Unit – 1

Resource Planning
Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Estimating the Resources
1.3 Estimating Activity Durations
1.4 Resource Management
1.5 HR Planning
1.6 Managing the Team
1.7 Techniques for Managing Resources
1.8 Resource Levelling
1.9 Working with Individuals
1.10 Emotional Intelligence
1.11 Personality Types
1.12 Leadership Styles
1.13 Leadership Skills
1.14 Listening
1.15 Negotiation
1.16 Conflict Resolution
1.17 Delegation
1.18 Adjusting Leadership Styles
1.19 Working with Groups and Teams
1.19.1 Trust
1.19.2 Contracts and Trust Relationships
1.19.3 Types of Trust
1.19.4 Creating Trust
1.19.5 Managing Team Meetings
1.20 Action Item Meetings
1.21 Management Meetings
1.22 Leadership Meetings
1.23 Types of Teams
1.23.1 Functional Teams
1.23.2 Cross-Functional Teams
1.23.3 Problem-Solving Teams
1.24 Qualitative Assessment of Project Performance
1.25 Creating a Project Culture
1.25.1 Characteristics of Project Culture
1.26 Innovation on Projects
Summary
Keywords
Self-Assessment Questions
Answers to Check your Progress
Suggested Reading

Objectives:

After going through this unit, you will be able to;

 Appreciate Estimating Resources
 Explain the significance of Human Resources in Managing Projects
 Identify the personality traits required for working in projects
 Analyse different types of Project Teams

1.1 Introduction

Resources are people, equipment, place, money, or anything else that you need in order to do
all of the activities that you planned for. Every activity in your activity list needs to have
resources assigned to it. Before you can assign resources to your project, you need to know
their availability. Resource availability includes information about what resources you can use
on your project, when they’re available to you, and the conditions of their availability. Don’t
forget that some resources, like consultants or training rooms, have to be scheduled in advance,
and they might only be available at certain times. You’ll need to know this before you can
finish planning your project. If you are starting to plan in January, a June conference is harder
to plan than one in December, because the conference halls are all booked up in advance. That
is clearly a resource constraint. You’ll also need the activity list that you created earlier, and
you’ll need to know how your organization typically handles resources. Once you’ve got a
handle on these things, you’re set for resource estimation.

1.2 Estimating the Resources

The goal of activity resource estimating is to assign resources to each activity in the activity
list. There are five tools and techniques for estimating activity resources.
Expert judgment means bringing in experts who have done this sort of work before and
getting their opinions on what resources are needed.
Alternative analysis means considering several different options for how you assign
resources. This includes varying the number of resources as well as the kind of resources you
use. Many times, there’s more than one way to accomplish an activity and alternative analysis
helps decide among the possibilities.
Published estimating data is something that project managers in a lot of industries use to help
them figure out how many resources they need. They rely on articles, books, journals, and
periodicals that collect, analyse, and publish data from other people’s projects.
Project management software such as Microsoft Project will often have features designed to
help project managers estimate resource needs and constraints and find the best combination
of assignments for the project.
Bottom-up estimating means breaking down complex activities into pieces and working out
the resource assignments for each piece. It is a process of estimating individual activity
resource need or cost and then adding these up together to come up with a total estimate.
Bottom-up estimating is a very accurate means of estimating, provided the estimates at the
schedule activity level are accurate. However, it takes a considerable amount of time to perform
bottom-up estimating because every activity must be assessed and estimated accurately to be
included in the bottom-up calculation. The smaller and more detailed the activity, the greater
the accuracy and cost of this technique.

1.3 Estimating Activity Durations

Once you’re done with activity resource estimating, you’ve got everything you need to figure
out how long each activity will take. That’s done in a process called activity duration
estimating. This is where you look at each activity in the activity list, consider its scope and
resources, and estimate how long it will take to perform. Estimating the duration of an activity
means starting with the information you have about that activity and the resources that are
assigned to it, and then working with the project team to come up with an estimate. Most of the
time you’ll start with a rough estimate and then refine it to make it more accurate. You’ll use
these five tools and techniques to create the most accurate estimates:

Expert judgment will come from your project team members who are familiar with the work
that has to be done. If you don’t get their opinion, there’s a huge risk that your estimates will
be wrong.

Analogous estimating is when you look at similar activities from previous projects and how
long they took. This only works if the activities and resources are similar.

Parametric estimating means plugging data about your project into a formula, spreadsheet,
database, or computer program that comes up with an estimate. The software or formula that
you use for parametric estimating is based on a database of actual durations from past projects.

Three-point estimating is when you come up with three numbers: a realistic estimate that’s
most likely to occur, an optimistic one that represents the best-case scenario, and a pessimistic
one that represents the worst-case scenario. The final estimate is the weighted average of the
three.

Reserve analysis means adding extra time to the schedule (called a contingency reserve or a
buffer) to account for extra risk.

1.4 Resource Management

Resource management is the efficient and effective deployment of an organization’s resources
when they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills,
production resources, or information technology (IT). In the realm of project management,
processes, techniques, and philosophies for the best approach for allocating resources have
been developed. These include discussions on functional versus cross-functional resource
allocation as well as processes espoused by organizations like the Project Management Institute
(PMI) through the methodology of project management outlined in their publication A Guide
to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Resource management is a key
element to activity resource estimating and project human resource management. As is the case
with the larger discipline of project management, there are resource management software tools
available that automate and assist the process of resource allocation to projects.

1.5 HR Planning
The most important resource to a project is its people—the project team. Projects require
specific expertise at specific moments in the schedule, depending on the milestones being
delivered or the given phase of the project. An organization can host several strategic projects
concurrently over the course of a budget year, which means that its employees can be working
on more than one project at a time. Alternatively, an employee may be seconded away from
his or her role within an organization to become part of a project team because of a particular
expertise. Moreover, projects often require talent and resources that can only be acquired via
contract work and third party vendors. Procuring and coordinating these human resources, in
tandem with managing the time aspect of the project, is critical to overall success.

1.6 Managing the Team

In order to successfully meet the needs of a project, it is important to have a high performing
project team made up of individuals who are both technically skilled and motivated to
contribute to the project’s outcome. One of the many responsibilities of a project manager is to
enhance the ability of each project team member to contribute to the project, while also
fostering individual growth and accomplishment. At the same time, each individual must be
encouraged to share ideas and work with others toward a common goal.
Through performance evaluation, the manager will get the information needed to ensure that
the team has adequate knowledge, to establish a positive team environment and a healthy
communication climate, to work properly, and to ensure accountability.
Managing the project team includes appraisal of employee performance and project
performance. The performance reports provide the basis for managerial decisions on how to
manage the project team.
Employee performance includes the employee’s work results such as:
• Quality and quantity of outputs
• Work behavior (such as punctuality)
• Job-related attributes (such as cooperation and initiative)
After conducting employee performance reviews, project managers should:
• Provide feedback to employees about how well they have performed on established
goals
• Provide feedback to employees about areas in which they are weak or could do
better
• Take corrective action to address problems with employees performing at or below
minimum expectations
• Reward superior performers to encourage their continued excellence

1.7 Techniques for Managing Resources

One resource management technique is resource leveling. It aims at smoothing the stock of
resources on hand, reducing both excess inventories and shortages.
The required data are the demands for various resources, forecast by time period into the future
as far as is reasonable; the resources’ configurations required in those demands; and the supply
of the resources, again forecast by time period into the future as far as is reasonable.
The goal is to achieve 100% utilization. However that is very unlikely, when weighted by
important metrics and subject to constraints; for example: meeting a minimum quality level,
but otherwise minimizing cost.

1.8 Resource Levelling

Resource levelling is used to examine unbalanced use of resources (usually people or
equipment) over time and for resolving over-allocations or conflicts. When performing project
planning activities, the manager will attempt to schedule certain tasks simultaneously. When
more resources such as machines or people are needed than are available, or perhaps a specific
person is needed in both tasks, the tasks will have to be rescheduled sequentially to manage the
constraint. Resource levelling during project planning is the process of resolving these
conflicts. It can also be used to balance the workload of primary resources over the course of
the project, usually at the expense of one of the traditional triple constraints (time, cost, scope).
When using specially designed project software, levelling typically means resolving conflicts
or over-allocations in the project plan by allowing the software to calculate delays and update
tasks automatically. Project management software levelling requires delaying tasks until
resources are available. In more complex environments, resources could be allocated across
multiple, concurrent projects thus requiring the process of resource levelling to be performed
at company level.
In either definition, levelling could result in a later project finish date if the tasks affected are
in the critical path.

