PM501

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PM501

• Introduction to Project Management
• Session 5 Building Project Teams Project
  Communication Management

Dr. Nedka Gateva ngateva_at_technologica.com
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Learning Goals

• Identify the reason why it's important to acquire
  a project team with the right skills.
• Recognize the reasons why developing a project
  team is important.
• Understand the framework for building
  high-performance project teams.
• Understand the processes that allow for the
  timely and appropriate generation and
  dissemination of information among project
  stakeholders.
• Understand the communication barriers and the
  importance of improving the communications
  skills.
• Learn how to create the communications management
  plan.
• Learn the advantages and the proper use of
  different communication media and presentation
  skills.
• Define the content and the choice of appropriate
  tool for the project performance reviews.

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Project HR Management
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9.1 Human Resource Planning
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9.2 Acquire Project Team
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9.3 Develop Project Team
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9.4 Manage Project Team
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Responsibility Assignment Matrix
Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) using a
RACI format
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Interpersonal Skills - ?

• Leadership
• Developing a vision
• Knowledge sharing
• Involving people
• Motivating people
• Energizing people
• Overcoming barriers to change
• Communicating
• Listening and speaking
• Writing
• Discussing
• Presenting

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Interpersonal Skills - ??

• Negotiating
• Project objectives, scope, cost, and schedule
• Contracts clauses
• Personnel assignments
• Resources
• Problem solving
• Problem diagnostics
• Decision making
• Influencing the organization
• Power
• Politics

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Conflict Management

• Conflict resolution styles
• Forcing
• Smoothing
• Compromise
• Problem solving
• Withdrawal

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Project Performance Appraisals

• Gathering evaluation information
• 360-degree feedback
• Training programs
• Knowledge database

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Project Communications Management
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10.1 Communications Planning
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Communications Management Plan

• Stakeholder communication requirements.
• Information to be communicated format, content,
  and level of detail.
• Person responsible for communicating the
  information.
• Person or groups who will receive the
  information.
• Methods or technologies used to convey the
  information, such as memoranda, e-mail, and/or
  press releases.
• Frequency of the communication weekly or
  monthly.
• Escalation process identifying time frames and
  the management chain (names) for escalation of
  issues that cannot be resolved at a lower staff
  level.
• Method for updating and refining the
  communications management plan as the project
  progresses and develops.
• Glossary of common terminology.
• Reference PMBOK Guide, PMI, Third Edition.

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10.2 Information Distribution
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Communications Skills

• Sender-receiver models feedback loops and
  barriers to communication.
• Choice of media when to communicate in writing
  versus orally, when to write an informal memo
  versus a formal report, and when to communicate
  face-to-face versus by e-mail.
• Writing style active versus passive voice,
  sentence structure, and word choice.
• Presentation techniques body language and
  design of visual aids.
• Meeting management techniques preparing an
  agenda and dealing with conflict.

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10.3 Performance Reporting
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10.4 Manage Stakeholders
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The Art of Communications
In many situations, when a conflict arises, the
reason for that is lying not in an existing
problem, but in the surprise for the customer
(sponsor or manager).
What do I know? Who else needs to know?
Did I tell him/her?
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Strategies for Developing an Effective Team

• A Moderators Role in Team Building
• Establish objectives together Define performance
  objectives with the team and make sure that all
  team members understand the objectives and what
  actions will need to be taken to achieve them.
• Develop a participatory style Encourage staff to
  suggest ways to improve processes. Listen to
  their ideas and acknowledge their points of view.
  Encourage team members to discuss issues and to
  find solutions together.
• Focus on contributions Define objectives for
  having all team members actively contribute to
  the meeting. Introduce team members to the ways
  in which they can participate.
• Organize meetings Hold meetings with the whole
  team on a schedule. Discuss the meeting
  objectives and encourage the team to discuss
  their concerns.

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Strategies for Developing an Effective Team
(cont.)

