feedback:
Feedback should be solicited throughout the project and not just at the
end. Waiting until the project is complete to obtain feedback translates to
missed opportunities to improve team performance. It is crucial that the
team lead seek feedback from team members and incorporate that
feedback into the daily functioning of the team.
Have you ever seen a 12-month project in which all the major milestones
occurred in months 11 and 12? When do you think people got serious
about this project? Months 10, 11, and 12 (if they were still around by
then)! Obviously, you want your team members to stay interested and
motivated throughout the life of your project, not just at its climax.
Do the following to help keep people on track and excited about your
project:
Rewarding
people
at
projects
conclusion
for
their
effort
and
You talk with the person and express your appreciation for her help.
You express your appreciation in a written note or e-mail to the
person.
You express your appreciation in writing to the persons supervisor.
You formally submit input to the persons performance appraisal.
You nominate the person for a future assignment he particularly
wants.
You nominate the person for a cash award.
You issue the person a certificate of appreciation.
You take the person out to lunch.
Rather than guessing which form of reward your team members will
appreciate most, ask each of them directly.
To make the rewards you offer the most effective, do the following:
sincere.
Note the specific contribution the reward recognizes.
Respect the persons personal style and preferences when giving
the reward:
o Some people enjoy receiving acknowledgements in front of
their co-workers, while others prefer receiving them in private.
o Some people appreciate receiving an individual award; others
appreciate receiving an award presented to the entire team.
Conclusion:
For effectively managing any project team the project manager will need
to pay attention to his general leadership and management skills. Some of
the skill areas that he will need to pay attention to are:
Effective teams are so much more productive than groups working on the
same task because they are able to leverage off each others' strengths
and compensate for each others' weaknesses. Making sure that you have
the right mix of team members in your project team is therefore an
Are the right people on his team? Does he have an agreement from
functional managers to dedicate the necessary resources to his
project?
Has he set the goals and objective of the team? Are they clear to
everyone? Is there commitment from all team members to meet
them? Are any goals in conflict with one another?
Are team roles clearly defined and accepted? Does everyone know
what is expected of them? Do roles overlap or conflict?
Are there influences outside the team that may affect performance,
and if so, has he identified and addressed them?
Team members and the project manager understand their roles and
are committed to fulfilling them.
There is tolerance for conflict, and conflicts are openly and honestly
discussed.
All in all, a strong team foundation backed by strong identity of the team
will make considerable contribution towards the success of the project and
is thus very necessary for starting to work on the project.
References
http://www.copperproject.com/blog/2012/06/19/five-factors-that-lead-tosuccessful-projects/
http://www.brighthubpm.com/monitoring-projects/62415-seven-factors-ofeffective-team-performance/
http://www.phcprojects.com.au/project-management-critical-successfactors/
http://www.martinbauer.com/Articles/How-to-Plan-a-CMS-Project/ProjectSuccess-Factors
http://www.cooper.com/journal/2008/11/habits_of_effective_teams
http://www.projects.uts.edu.au/stepbystep/implementing1.html
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-essentials-of-managing-aproject-team.html
http://www.businessperform.com/projectmanagement/project_team_management.html
https://www.scribd.com/search-documents?
escape=false&page=2&query=Project+Teams
https://www.scribd.com/doc/52282283/Managing-Project-Teams
https://www.scribd.com/doc/87011439/Build-Effective-Project-Teams
https://www.scribd.com/doc/142961695/Project-Teams
https://www.scribd.com/doc/202040353/Project-Teams
https://www.scribd.com/doc/211435996/Building-Effective-Project-Teams