1.9 Working with Individuals

Working with other people involves dealing with them both logically and emotionally.
A successful working relationship between individuals begins with appreciating the importance
of emotions and how they relate to personality types, leadership styles, negotiations, and setting
goals.

1.10 Emotional Intelligence

Emotions are both a mental and physiological response to environmental and internal stimuli.
Leaders need to understand and value their emotions to appropriately respond to the client,
project team, and project environment.
Emotional intelligence includes the following:
• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Empathy
• Relationship management
Emotions are important to generating energy around a concept, building commitment to goals,
and developing high-performing teams. Emotional intelligence is an important part of the
project manager’s ability to build trust among the team members and with the client. It is an
important factor in establishing credibility and an open dialogue with project stakeholders.
Emotional intelligence is critical for project managers, and the more complex the project
profile, the more important the project manager’s emotional intelligence becomes to project
success.

1.11 Personality Types

Personality types refer to the differences among people in such matters as what motivates them,
how they process information, how they handle conflict, etc.
Understanding people’s personality types is acknowledged as an asset in interacting and
communicating with them more effectively. Understanding your personality type as a project
manager will assist you in evaluating your tendencies and strengths in different situations.
Understanding others’ personality types can also help you coordinate the skills of your
individual team members and address the various needs of your client.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one of most widely used tools for exploring
personal preference, with more than two million people taking the MBTI each year.
The MBTI is often referred to as simply the Myers-Briggs. It is a tool that can be used in project
management training to develop awareness of preferences for processing information and
relationships with other people.

Based on the theories of psychologist Carl Jung, the Myers-Briggs uses a questionnaire
to gather information on the ways individuals prefer to use their perception and judgment.
Perception represents the way people become aware of people and their environment. Judgment
represents the evaluation of what is perceived. People perceive things differently and reach
different conclusions based on the same environmental input. Understanding and accounting
for these differences is critical to successful project leadership.
The Myers-Briggs identifies 16 personality types based on four preferences derived from the
questionnaire. The preferences are between pairs of opposite characteristics and include the
following:
Extroversion (E)-Introversion (I) Sensing (S)-Intuition (N) Thinking (T)-Feeling (F) Judging (
J)-Perceiving (P)

Sixteen Myers-Briggs types can be derived from the four dichotomies. Each of the 16 types
describes a preference: for focusing on the inner or outer world (E-I), for approaching and
internalizing information (S-I), for making decisions
(T-F), and for planning (J-P). For example, an ISTJ is a Myers-Briggs type who prefers to focus
on the inner world and basic information, prefers logic, and likes to decide quickly.

It is important to note that there is no best type and that effective interpretation of the
Myers-Briggs requires training. The purpose of the Myers-Briggs is to understand and
appreciate the differences among people. This understanding can be helpful in building the
project team, developing common goals, and communicating with project stakeholders. For
example, different people process information differently. Extroverts prefer face-to-face
meetings as the primary means of communicating, while introverts prefer written
communication. Sensing types focus on facts, and intuitive types want the big picture.

On larger, more complex projects, some project managers will use the Myers-Briggs as a team-
building tool during project start-up. This is typically a facilitated work session where team
members take the Myers-Briggs and share with the team how they process information, what
communication approaches they prefer, and what decision-making preferences they have. This
allows the team to identify potential areas of conflict, develop communication strategies, and
build an appreciation for the diversity of the team.

Another theory of personality typing is the DISC method, which rates people’s personalities
by testing a person’s preferences in word associations in the following four areas:

Dominance/Drive—relates to control, power, and assertiveness Inducement/

Influence—relates to social situations and communication Submission/
Steadiness—relates to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness Compliance/
Conscientiousness—relates to structure and organization

Understanding the differences among people is a critical leadership skill. This includes
understanding how people process information, how different experiences influence the way
people perceive the environment, and how people develop filters that allow certain information
to be incorporated while other information is excluded. The more complex the project, the more
important the understanding of how people process information, make decisions, and deal with
conflict. There are many personality-type tests that have been developed and explore different
aspects of people’s personalities. It might be prudent to explore the different tests available and
utilize those that are most beneficial for your team.

1.12 Leadership Styles

Leadership style is a function of both the personal characteristics of the leader and the
environment in which the leadership must occur, and a topic that several researchers have
attempted to understand. Robert Tannenbaum and Warren Schmidt described leaders as either
autocratic or democratic (1958). Harold Leavitt described leaders as pathfinders (visionaries),
problem solvers (analytical), or implementers (team oriented) (1986). James MacGregor Burns
conceived leaders as either transactional (focused on actions and decisions) or transformational
(focused on the long-term needs of the group and organization) (1978).

Fred Fiedler introduced his contingency theory, which is the ability of leaders to adapt their
leadership approach to the environment (1971). Most leaders have a dominant leadership style
that is most comfortable for them. For example, most engineers spend years training in
analytical problem solving and often develop an analytical approach to leadership.

A leadership style reflects personal characteristics and life experiences. Although a project
manager’s leadership style may be predominantly a pathfinder (using Leavitt’s taxonomy),
most project managers become problem solvers or implementers when they perceive the need
for these leadership approaches. The leadership approach incorporates the dominant leadership
style and Fiedler’s contingency focus on adapting to the project environment.

No particular leadership approach is specifically appropriate for managing a project. Due to

the unique circumstances inherent in each project, the leadership approach and the management
skills required to be successful vary depending on the complexity profile of the project.
However, the Project Management Institute published Shi and Chen’s research that studied
project management leadership traits and concluded that good communication skills and the
ability to build harmonious relationships and motivate others are essential (2006). Beyond this
broad set of leadership skills, the successful leadership approach will depend on the profile of
the project. For example, a transactional project manager with a strong command-and control
leadership approach may be very successful on a small software development project or a
construction project, where tasks are clear, roles are well understood, and the project
environment is cohesive. This same project manager is less likely to be successful on a larger,
more complex project with a diverse project team and complicated work processes.

Matching the appropriate leadership style and approach to the complexity profile of the project
is a critical element of project success. Even experienced project managers are less likely to be
successful if their leadership approach does not match the complexity profile of the project.

Each project phase may also require a different leadership approach. During the start-up phase
of a project, when new team members are first assigned to the project, the project may require
a command-and-control leadership approach. Later, as the project moves into the conceptual
phase, creativity becomes important, and the project management takes on a more
transformational leadership approach. Most experienced project managers are able to adjust
their leadership approach to the needs of the project phase. Occasionally, on very large and
complex projects, some companies will bring in different project managers for various phases
of a project.
Changing project managers may bring the right level of experience and the appropriate
leadership approach, but is also disruptive to a project. Senior management must balance the
benefit of matching the right leadership approach with the cost of disrupting established
relationships.

Example: Multinational Textbook Publishing Project

On a project to publish a new textbook at a major publisher, a project manager led a team that
included members from partners that were included in a joint venture. The editorial manager
was Greek, the business manager was German, and other members of the team were from
various locations in the United States and Europe. In addition to the traditional potential for
conflict that arises from team members from different cultures, the editorial manager and
business manager
were responsible for protecting the interest of their company in the joint venture.
The project manager held two alignment or team-building meetings. The first was a two-day
meeting held at a local resort and included only the members of the project leadership team.
An outside facilitator was hired to facilitate discussion, and the topic of cultural conflict and
organizational goal conflict quickly emerged. The team discussed several methods for
developing understanding and addressing conflicts that would increase the likelihood of
finding mutual agreement.

The second team-building session was a one-day meeting that included the executive sponsors
from the various partners in the joint venture. With the project team aligned, the project
manager was able to develop support for the publication project’s strategy and commitment
from the executives of the joint venture. In addition to building processes that would enable
the team to address difficult cultural differences, the project manager focused on building trust
with each of the team members. The project manager knew that building trust with the team
was as critical to the success of the project as the technical project management skills and
devoted significant management time to building and maintaining this trust.

1.13 Leadership Skills

The project manager must be perceived to be credible by the project team and key stakeholders.
A successful project manager can solve problems and has a high degree of tolerance for
ambiguity. On projects, the environment changes frequently, and the project manager must
apply the appropriate leadership approach for each situation. The successful project manager
must have good communication skills. All project problems are connected to skills needed by
the project manager:
• Breakdown in communication represents the lack of communication skills
• Uncommitted team members represents the lack of team-building skills
• Role confusion represents the lack of organizational skill

Project managers need a large numbers of skills. These skills include administrative skills,
organizational skills, and technical skills associated with the technology of the project. The
types of skills and the depth of the skills needed are closely connected to the complexity profile
of the project. Typically on smaller, less complex projects, project managers need a greater
degree of technical skill. On larger, more complex projects, project managers need more
organizational skills to deal with the complexity. On smaller projects, the project manager is
intimately involved in developing the project schedule, cost estimates, and quality standards.
On larger projects, functional managers are typically responsible for managing these aspects
of the project, and the project manager provides the organizational framework for the work to
be successful.