• Organize the team Define roles and
  responsibilities together. If everyone has a
  clear role, individuals will be less likely to
  become frustrated and will be more willing to
  work together. Agree on who will assume
  leadership roles for different team activities.
• Explain the rules Discuss all norms and
  standards that have been established for this
  project by the Sponsor or the consulting
  organization. Explain the rationale for these
  rules and discuss their implications in
  day-to-day practice.
• Promote team responsibility Encourage members of
  the project team to take responsibility for
  completing specific tasks and to solve problems
  as a team. Introduce rewards only if the entire
  team meets objectives.
• Establish time commitments Schedule when and how
  each team member will devote time to team work.
  Determine if team work will require other staff
  to take on extra work, and, if so, discuss this
  with all staff and obtain their commitment.
  Monitor actual vs. planned time carefully and
  clarify all adjustments in schedule.

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Seven Characteristics of an Effective Team

• Team members share leadership roles
• Team develops own scope of work
• Team schedules work to be done and commits to
  taking time allotted to do work
• Team develops tangible work products
• Team members are mutually accountable for work
  products
• Performance is based on achieving team products
• Problems are discussed and resolved by the team

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Decision Making Process

• Step 1 Problem Identification

Selection and description of the problem,
definition of the main need or requirement.

• What is the problem? (Opportunity!)

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Decision Making Process

• Step 2 Objectives Definition

Description of the expected results and the scope
of the process.

• What is aimed to achieve?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 3 Determining Resources and Constraints

Estimation of all necessary and available
resources.

• What are the available resources?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 4 Developing Options

Development of all possible courses of action.

• What are the possible options?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 5 Selection of Screening Criteria

Establishment and application of screening
criteria to identify workable options.

• What are the viable options?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 6 Developing Alternatives

Combining the viable options in possible
alternatives of effective action.

• What options to combine?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 7 Evaluation of Alternatives

Analysis, comparison and ranking of alternatives
in order to evaluate which of the combined
options solves the problem in the best way.

• Which is the best alternative?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 8 Alternative Selection and Set Up

A decision on the course of action and
establishment of participants commitment to set
that action in motion.

• Which alternative to implement?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 9 Implementation

Realization of the chosen course of action and
solving of the problem.

• Lets do it?

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Decision Making Process

• Step 10 Monitoring and Follow Up

Documenting the feedback and the necessity of
follow-up actions, as well as the possible
improvements.

• What is the effect?

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Stages in the Process of Group Discussion and
Decision Making
Seeking(Creative Phase)
Sorting(Evaluation Phase)
Selection(Development Phase)
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Team Members Participation
Levels of Participation
Passively Interested
Actively Involved
Core Team
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Edward de Bono

• Dr. Edward de Bono is the worlds leading
  authority on conceptual thinking as the driver of
  organizational innovation, strategic leadership,
  individual creativity, and problem solving. Since
  1970 his exclusive tools and methods have brought
  astonishing results to organizations large and
  small worldwide and to individuals from a wide
  range of cultures, educational backgrounds,
  occupations, and age groups. Dr. de Bono delivers
  the advanced training solutions so needed for
  success in these challenging times.

Dr. de Bono has been credited with producing
thinking techniques that are simple, practical,
and powerful. His Six Thinking Hats, Lateral
Thinking, and DATT (Direct Attention Thinking
Tools) training courses are now being implemented
in organizations of all sizes because of their
simplicity and their power to change thinking
behavior, increase productivity, foster
team-building, and evoke profitable innovation.
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Lateral Thinking

• You cannot dig a hole in a different place by
  digging the same hole deeper trying harder in
  the same direction may not be as useful as
  changing direction.
• Lateral Thinking is for changing concepts and
  perceptions it is concerned with the perception
  part of thinking.
• The brain as a self-organizing information
  system forms asymmetric patterns there is a
  mathematical need to move across patterns.
• In any self-organizing system there is a need to
  escape from a local optimum in order to move
  towards a more global optimum it defines the
  mathematical need for creativity.

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Parallel Thinking

• All parties are thinking in parallel in the same
  direction.
• It is co-operative and coordinated thinking.
• The direction itself can be changed in order to
  give a full scan of the situation.
• At every moment each thinker is thinking in
  parallel with all the other thinkers.
• There does not have to be agreement!

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Six Thinking Hats

• The Six Thinking Hats system has four specific
  uses
• Its a critical meeting facilitation tool.
• Its an outstanding team productivity/communicatio
  n tool.
• Its a creativity enhancer.
• Its a control mechanism used to maximize and
  organize a persons thoughts - help make
  decisions and solve problems.

