Chapter 8Chapter 8Project initiation and team buildingProject initiation and team building

Learning objectives• describe the process of project scoping and its

constituent activities• participate in the preparation of a project charter• discuss the need for trade-offs in a project between:

scope, cost and time• demonstrate the importance of and be able to create

a work breakdown structure• advise on the selection of a project team• explain how to succeed at teamwork in a project

using appropriate models

Initiation activities include the determination of:• The project’s mission

• Its constraints

• Its focus

• Its critical success factors (CSFs)

• Its objectives

• Its risks

Scoping can be defined as…

the process of establishing and agreeing with all the stakeholders what the project will

involve and where its boundaries are

The aim of project scoping is to arrive at a good understanding of:• the business need that the project was undertaken

to address• the expectations of the main stakeholders• the main activities that will need to be carried out• the main resources required and where they will

come from• the next stage – will there be a follow-on project?

The project charter

• A high-level document that records and communicates the results of the scoping process to project stakeholders

• Formal document, giving it official status

• Documents the project mission and details the overall purpose of the project

Scoping is iterative - requirements can change

• A project manager should keep asking the questions:– Why do you want this project?– What need does it meet for you?

Critical success factors (CSFs)

• Critical success factors (CSFs) are the deliverables that must be achieved in order for the project to succeed

• Conversely, if a CSF is not addressed, the project fails

Scope-time-cost triangle

Breakdown structures

• Deliverables and activities– A project can be defined in two ways:

• In terms of its deliverables – the products and services that it is going to provide

• In terms of its activities, where an activity is any unit of work that results in a deliverable, which can be done by a person or a team of people in a relatively short period of time

Using breakdown structures in project management

• In project management, breakdown structures can be used to define the – Product scope - the components or elements

that make up the end product or service– Project scope - all the work involved in the

project, that is, the project activities– Human resources - the people who will carry

out the activities

The work breakdown structure (WBS)

• Representation of all areas of work involved in a project

• Can be represented diagrammatically or as a structured task list

• Important communication tool in the planning phase of a project

• Has a unique coding system

The project team and team building

• Putting together (and keeping together) a project team includes six areas of accountability for the project manager:– Plan for team building

– Negotiate for team members

– Organise the team

– Hold a kick-off meeting

– Build communication links

– Conduct team building exercises

How to recognise an effective team

• There are four characteristics of a team that successful team members consistently identify (Owen, 1996):

– A team is more than just a group of individuals working together.

– A team shares a common purpose which is clear to each team member.

– A team requires continuous hard work, but should also be enjoyable, fun and result in a feeling of personal satisfaction for every team member.

– A team has a ‘feel’ of ‘teamness’ about it.

Life cycle of a team• A new team begins at the forming stage• In the storming stage, communication levels will have

increased• As a team moves from the storming to the norming

stage, productivity begins to increase• In the performing stage, the team has established its

interpersonal norms– it becomes an entity capable of diagnosing and solving

problems, and making decisions

• The final stage in the team life cycle is the mourning stage

The four pillars model of effective teams

I. Create the right environment

II. Create effective communication channels

III. Create strong personal and interpersonal values

IV. Develop flexible leadership achieving styles

Belbin’s team roles

• Discovered that the less brilliant team performed in a mediocre way until they were joined by a creative or task-oriented person

• Realised that a successful team needed different roles which related to different processes, and that these could be related to psychometric tests that could be given to individuals

• By identifying these roles, a healthy mix could be put together and the team would be more effective

Limitations of team building

• the project concept is faulty

• top management is unsupportive

• a new project

• inheriting a project that is already in trouble

• In some organisations, the use of team building can only temporarily alleviate the symptoms of a deeper underlying problem

• There are five fundamental systems in every organisation that constitute the bedrock for developing effective teams:– Culture– Structure– Internal economy– Methods and tools– Metrics and rewards