1.14 Listening
One of the most important communication skills of the project manager is the ability to actively
listen. Active listening is placing oneself in the speaker’s position as much as possible,
understanding the communication from the point of view of the speaker, listening to the body
language and other environmental cues, and striving not just to hear, but to understand. Active
listening takes focus and practice to become effective. It enables a project manager to go
beyond the basic information that is being shared and to develop a more complete
understanding of the information.

Example: Client’s Body Language

A client just returned from a trip to Australia where he reviewed the progress of the project
with his company’s board of directors. The project manager listened and took notes on the five
concerns expressed by the board of directors to the client. The project manager observed that
the client’s body language showed more tension than usual. This was a cue to listen very
carefully. The project manager nodded occasionally and clearly demonstrated he was listening
through his posture, small agreeable sounds, and body language. The project manager then
began to provide feedback on what was said using phrases like “What I hear you say is…” or
“It
sounds like.…” The project manager was clarifying the message that was communicated by
the client.

The project manager then asked more probing questions and reflected on what was said. “It
sounds as if it was a very tough board meeting.” “Is there something going on beyond the
events of the project?” From these observations and questions, the project manager discovered
that the board of directors meeting did not go well. The company had experienced losses on
other projects, and budget cuts meant fewer resources for the project and an expectation that
the project would finish earlier than planned. The project manager also discovered that the
client’s future with the company would depend on the success of the project. The project
manager asked, “Do you think we will need to do things differently?” They began to develop
a plan to address the board of directors’ concerns.

Through active listening, the project manager was able to develop an understanding of the
issues that emerged from the board meeting and participate in developing solutions. Active
listening and the trusting environment established by the project manager enabled the client to
safely share information he had not planned on sharing and to participate in creating a workable
plan that resulted in a successful project.

In the example above, the project manager used the following techniques:
• Listening intently to the words of the client and observing the client’s body language
• Nodding and expressing interest in the client without forming rebuttals
• Providing feedback and asking for clarity while repeating a summary of the information back
to the client
• Expressing understanding and empathy for the client

Active listening was important in establishing a common understanding from which an

effective project plan could be developed.
1.15 Negotiation
When multiple people are involved in an endeavour, differences in opinions and desired
outcomes naturally occur. Negotiation is a process for developing a mutually acceptable
outcome when the desired outcome for each party conflicts. A project manager will often
negotiate with a client, team members, vendors, and other project stakeholders. Negotiation is
an important skill in developing support for the project and preventing frustration among all
parties involved, which could delay or cause project failure.

Negotiations involve four principles:

1. Separate people from the problem. Framing the discussions in terms of desired outcomes
enables the negotiations to focus on finding new outcomes.
2. Focus on common interests. By avoiding the focus on differences, both parties are more
open to finding solutions that are acceptable.
3. Generate options that advance shared interests. Once the common interests are understood,
solutions that do not match with either party’s interests can be discarded, and solutions that
may serve both parties’ interests can be more deeply explored.
4. Develop results based on standard criteria. The standard criterion is the success of the project.
This implies that the parties develop a common definition of project success.

For the project manager to successfully negotiate issues on the project, he or she should first
seek to understand the position of the other party. If negotiating with a client, what is the
concern or desired outcome of the client? What are the business drivers and personal drivers
that are important to the client? Without this understanding, it is difficult to find a solution that
will satisfy the client. The project manager should also seek to understand what outcomes are
desirable to the project. Typically, more than one outcome is acceptable. Without knowing
what outcomes are acceptable, it is difficult to find a solution that will produce that outcome.

One of the most common issues in formal negotiations is finding a mutually acceptable price
for a service or product. Understanding the market value for a product or service will provide
a range for developing a negotiating strategy. The price paid on the last project or similar
projects provides information on the market value. Seeking expert opinions from sources who
would know the market is another source of information. Based on this information, the project
manager can then develop an expected range within the current market from the lowest price
to the highest price.
Additional factors will also affect the negotiated price. The project manager may be willing to
pay a higher price to assure an expedited delivery or a lower price if delivery can be made at
the convenience of the supplier or if payment is made before the product is delivered.
Developing as many options as possible provides a broader range of choices and increases the
possibility of developing a mutually beneficial outcome.

The goal of negotiations is not to achieve the lowest costs, although that is a major
consideration, but to achieve the greatest value for the project. If the supplier believes that the
negotiations process is fair and the price is fair, the project is more likely to receive higher
value from the supplier. The relationship with the supplier can be greatly influenced by the
negotiation process and a project manager who attempts to drive the price unreasonably low or
below the market value will create an element of distrust in the relationship that may have
negative consequences for the project. A positive negotiation experience may create a positive
relationship that may be beneficial, especially if the project begins to fall behind schedule and
the supplier is in a position to help keep the project on schedule.

1.16 Conflict Resolution

Conflict on a project is to be expected because of the level of stress, lack of information during
early phases of the project, personal differences, role conflicts, and limited resources. Although
good planning, communication, and team building can reduce the amount of conflict, conflict
will still emerge. How the project manager deals with the conflict results in the conflict being
destructive or an opportunity to build energy, creativity, and innovation.

David Whetton and Kim Cameron developed a response-to-conflict model that reflected the
importance of the issue balanced against the importance of the relationship (2005). The model
presented five responses to conflict:
• Avoiding
• Forcing
• Collaborating
• Compromising
• Accommodating
Each of these approaches can be effective and useful depending on the situation.
Project managers will use each of these conflict resolution approaches depending on the project
manager’s personal approach and an assessment of the situation.
Most project managers have a default approach that has emerged over time and is comfortable.
For example, some project managers find the use of the project manager’s power the easiest
and quickest way to resolve problems. “Do it because I said to” is the mantra for project
managers who use forcing as the default approach to resolve conflict. Some project managers
find accommodating with the client the most effective approach to dealing with client conflict.

The effectiveness of a conflict resolution approach will depend on the situation. The forcing
approach often succeeds in a situation where a quick resolution is needed, and the investment in the
decision by the parties involved is low.

Example: Resolving an Office Space Conflict

Two senior managers both want the office with the window. The project manager intercedes
with little discussion and assigns the window office to the manager with the most seniority.
The situation was a low-level conflict with no long-range consequences for the project and a
solution all parties could accept. Sometimes office size and location is culturally important,
and this situation would take more investment to resolve.

Example: Conflict over a Change Order

In another example, the client rejected a request for a change order because she thought the
change should have been foreseen by the project team and incorporated into the original scope
of work. The project controls manager believed the client was using her power to avoid an
expensive change order and suggested the project team refuse to do the work without a change
order from the client.

This is a more complex situation, with personal commitments to each side of the conflict and
consequences for the project. The project manager needs a conflict resolution approach that
increases the likelihood of a mutually acceptable solution for the project. One conflict
resolution approach involves evaluating the situation, developing a common understanding of
the problem, developing alternative solutions, and mutually selecting a solution. Evaluating the
situation typically includes gathering data. In our example of a change order conflict, gathering
data would include a review of the original scope of work and possibly of people’s
understandings, which might go beyond the written scope. The second step in developing a
resolution to the conflict is to restate, paraphrase, and reframe the problem behind the conflict
to develop a common understanding of the problem. In our example, the common
understanding may explore the change management process and determine that the current
change management process may not achieve the client’s goal of minimizing project changes.
This phase is often the most difficult and may take an investment of time and energy to develop
a common understanding of the problem.

After the problem has been restated and agreed on, alternative approaches are developed. This
is a creative process that often means developing a new approach or changing the project plan.
The result is a resolution to the conflict that is mutually agreeable to all team members. If all
team members believe every effort was made to find a solution that achieved the project charter
and met as many of the team member’s goals as possible, there will be a greater commitment
to the agreed-on solution.

1.17 Delegation
Delegating responsibility and work to others is a critical project management skill. The
responsibility for executing the project belongs to the project manager. Often other team
members on the project will have a functional responsibility on the project and report to a
functional manager in the parent organization. For example, the procurement leader for a major
project may also report to the organization’s vice-president for procurement. Although the
procurement plan for the project must meet the organization’s procurement policies, the
procurement leader on the project will take day-to-day direction from the project manager. The
amount of direction given to the procurement leader, or others on the project, is the decision of
the project manager.