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Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)
The White Hat The White Hat calls for
information known or needed. With this
thinking hat you focus on the data available.
Look at the information you have, and see what
you can learn from it. Look for gaps in your
knowledge, and either try to fill them or take
account of them. This is where you analyze past
trends, and try to extrapolate from historical
data.
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Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)
The Red Hat The Red Hat signifies feelings,
hunches, and intuition. 'Wearing' the red hat,
you look at problems using intuition, gut
reaction, and emotion. Also try to think how
other people will react emotionally. Try to
understand the responses of people who do not
fully know your reasoning.
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Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)
The Black Hat The Black hat is judgmentthe
devilsadvocate or why something may not work.
Using black hat thinking, look at all the bad
points of the decision. Look at it cautiously and
defensively. Try to see why it might not work.
This is important because it highlights the weak
points in a plan. It allows you to eliminate
them, alter them, or prepare contingency plans to
counter them.
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Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)

• The Yellow Hat
• The Yellow hat symbolizes brightness and
  optimism.
• The yellow hat helps you to think positively. It
  is the optimistic viewpoint that helps you to see
  all the benefits of the decision and the value in
  it. Yellow Hat thinking helps you to keep going
  when everything looks gloomy and difficult.

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Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)

• The Green Hat
• The Green hat focuses on creativity the
  possibilities, alternatives, and new ideas.
• The Green Hat stands for creativity. This is
  where you can develop creative solutions to a
  problem. It is a freewheeling way of thinking, in
  which there is little criticism of ideas.

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Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)

• The Blue Hat
• The Blue Hat is used to manage the thinking
  process.
• The Blue Hat stands for process control. This is
  the hat worn by people chairing meetings. When
  running into difficulties because ideas are
  running dry, they may direct activity into Green
  Hat thinking. When contingency plans are needed,
  they will ask for Black Hat thinking, etc.

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Six Thinking Hats (Edward de Bono)

Six Thinking Hats is a good technique for
looking at the effects of a decision from a
number of different points of view.   It allows
necessary emotion and skepticism to be brought
into what would otherwise be purely rational
decisions. It opens up the opportunity for
creativity within decision-making.
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Brainstorming
Formulated Topic
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Brainstorming Rules

• Choose suitable place and time, and set time
  limit.
• Review the rules of brainstorming.
• Arrange the participants in a circle and assign a
  notes recorder.
• Explain the objective of the session state the
  topic and write it down and post it where
  everybody can refer to it.
• Establish round ribbon format of calling out
  ideas encourage active participation by all
  team members.
• Everyone expresses his or her ideas, even if
  they seem silly or far out.
• No discussion is allowed - criticisms,
  compliments, or other comments during the
  brainstorm.
• Build on ideas generated by other team members.
• All ideas are written exactly as presented and
  displayed where everyone can see them.
• Clarify ideas. After the brainstorm, go over the
  list to make sure that all team members
  understand the ideas.
• Combine ideas. See whether two or more ideas that
  appear to be the same can be combined.
• Determine follow up.

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Affinity Diagram
?
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Affinity Diagram Rules

• Form groups of five to eight participants.
• First phase individual work
• The facilitator asks the group a specific
  question.
• Instruct each participant to write their ideas on
  four or five cards.
• Each card should have only one idea containing
  five to seven words.
• Second Phase ordering of cards
• The cards are posted on the wall, and the ideas
  are reordered in groups, by "affinity"
  (category). Each person can move any cards to
  group them into a category, until all
  participants agree about the grouping of ideas.
• Third Phase group consensus.
• When the cards are not being moved anymore, the
  facilitator and the group should try to summarize
  the central idea of each group of cards into one
  simple and short phrase. Try to split the
  groupings into smaller categories.

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Affinity Diagram Rules
Three levels of groupings 1st level (15) 2nd
level (7-8) 3rd level (3-5) 5. Fifth Phase
Assigning the priorities each participant has
the right of three votes 3 points, 2 points, 1
point. 6. Sixth Phase Summary of the most
important 3-4 ideas
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Negotiation Techniques

• Analyze the interest of the parties This is
  important to understand the perceptions, the
  style of negotiation, and the interests and
  principles of the counterparts, as well as one's
  own.
• Plan the negotiation, and determine
• What are the expectations from the negotiation?
• What are the terms of the negotiation?
• What are the nonnegotiable terms and what can be
  modified?
• What is the minimum that an agreement can be
  reached on?
• What is the negotiation strategy?
• What are the most important interests of the
  other parties?
• How does one interact with or manage people?