If the project manager delegates too little authority to others to make decisions and take action,
the lack of a timely decision or lack of action will cause delays on the project. Delegating too
much authority to others who do not have the knowledge, skills, or information will typically
cause problems that result in delay or increased cost to the project. Finding the right balance of
delegation is a critical project management skill.

When developing the project team, the project manager selects team members with the
knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish the work required for the project to be successful.
Typically, the more knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience a project team member brings
to the project, the more that team member will be paid. To keep the project personnel costs
lower, the project manager will develop a project team with the level of experience and the
knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish the work.

On smaller, less complex projects, the project manager can provide daily guidance to project
team members and be consulted on all major decisions. On larger, more complex projects, there
are too many important decisions made every day for the project manager to be involved at the
same level, and project team leaders are delegated decision-making authority. Larger projects,
with a more complex profile will typically pay more because of the need for the knowledge
and experience. On larger, more complex projects, the project manager will develop a more
experienced and knowledgeable team that will enable the project manager to delegate more
responsibility to these team members.

Example: Learning Project in Peru

An instructional design project in Peru was falling behind schedule, and a new manager was
assigned to the design team, which was the one most behind schedule. He was an experienced
project manager from the United States with a reputation for meeting aggressive schedules.
However, he failed to see that as a culture, Peruvians do a great deal more socializing than
teams in the U.S. The project manager’s communication with the team was then limited
because he did not go out and spend time with them, and his team did not develop trust or
respect for him. Due to these cultural differences, the project fell further behind, and another
personnel change had to be made at a significant cost of time, trust, and money.

The project manager must have the skills to evaluate the knowledge, skills, and abilities of
project team members and evaluate the complexity and difficulty of the project assignment.
Often project managers want project team members they have worked with in the past. Because
the project manager knows the skill level of the team member, project assignments can be made
quickly with less supervision than with a new team member with whom the project manager
has little or no experience.

Delegation is the art of creating a project organizational structure with the work organized into
units that can be managed. Delegation is the process of understanding the knowledge, skills,
and abilities needed to manage that work and then matching the team members with the right
skills to do that work. Good project managers are good delegators.

1.18 Adjusting Leadership Styles

Remember that personality traits reflect an individual’s preferences, not their limitations. It is
important to understand that individuals can still function in situations for which they are not
best suited. It is also important to realize that you can change your leadership style according
to the needs of your team and the particular project’s attributes and scope.
For example, a project leader who is more thinking (T) than feeling (F) (according to the
Myers-Briggs model) would need to work harder to be considerate of how team members who
are more feeling (F) might react if they were singled out in a meeting because they were behind
schedule. If individuals know their own preferences and which personality types are most
successful in each type of project or project phase, they can set goals for improvement in their
ability to perform in those areas that are not their natural preference. Another individual goal
is to examine which conflict resolution styles you are least comfortable and work to improve
those styles so that they can be used when they are more appropriate than your default style.

1.19 Working with Groups and Teams

A team is a collaboration of people with different personalities that is led by a person with a
favoured leadership style. Managing the interactions of these personalities and styles as a group
is an important aspect of project management.

1.19.1 Trust
Trust is the foundation for all relationships within a project. Without a minimum level of trust,
communication breaks down, and eventually the project suffers in the form of costs increasing
and schedules slipping. Often, when reviewing a project where the performance problems have
captured the attention of upper management, the evidence of problems is the increase in project
costs and the slippage in the project schedule. The underlying cause is usually blamed on
communication breakdown. With deeper investigation, the communication breakdown is
associated with a breakdown in trust.

On projects, trust is the filter through which we screen information that is shared and the filter
we use to screen information we receive. The more trust that exists, the easier it is for
information to flow through the filters. As trust diminishes, the filters become stronger and
information has a harder time getting through, and projects that are highly dependent on an
information-rich environment will suffer from information deprivation.

1.19.2 Contracts and Trust Relationships

A project typically begins with a charter or contract. A contract is a legal agreement that
includes penalties for any behaviour or results not achieved. Contracts are based on an
adversarial paradigm and do not lend themselves to creating an environment of trust. Contracts
and charters are necessary to clearly establish the scope of the project, among other things, but
they are not conducive to establishing a trusting project culture.
A relationship of mutual trust is less formal but vitally important. When a person or team enters
into a relationship of mutual trust, each person’s reputation and self-respect are the drivers in
meeting the intent of the relationship. A relationship of mutual trust within the context of a
project is a commitment to an open and honest relationship. There is nothing that enforces the
commitments in the relationship except the integrity of the people involved. Smaller, less
complex projects can operate within the boundaries of a legal contract, but larger, more
complex projects must develop a relationship of mutual trust to be successful.

1.19.3 Types of Trust

Svenn Lindskold describes four kinds of trust (1978):
• Objective credibility. A personal characteristic that reflects the truthfulness of an
individual that can be checked against observable facts.
• Attribution of benevolence. A form of trust that is built on the examination of the person’s
motives and the conclusion that they are not hostile.
• Non-manipulative trust. A form of trust that correlates to a person’s self-interest and the
predictability of a person’s behaviour in acting consistent in that self-interest.
• High cost of lying. The type of trust that emerges when persons in authority raise the cost
of lying so high that people will not lie because the penalty will be too high.

1.19.4 Creating Trust

Building trust on a project begins with the project manager. On complex projects, the
assignment of a project manager with a high trust reputation can help establish the trust level
needed. The project manager can also establish the cost of lying in a way that communicates
an expectation and a value for trust on the project. Project managers can also assure that the
official goals (stated goals) and operational goals (goals that are reinforced) are aligned. The
project manager can create an atmosphere where informal communication is expected and
reinforced.

The informal communication is important to establishing personal trust among team members
and with the client. Allotting time during project start-up meetings to allow team members to
develop a personal relationship is important to establishing the team trust. The informal
discussion allows for a deeper understanding of the whole person and creates an atmosphere
where trust can emerge.

Example: High Cost of Lying in a Charleston Project

On a project in Charleston, South Carolina, the client was asking for more and more backup to
information from the project. The project manager visited the client to better understand the
reporting requirements and discovered the client did not trust the reports coming from the
project and wanted validating material for each report. After some candid discussion, the
project manager discovered that one of the project team members had provided information to
the client that was inaccurate. The team member had made a mistake but had not corrected it
with the client, hoping that the information would get lost in the stream of information from
the project. The project manager removed the team member from the project for two main
reasons. The project manager established that the cost of lying was high. The removal
communicated to the project team an expectation of honesty. The project manager also
reinforced a covenant with the client that reinforced the trust in the information the project
provided. The requests for additional information declined, and the trust relationship between
project personnel and the client remained high. Small events that reduce trust often take place
on a project without anyone remembering what happened to create the environment of distrust.
Taking fast and decisive action to establish a high cost of lying, communicating the expectation
of honesty, and creating an atmosphere of trust are critical steps a project manager can take to
ensure the success of complex projects.
Project managers can also establish expectations of team members to respect individual
differences and skills, look and react to the positives, recognize each other’s accomplishments,
and value people’s self-esteem to increase a sense of the benevolent intent.

1.19.5 Managing Team Meetings

Team meetings are conducted differently depending on the purpose of the meeting, the
leadership style that is appropriate for the meeting, and the personality types of the members
of the team.

1.20 Action Item Meetings

Action item meetings are short meetings to develop a common understanding of what the short-
term priorities are for the project, individual roles, and expectations for specific activities. This
type of meeting is for sharing, not problem solving. Any problems that emerge from the
discussion are assigned to a person, and another meeting is established to address the issue.
Action item meetings focus on short-term activities, usually less than a week in duration.

The action item meeting is fact based and information oriented. It is a left-brain-type focus.
The action item meeting has very little dialogue except to ask clarification questions. If
discussion is needed or disagreement is not easily resolved, another problem-solving meeting
is established to deal with that issue. On smaller topics, that meeting might take place
immediately after the action item meeting and only include those people with an interest in the
outcome of the discussion.

The project manager keeps the successful action item meeting short in duration and focused on
only those items of information needed for the short-term project plan.
The project manager will restate the common understandings of what activities are priorities
and who will be responsible for the activities. Often these meetings can include a review of
safety procedures or security procedures when these issues are important to the project. The
leadership approach to action item meetings focuses on data, actions, and commitments.
Although the project manager may observe stresses between project team members or other
issues, they are not addressed in this meeting. These are fact-based meetings. If issues begin to
arise between people, the project manager will develop other opportunities to address these
issues in another forum. Using the Myers-Briggs descriptions, team members who favor
thinking more than feeling and judging more than perceiving are more comfortable with this
type of meeting.
1.21 Management Meetings
Management meetings are longer in duration and are focused on planning. They are oriented
toward developing plans, tracking progress of existing plans, and making adjustments to plans
in response to new information.

These meetings include focused discussion on generating a common understanding of the

progress of the existing plan. This discussion is based on quantitative information provided on
the progress of the schedule and other data, but the discussion is qualitative in evaluating the
data to develop a more complete understanding of the data. The experience and opinions of the
project leaders are solicited, and disagreement about meaning of the data is even encouraged
to develop a deeper understanding of the data. Through this discussion, a common
understanding of the status of the project should emerge, and the project manager invites
discussion, invites people to offer their thoughts, and assures that disagreements are positive
discussions about interpretation of the information and that disagreements do not become
personal.

Management meetings also focus on developing mid-term goals. For larger, more complex
projects, the goals may be monthly or even quarterly. For smaller or less complex projects,
weekly goals will provide the focus. The project manager focuses the discussion on the broad
priorities for the next period and includes all the functional leaders in the discussion. The goals
that emerge from the discussion should represent a common understanding of the priorities of
the project for the next term.

For example, during the early phases of a project, the team is focused on developing a
conceptual understanding of the project. A major milestone on complex projects is typically
the completion of the conceptual plan. The project manager would lead a discussion on what
needs to be accomplished to meet the project milestone and asks what potential barriers exist
and what key resources are needed. From the discussion, the project team develops a few key
goals that integrate the various functions of the project team and focus the team on priorities.
The following are some examples of goals during the conceptual phase:
• Developing a list of the procurement long-lead items and defining critical dates
• Developing a human resources plan that identifies critical positions
• Developing and building agreement with the client on the project scope of work
Each of these goals is measurable and has a time frame specified. They can be developed as
positive motivators and will take the project leaders and most of the project team to accomplish.
They develop a general understanding of the priorities and are easy to remember.

Management meetings are a combination of left-brain thinking, which is fact based and right-
brain thinking, which is creative and innovative. Using the Myers-Briggs terminology, team
members who prefer feeling over thinking and perceiving over judging can contribute ideas
and perspectives on the project that the more fact oriented members might miss.
The project manager allows and encourages conversation in developing and evaluating the
goals but focuses the discussion on the goals and obstacles.
Management meetings take on a different focus during the month. Meetings at the beginning
of the month spend time addressing the progress and potential barriers to the goals developed
the previous month. During the middle of the month, the project manager leads the team to
develop next month’s goals as the team also works on the current month’s goals. Toward the
end of the month as the goals for the month are accomplished, the meeting focuses more on the
next month, enabling the team to remain goal focused during the life of the project.

Management meetings are also an opportunity to discover obstacles to goal achievement. The
project team reallocates resources or develops alternative methods for accomplishing the goals.
As the project team discusses the progress of project goals, the project manager explores
possible obstacles and encourages exposing potential problems in achieving goals. The project
manager focuses the team on finding solutions and avoids searching for blame.

The project manager uses a facilitative leadership approach, encouraging the management team
to contribute their ideas, and builds consensus on what goals will bring the appropriate focus.
The project manager keeps the focus on developing the goals, tracking progress, identifying
barriers, and making adjustments to accomplish the management goals. Although there are
typically meetings for scheduling and procurement and other meetings where goals are
established and problems solved, the management meeting and the goal development process
create alignment among the project leadership on the items critical to the project’s success.

1.22 Leadership Meetings

Leadership meetings are held less frequently and are longer in length. These meetings are used
by the project manager to reflect on the project, explore the larger issues of the project, and
back away from the day-to-day problem solving. The project manager will create a safe
environment for sharing thoughts and evaluations of issues that are less data oriented. This is
a right-brained, creative meeting that focuses on the people issues of the project: the
relationship with the client, vendors, and project team. Team members who favor feeling,
perceiving, and intuition often contribute valuable insights in this type of meeting. The team
might also share perceptions by upper management and perceptions of the community in which
the project is being executed. Where the time frame for action item meetings is in weeks and
management meetings is in months, the time frame for leadership meetings is longer and takes
in the entire length and impact of the project.

The project manager’s meeting management skill includes creating the right meeting
atmosphere for the team discussion that is needed. For discussions based on data and facts, the
project manager creates the action item type meeting. The conversation is focused on sharing
information and clarification. The conversation for leadership meetings is the opposite.
Discussion is more open ended and focused on creativity and innovation. Because each type of
meeting requires a different meeting atmosphere, mixing the purposes of a meeting will make
it difficult for the project manager to develop and maintain the appropriate kind of
conversation.

Skilled project managers know what type of meeting is needed and how to develop an
atmosphere to support the meeting type. Meetings of the action item type are focused on
information sharing with little discussion. They require efficient communication of plans,
progress, and other information team members need to plan and execute daily work.
Management type meetings are focused on developing and progressing goals. Leadership
meetings are more reflective and focused on the project mission and culture.
These three types of meetings do not cover all the types of project meetings. Specific problem-
solving, vendor evaluation, and scheduling meetings are examples of typical project meetings.
Understanding what kinds of meetings are needed on the project and creating the right focus
for each meeting type is a critical project management skill.

1.23 Types of Teams

Teams can outperform individual team members in several situations. The effort and time
invested in developing a team and the work of the team are large investments of project
resources, and the payback is critical to project success. Determining when a team is needed
and then chartering and supporting the development and work of the team are other critical
project management abilities.

Teams are effective in several project situations:

• When no one person has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to either understand or solve the
problem
• When a commitment to the solution is needed by large portions of the project team
• When the problem and solution cross project functions
• When innovation is required

Individuals can outperform teams on some occasions. An individual tackling a problem

consumes fewer resources than a team and can operate more efficiently—as long as the solution
meets the project’s needs. A person is most appropriate in the following situations:
• When speed is important
• When one person has the knowledge, skills, and resources to solve the problem
• When the activities involved in solving the problem are very detailed
• When the actual document needs to be written (Teams can provide input, but writing is
a solitary task.)
In addition to knowing when a team is appropriate, the project manager must also understand
what type of team will function best.

1.23.1 Functional Teams

A functional team refers to the team approach related to the project functions. The engineering
team, the procurement team, and the project controls team are examples of functional teams
within the project. On a project with a low complexity profile that includes low technological
challenges, good team member experience, and a clear scope of work, the project manager can
utilize well-defined functional teams with clear expectations, direction, and strong vertical
communication.
1.23.2 Cross-Functional Teams
Cross-functional teams address issues and work processes that include two or more of the
functional teams. The team members are selected to bring their functional expertise to
addressing project opportunities.

Example: Cross-Functional Teamwork

A cross-functional project team in Tennessee was assigned to develop a project approach to
drafting, shooting, and editing educational videos without storing the videos on the school
server. Although the complexity of this goal is primarily related to creating the videos and
procuring editing equipment, the planning involved coordination of the script drafting,
procurement of equipment and talent, and establishment of project controls. Team members
from each of these functions developed and tracked a plan to meet the project goal. Because
they communicated so frequently and clearly, the cross-functional team was successful in
designing a process and executing the plan in a way that saved three weeks on the video
schedule and several thousand dollars in cost by hosting off-site.

1.23.3 Problem-Solving Teams

Problem-solving teams are assigned to address specific issues that arise during the life of the
project. The project leadership includes members that have the expertise to address the
problem. The team is chartered to address that problem and then disband.

1.24 Qualitative Assessment of Project Performance

Project managers should provide an opportunity to ask such questions as “What is your gut
feeling about how the project going?” and “How do you think our client perceives the project?”
This creates the opportunity for reflection and dialogue around larger issues on the project. The
project manager creates an atmosphere for the team to go beyond the data and search for
meaning. This type of discussion and reflection is very difficult in the stress of day-to-day
problem solving.
The project manager has several tools for developing good quantitative information—based on
numbers and measurements—such as the project schedules, budgets and budget reports, risk
analysis, and goal tracking. This quantitative information is essential to understanding the
current status and trends on the project.
Just as important is the development of qualitative information—comparisons of qualities—
such as judgments made by expert team members that go beyond the quantitative data provided
in a report. Some would label this the “gut feeling” or intuition of experienced project
managers.
The Humm Factor is a survey tool developed by Russ Darnall to capture the thoughts of project
participants. It derived its name from a project manager who always claimed he could tell you
more by listening to the hum of the project than reading all the project reports. “Do you feel
the project is doing the things it needs to do to stay on schedule?” and “Is the project team
focused on project goals?” are the types of questions that can be included in the Humm Factor.
It is distributed on a weekly or less frequent basis depending on the complexity profile of the
project. A project with a high level of complexity due to team-based and cultural issues will be
surveyed more frequently.
The qualitative responses are converted to a quantitative value as a score from 1 to 10.
Responses are tracked by individuals and the total project, resulting in qualitative comparisons
over time. The project team reviews the ratings regularly, looking for trends that indicate an
issue may be emerging on the project that might need exploring.