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Negotiation Techniques

• Select the appropriate negotiation technique
• Spiraling agreements Begin by reaching a minimum
  agreement even though it is not related to the
  objectives, and build, bit by bit, on this first
  agreement.
• Changing of position Formulate the proposals in
  a different way, without changing the final
  result.
• Gathering information Ask for information from
  the other party to clarify their position.
• Making the cake bigger Offer alternatives that
  may be agreeable to the other party, without
  changing the terms.
• Commitments Formalize agreements orally and in
  writing before ending the negotiation.
• Negotiate Be sensitive and quick to adapt to
  changing situations, but do not lose sight of the
  objective. Avoid confrontational positions and
  try to understand the interests of the other
  party.

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Strategies for Managing Meetings

• Use an agenda Each meeting should have an
  agenda. The agenda should include the items to be
  discussed, a time limit for each item, and the
  person responsible for each item.
• Select a moderator who is responsible for keeping
  the meeting focused and moving. The group leader
  could be the moderator, or team members can
  rotate this responsibility.
• Facilitate communication The moderator should
  try to encourage everyone to participate
  facilitate communication by summarizing and
  synthesizing ideas and presenting conclusions
  regulate whose turn it is to speak and intervene
  if the discussion breaks down or goes off track.
• Take minutes One person should take notes on the
  main themes and the key points that are discussed
  during the meeting. Be sure to include who
  committed to do what work, by when, etc.
• Evaluate the meeting Always review and evaluate
  each meeting. Evaluate how effectively team
  members communicated with one another. Include,
  in the evaluation, decisions about how the next
  meeting could be improved.

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Managing Meetings / Work Sessions
Not one way delivery of information.
A group process of efficient co-operation among
participants in the meeting based on their
knowledge, experience, good will and desire for
change and improvements.
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Guidelines for Listening

• Keys to developing good listening skills include
  training yourself to- Accept the speaker's
  delivery or style of presentation.- Assume the
  subject is important and interesting.- Pay
  attention to the feelings or emotions behind the
  detailed facts.- Remain calm, even if you
  disagree with the speaker.- Acknowledge the
  speaker physically and verbally.- Ask for a
  restatement if you did not hear clearly the first
  time and ask for clarification if the message is
  complex.- Acknowledge your feelings or
  reactions prior to speaking.- Stay alert and
  focused. Avoid fidgeting or day dreaming

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Solving Conflicts

• Avoid jumping to a solution before fully
  analyzing the problem.
• Describe the facts What is the unsatisfactory
  situation? What is the context of the conflict?
  What is each person's point of view?
• Define the conflict Where is the contradiction
  between the different points of view?
• Diagnose the conflict What preceded the
  conflict? What are the individual interests? What
  advantages does each party have? What are the
  power issues?
• Consider the alternatives, for there is no "best"
  solution. Sometimes, when the conflict is due to
  a misunderstanding, explaining the situation in
  an explicit way may help to resolve the conflict.
  In other circumstances, the differing points of
  view cannot be changed, only accepted.
• Implement the solution that has been chosen.
• Evaluate the solution. If the unsatisfactory
  situation still exists, begin the process again.

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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
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The Project Management Hierarchy of Skills
Reference Craig A. Hoard, PMP, Hierarchy of
Skills Laying a Foundation for PM Maturity,
Gantthead.com, July 09, 2003
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Hierarchy of Skills Laying a Foundation for PM
MaturityCraig A. Hoard, PMP
Peter Drucker has said that real management is
the management of people and people are the key
to success. Project managers tend to look for
ways to improve processes. We try to squeeze
just a little more efficiency out of the system
or find ways to work a little bit smarter. While
spending our energies on improving project
delivery mechanisms is a good thing, it is
imperative that we do not forget that it is the
people on our project teams that are the most
valuable asset.   In order to maximize the
potential of the human resources of a project,
the project manager must be properly prepared.
All too often the basic skills necessary for
effectively managing people are given light
attention while we focus on metrics. In Maslows
hierarchy, a person cannot achieve
self-actualization without satisfying the lower
level needs first. Likewise, before we can reach
for project management maturity, project managers
must be sure to build a solid foundation of
fundamental management skills.