Example: Humm Survey Uncovers Concerns

On a project in South Carolina, the project surveyed the project leadership with a Humm Survey
each week. The Humm Factor indicated an increasing worry about the schedule beginning to
slip when the schedule reports indicated that everything was according to plan. When the
project manager began trying to understand why the Humm Factor was showing concerns about
the schedule, he discovered an apprehension about the performance of a critical project sup
plier. When he asked team members, they responded, “It was the way they answered the phone
or the hesitation when providing information—something didn’t feel right.”

The procurement manager visited the supplier and discovered the company was experiencing
financial problems and had serious cash flow problems. The project manager was able to
develop a plan to help the supplier through the period, and the supplier eventually recovered.
The project was able to meet performance goals. The Humm Factor sur vey provided a tool for
members of the project team to express concerns that were based on very soft data, and the
project team was able to discover a potential problem.

Another project team used the Humm Factor to survey the client monthly. The completed
surveys went to a person who was not on the project team to provide anonymity to the
responses. The responses were discussed at the month ly project review meetings, and the
project manager summarized the results and addressed all the concerns expressed in the report.
“I don’t feel my concerns are being heard” was one response that began increasing during the
project, and the project manager spent a significant portion of the next project review meeting
attempting to understand what this meant. The team discovered that as the project progressed
toward major milestones, the project team became more focused on solving daily problems,
spent more time in meetings, and their workday was becoming longer. The result was fewer
contacts with the clients, slower responses in returning phone calls, and much fewer coffee
breaks where team members could casually discuss the project with the client.
The result of the conversation led to better understanding by both the project team and client
team of the change in behaviour based on the current phase of the project and the commitment
to developing more frequent informal discussion about the project.

1.25 Creating a Project Culture

Project managers have a unique opportunity during the start-up of a project. They create a
project culture, something organizational managers seldom have a chance to do. In most
organizations, the corporate or organizational culture has developed over the life of the
organization, and people associated with the organization understand what is valued, what has
status, and what behaviours are expected. Edgar Schein identified three distinct levels in
organizational culture.
1. Artefacts and behaviours
2. Espoused values
3. Assumptions
Artefacts are the visible elements in a culture and they can be recognized by people not part of
the culture. Espoused values are the organization’s stated values and rules of behaviour. Shared
basic assumptions are the deeply embedded, taken-for-granted behaviours that are usually
unconscious, but constitute the essence of culture.

1.25.1 Characteristics of Project Culture

A project culture represents the shared norms, beliefs, values, and assumptions of the project
team. Understanding the unique aspects of a project culture and developing an appropriate
culture to match the complexity profile of the project are important project management
abilities.
Culture is developed through the communication of:
• The priority
• The given status
• The alignment of official and operational rules
Official rules are the rules that are stated, and operational rules are the rules that are enforced.
Project managers who align official and operational rules are more effective in developing a
clear and strong project culture because the project rules are among the first aspects of the
project culture to which team members are exposed when assigned to the project.

Example: Operational Rules on a Multisite Project

During an instructional design project that required individuals to collaborate remotely, an
official rule had been established that individuals would back up their work in a location other
than the shared folders they were using every week. It did not take long, however, for everyone
involved to see that one member was actively backing up all work. Believing that was
sufficient, the operational rule became simply leaving the backing up to a single individual.
They assumed that official rules could be ignored if they were difficult to obey. When this
individual fell ill, however, no one picked up the slack and followed the official rule. When
some files were corrupted, the team found that their most recent backups were weeks old,
resulting in redoing a lot of work. The difference between the official rules and the operational
rules of the project created a culture that made communication of the priorities more difficult.
In addition to official and operational rules, the project leadership communicates what is
important by the use of symbols, storytelling, rituals, rewards or punishments, and taboos.

Example: Creating a Culture of Collaboration

A project manager met with his team prior to the beginning of an instructional design project.
The team was excited about the prestigious project and the potential for career advancement
involved. With this increased competitive aspect came the danger of selfishness and
backstabbing. The project leadership team told stories of previous projects where people were
fired for breaking down the team efforts and often shared inspirational examples of how
teamwork created unprecedented successes—an example of storytelling. Every project meeting
started with teambuilding exercises—a ritual—and any display of hostility or separatism was
forbidden—taboo—and was quickly and strongly cut off by the project leadership if it
occurred.
Culture guides behaviour and communicates what is important and is useful for establishing
priorities. On projects that have a strong culture of trust, team members feel free to challenge
anyone who breaks a confidence, even managers. The culture of integrity is stronger than the
cultural aspects of the power of management.

1.26 Innovation on Projects

The requirement of innovation on projects is influenced by the nature of the project.
Some projects are chartered to develop a solution to a problem, and innovation is a central
ingredient of project success. The lack of availability of education to the world at large
prompted the open education movement, a highly innovative endeavor, which resulted in the
textbook you are now reading. Innovation is also important to developing methods of lowering
costs or shortening the schedule. Traditional project management thinking provides a trade-off
between cost, quality, and schedule. A project sponsor can typically shorten the project
schedule with an investment of more money or a lowering of quality. Finding innovative
solutions can sometimes lower costs while also saving time and maintaining the quality.
Innovation is a creative process that requires both fun and focus. Stress is a biological reaction
to perceived threats. Stress, at appropriate levels, can make the work environment interesting
and even challenging. Many people working on projects enjoy a high-stress, exciting
environment. When the stress level is too high, the biological reaction increases blood flow to
the emotional parts of the brain and decreases the blood flow to the creative parts of the brain,
making creative problem solving more difficult. Fun reduces the amount of stress on the
project. Project managers recognize the benefits of balancing the stress level on the project
with the need to create an atmosphere that enables creative thought.

Example: Stress Managed on a Website Design Project

When a project manager visited the team tasked with designing the website for a project, she
found that most of the members were feeling a great deal of stress. As she probed to find the
reason behind the stress, she found that in addition to designing, the team was increasingly
facing the need to build the website as well. As few of them had the necessary skills, they were
wasting time that could be spent designing trying to learn building skills. Once the project
manager was able to identify the stress as well as its cause, she was able to provide the team
with the support it needed to be successful. Exploring opportunities to create savings takes an
investment of time and energy, and on a time-sensitive project, the project manager must create
the motivation and the opportunity for creative thinking.

Check your progress 1

Multiple choice single Response;
 1) Mr. Shekhar, a manager, delegates the responsibility for a project to Mr. Vikas, his
subordinate. Mr. Vikas is most likely involved in which function of the management
process. A. Leading
B. Controlling
C. Planning
D. Organising

2) Which of the following best explain why human resource management is important to
all managers?
A. Investing in human capital enables managers to achieve positive results for the firm
B. Technological changes and global competition require clear organization charts
C. Sophisticated accounting controls are supported by human resource managers
D. An enthusiastic labour force is likely to provide financial support to local unions

Check your progress 2

Fill in the blanks:

1) In most organisations, human resource managers are categorized as ________, who

assist and advice _________ in areas like recruiting, hiring, and compensation.
A. Line managers; middle managers
B. Functional managers; staff managers
C. Staff managers; line managers
D. Line managers; staff managers

2) _____________ refers to an integrated set of human resource management policies

and practices that together result in superior employee performance.
A. Institutionalised planning
B. High-performance work system
C. Balanced scorecard
D. Total quality management

Check your progress 3

Multiple choice single Response;

1) What is the first step in the basic planning process?

A. Evaluating the possible alternatives
B. Comparing options
C. Setting an objective
D. Implementing a course of action

2) Which of the following is a simple guide used to compile relevant information about
economic, competitive, and political trends that may affect a firm?
A. External resource system table
B. Environmental scanning worksheet
 C. Organizational research
D. Workforce requirement matrix

3) Which of the following refers to a process for assigning financial and non-financial
goals to the HR management-related chain of activities required for achieving the
Company’s strategic aims and for monitoring results?
A. HR scorecard
B. Strategy map
C. HR feedback scale
D. HR dashboard

Summary
 Resources are people, equipment, place, money, or anything else that you need in order
to do all of the activities that you planned for.
 The goal of activity resource estimating is to assign resources to each activity in the
activity list. There are five tools and techniques for estimating activity resources. Expert
judgment, Alternative analysis, Published estimating data, Project management
software, Bottom-up estimating.
 In order to successfully meet the needs of a project, it is important to have a high
performing project team made up of individuals who are both technically skilled and
motivated to contribute to the project’s outcome.
 The MBTI is often referred to as simply the Myers-Briggs. It is a tool that can be used
in project management training to develop awareness of preferences for processing
information and relationships with other people.
 Leadership style is a function of both the personal characteristics of the leader and the
environment in which the leadership must occur.
 The successful project manager must have good communication skills. All project
problems are connected to skills needed by the project manager: Breakdown in
communication represents the lack of communication skills, uncommitted team
members represents the lack of team-building skills, and Role confusion represents the
lack of organizational skill.
 Conflict on a project is to be expected because of the level of stress, lack of information
during early phases of the project, personal differences, role conflicts, and limited
resources.
 Trust is the foundation for all relationships within a project. Without a minimum level
of trust, communication breaks down, and eventually the project suffers in the form of
costs increasing and schedules slipping.
 Action item meetings are short meetings to develop a common understanding of what
the short-term priorities are for the project, individual roles, and expectations for
specific activities. This type of meeting is for sharing, not problem solving.

Keywords
  Alternative analysis means considering several different options for how you assign
resources. This includes varying the number of resources as well as the kind of
resources you use.
 Bottom-up estimating means breaking down complex activities into pieces and
working out the resource assignments for each piece. It is a process of estimating
individual activity resource need or cost and then adding these up together to come up
with a total estimate.
 Parametric estimating means plugging data about your project into a formula,
spreadsheet, database, or computer program that comes up with an estimate.
 MBTI: The Myers-Briggs identifies 16 personality types based on four preferences
derived from the questionnaire. The preferences are between pairs of opposite
characteristics and include the following:
 Extroversion (E)-Introversion (I) Sensing (S)-Intuition (N) Thinking (T)-Feeling (F)
Judging ( J)-Perceiving (P)
 Action Item Meetings: Action item meetings are short meetings to develop a
common understanding of what the short-term priorities are for the project, individual
roles, and expectations for specific activities.
 Cross-functional teams address issues and work processes that include two or more
of the functional teams.

Self-Assessment Questions
1. Why estimating the Project Resource is important? Explain the tools and techniques for
estimating activity resources.
2. Explain the concept of Human Resource Planning in Project Management.
3. Write a short note on Resource Levelling.
4. What do you understand by MBTI? Why it is important? What are 16 Personality
Factors?
5. Why Leadership skills are considered important for the profile of Project Managers?
6. What do you mean by Negotiations and Conflict Management in Project management?
7. What are the different types of Teams for managing Project?

Answers to Check your Progress

Check your progress 1
Multiple choice single Response;
1) D. Organising

2) A. Investing in human capital enables managers to achieve positive results for the firm

Check your progress 2

Fill in the blanks:

1) C. Staff managers; line managers

 2) B. High-performance work system

Check your progress 3

Multiple choice single Response;

1) C. Setting an objective

2) B. Environmental scanning worksheet

3) A. HR scorecard

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn

References
Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership.New York: Harper & Row.
Fiedler, F.E. (1971). Validation and Extension of the Contingency Model of Leadership
Effectiveness. Psychological Bulletin, 76(2), 128–48.
Leavitt, H. (1986). Corporate Pathfinders.New York: Dow-Jones-Irwin and Penguin
Books.
Lindskold, S. (1978). Trust Development, the GRIT Proposal, and the Effects of
Conciliatory Acts on Conflict and Corporation. Psychological Bulletin 85(4), 772–93.
Shi, Q., & Chen, J. (2006). The Human Side of Project Management: Leadership Skills.
Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute, Inc.
Tannenbaum, R., & Schmidt, W. (1958). How to Choose a Leadership Pattern. Harvard
Business Review 36, 95–101.
Whetton, D., & Cameron, K. (2005). Developing Management Skills.Upper Saddle
River,
NJ: Pearson Education.

Attribution
This chapter of Project Management is a derivative copy of Project Management by
Merrie Barron and Andrew Barron licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Unported, Project Management/PMBOK/Human Resources Management and
Development Cooperation Handbook/How do we manage the human resources of
programmes and projects?/Manage the Project Team by Wikibooks licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, Resource Management and Resource
Leveling by Wikipedia licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0,
Resource Management, and Project Management for Instructional Designers by
Amado, M., Ashton, K., Ashton, S., Bostwick, J., Clements, G., Drysdale, J., Francis, J.,
Harrison, B., Nan, V., Nisse, A., Randall, D., Rino, J., Robinson, J., Snyder, A., Wiley,
D., &
Anonymous. (DATE). Project Management for Instructional Designers. Retrieved from
http://pm4id.org/ under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Edgar_Schein.
 Unit 2

Managing projects through people

Structure

2.1 Introduction
2.2 Why people management matters to the successful delivery of projects
2.3 Role of the project manager
2.3.1 What makes a good project manager?
2.3.2 Effective communication
2.4 Identifying and involving stakeholders in a project
2.5 Project team
2.5.1 Introduction
2.5.2 Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a project team
2.6 Dealing with senior management
2.6.1 The relationship with senior management
2.6.2 Using political skills
2. 7 Political behaviour
2.7.1 Introduction to Political Behaviour
2.7.2 Political skills
2.8 Building relationships across the organisation
2.8.1 Sharing the project
2.8.2 Negotiation skills
2. 9 Satisfying the client and end user
Summary
Keywords
Self-Assessment Questions
Answers to check your progress
Suggested Readings
References

Objectives

After going through this unit, you will be able to:

 Identify why managing people is an essential part of project management

 Establish which people and groups of people are important for the success of a project
and why
 Explain what issues are at stake in managing them
  Evaluate how particular groups of people involved in a project might best be handled
 Recognise which skills are most important for managing people in projects.

2.1 Introduction

The importance of managing people for the success of a project cannot be underestimated. This unit,
managing projects through people, identifies the groups and individuals whose appropriate
involvement in a project is important for its success, and considers the ways in which their
contribution might be maximised.

The aim of Managing Projects through People is to demonstrate the importance of managing
people for the success of a project, to identify groups and individuals whose appropriate
involvement in a project is important for its success, and to consider ways in which their
contribution might be maximised.

2.2 Why people management matters to the successful delivery of projects

The importance of budget, time and quality to the success of projects means that they are
often managed as technical systems rather than behavioural systems. Yet mismanagement of
the ‘people’ aspects of projects is as likely to contribute to their failure as neglect of the
‘hard’ dimensions of project management. This is because the successful implementation of
any kind of project requires the effective deployment of human as well as material resources.
Indeed, without people, no project could exist in the first place.

People may be important to the success of a project as:

 project managers in charge of a project;

 members of a project team responsible for implementing a project;
 internal or external customers for whom the project is being conducted – ‘end users’;
 company ‘sponsors’ of a project, for example, senior management;
 stakeholders who may be affected by a project's outcome;
 external suppliers of goods and services on which the project's implementation
depends.

In order to meet ‘hard’ criteria for a project's success, the contributions and responses to the
project made by these individuals or groups are crucial. Managing these contributions and
responses, as well as the relationships between parties with an interest in the project needs to
be planned. For this reason, it is often argued that managing people is the most important
aspect of project management.

The significance of stakeholders is well recognised and there are many ways of analysing the
impact of their influence and needs. Either of two simple approaches will probably suffice in
order that the project manager can recognise the implications of stakeholder influence:

 (a) draw a ‘star chart’ showing the stakeholders around the project:
Figure 2.1:Stakeholder analysis, power and influence – a star chart

The arrows can be two-way as well as one-way and the expectations can be marked on the
arrows, which can be of different thickness. Amend the chart as necessary in order to depict
clearly the influences on the particular project.

or

 (b) draw a matrix and locate stakeholders in it.

Figure 2 Stakeholder analysis, power and influence – a matrix

Managing people in a particular project will depend on its scope, the phase of the project, and
the nature of the project. The impact of human resources on a project are likely to be greatest
when it is large scale and loosely structured, involving large numbers of people, whose roles
and relationships with regard to the project may not always be easy to determine or manage.
The chance of success in projects is increased by paying more attention to issues such as

 relationship management;
 communication;
 influencing; and
 politics.

This means that individuals involved in managing projects will have to use a wide range of
people-management roles and skills in order to achieve a satisfactory outcome. These will
include:
  leadership;
 motivation;
 negotiation; and
 facilitation of team working.

2.3 Role of the project manager

A project manager is a person who has the overall responsibility for the successful initiation,
planning, design, execution, monitoring, controlling and closure of a project. Construction,
petrochemical, architecture, information technology and many different industries that
produce products and services use this job title.

The project manager must have a combination of skills including an ability to ask penetrating
questions, detect unstated assumptions and resolve conflicts, as well as more general
management skills.

Key among a project manager's duties is the recognition that risk directly impacts the
likelihood of success and that this risk must be both formally and informally measured
throughout the lifetime of a project.

Risks arise from uncertainty, and the successful project manager is the one who focuses on
this as their primary concern. Most of the issues that impact a project result in one way or
another from risk. A good project manager can lessen risk significantly, often by adhering to
a policy of open communication, ensuring every significant participant has an opportunity to
express opinions and concerns.

A project manager is a person who is responsible for making decisions, both large and small.
The project manager should make sure they control risk and minimise uncertainty. Every
decision the project manager makes must directly benefit their project.

Project managers use project management software, such as Microsoft Project, to organise
their tasks and workforce. These software packages allow project managers to produce
reports and charts in a few minutes, compared with the several hours it can take if they do it
by hand.

Roles and Responsibilities

The role of the project manager encompasses many activities including:

 Planning and Defining Scope

 Activity Planning and Sequencing
 Resource Planning
 Developing Schedules
  Time Estimating
 Cost Estimating
 Developing a Budget
 Documentation
 Creating Charts and Schedules
 Risk Analysis
 Managing Risks and Issues
 Monitoring and Reporting Progress
 Team Leadership
 Strategic Influencing
 Business Partnering
 Working with Vendors
 Scalability, Interoperability and Portability Analysis
 Controlling Quality
 Benefits Realisation

Finally, senior management must give a project manager support and authority if he or she is
going to be successful.

2.3.1 What makes a good project manager?

The performance of the project manager is crucial to the success of any project, since he or
she is the person responsible for ensuring that it reaches a successful conclusion. Although
criteria for project success are likely to be expressed in terms of meeting deadlines, budgets
and standards, much of the project manager's work will involve achieving these benchmarks
through people involved in the project. While the role of the project manager has traditionally
been powerful in professions such as construction and IT, project managers have become
increasingly important in a range of businesses, as illustrated by the following extract from an
article that appeared in The Guardian.

Holding hands on the brands

Project manager as a job description isn't going to have people flocking to you at parties. If you
add in ‘design’ you may hold your audience for a split second longer, but it's not guaranteed.
Yet in design business, the people who manage the daily crises and maintain the flow of
constantly changing information between client and creative team are worth their weight in
gold. ‘The key to good project management in design is the ability to understand the intricacies
of running a business,’ says Professor Simon Majaro, co-director of the Centre for Creativity
at Cranfield School of Management. ‘You need to be able to deal with people in an organisation
and to talk to them in their own language.’

‘It's exciting to work within a creative environment,’ admits Julie Oxberry, client director at
20/20, the design consultancy responsible for the new Sainsbury's identity. ‘My job is to make
sure that everything is “on brand”, dealing with day-to-day client management and making sure
that both the client and creative team are happy.’ Project managers in design consultancies are
often known as ‘suits’, but Julie Oxberry sees this as just a way to differentiate them from the
designers. While ‘project manager’ has a nuts and boltsy resonance, Ms Oxberry thinks that
‘relationship manager’ might be a more accurate job title.

After all, diplomacy is key to good project management – particularly when creative feathers
are easily ruffled. ‘You need a lot of patience and a good sense of humour,’ says Ruth
Somerfield, project manager at design consultancy Lewis Moberly. ‘My background in public
relations has helped,’ she admits. ‘You also have to have an appreciation of the process of
design. Management and communication skills are incredibly important but you need an eye
for design.’

At Major Players, a recruitment firm that places project managers in the top 100 design
companies, there is a specific set of skills desirable for managing design projects. ‘The people
who do well are articulate, they can stand up and present,’ explains Jacqueline Rose, who looks
at potential candidates. ‘In design the whole issue is about the personality of a brand. The
design project manager has a more robust role than they would have if they worked in an
advertising agency. They very often draw up guidelines for other agencies as the designers are
the guardian of the brand.’

(Source: based on Deeble, S. (1999), ‘Holding hands on the brands’, The Guardian, 17th July
1999. Copyright Sandra Deeble. With permission of the author)

As the extract describes, key skills for project managers are technical, i.e. knowledge of the
business sector in which the project is being conducted (in this case, the design industry) and
interpersonal (i.e. communicating to and managing effectively the different parties with a
stake in the project.)

In a study of UK project managers’ experiences, Boddy and Buchanan (1992) identified six
key activities of the project managers who took part in their research.

Shaping goals – The project managers are responsible for setting or receiving overall
objectives and directions, interpreting them, reacting to changes in them, and clarifying any
problems which arise with regard to these objectives.

Obtaining resources – The project managers identify the resources they needed for their
project, negotiate for their release, retain them and manage their effective use in the context of
the project.

Building roles and structures – The project managers clarified their own roles, those of
members of their project team, and those of other relevant functions and individuals.

Establishing good communications – The project managers linked together the diverse
groups and individuals contributing to the project, in order to obtain their support and
commitment.
Seeing the whole picture – The project managers took a helicopter view of the project as a
whole, managing time and other resources, anticipating reactions from stakeholders,
identifying links with other relevant activities, and spotting unexpected events.

Moving things forward – The project managers took action and risks to keep the project
going, especially through difficult phases.

Boddy and Buchanan (1992) concluded that these activities are largely concerned with
influencing others in order to get them to work in a particular way. A project manager may
have very little formal authority, yet a key part of their job is to influence others to do certain
things. To be successful, they must draw on a wide range of methods, especially political and
interpersonal skills.

In order to carry out the activities which their job requires, a project manager must perform a
number of roles, including:

Leadership – A project manager needs to be able to communicate a vision of the project

outcome and gain support for it from stakeholders within the project team and outside it.

Motivation – A project manager needs to be able to motivate individuals involved in the

project, in particular the project team, to make the contribution required of them for the project
to be completed successfully. Using expectancy theory, members of the project team will work
well when they expect their efforts to produce good performance, they expect rewards for good
performance, and they value these rewards. Rewards may be more difficult to achieve, since
performance and rewards are often controlled by line managers who may not be directly
involved in the project process or outcome.

Team building – The project team needs to have the right mix of skills to complete the project
task and the project manager needs to manage this. He or she must also facilitate their
productive co-operation. This is likely to involve the use of techniques to maximise
participation and empowerment. The ability to handle conflict will be an important part of the
project manager's team-building role.

Communication – communicating well about different aspects of the project to various

individuals or groups with an interest in its outcome is important. The project manager must
enable the flow of relevant information about the project to interested parties at various stages
of a project. He or she must win support for the project and secure resources for it. He or she
must keep the organisation and any external clients committed to the project. Communicating
relevant information to and from the project team helps to maintain their motivation.

 Make sure that workable communication ‘links’ are created with those who will be
involved in a project, for example, end users and the project team.
 Ensure that all interested parties understand a project's goals and objectives as clearly
as possible. This avoids potential misunderstandings which could impede
 communication. It is important that this is achieved at a project's outset, before there
is time for any alternative accounts of the project's purpose to emerge.
 Select the right medium for communicating important messages, e.g. face-to-face
presentations, meetings or written documents. For example, it is not sufficient to
assume that people understand and support a project's objectives, simply because they
have been sent an email about it.
 Ensure that a sufficient amount of relevant and informative project documentation is
produced. Producing too much information about a project's progress is as bad as
producing too little. If people feel overloaded with detail, they are less likely to absorb
any particularly important pieces of information.
 Hold timely and well-run meetings. Again, a proliferation of meetings or meetings
that are too long and badly run are likely to inhibit, rather than facilitate, proper
discussion about a project, since people will be deterred from attending.
 Actively resolve negative conflict between project participants, instead of simply
allowing it to disperse. It is easy to ignore conflict between groups with different
interests, but impossible to ignore its consequences, which are likely to have a
profound impact on a project's outcome.

Activity 1: Thinking about effective communication

0 hours 20 minutes

Think about a recent conversation that you have had. This can be a work or personal
conversation. Review the barriers to good communication and consider which of these might
have hindered communication and what steps you might have taken to improve the
communication?

Use a table to present your answers with the headings ‘What hindered communication?’ and
‘What might have improved communication’.

Here is an example of how your table might look

What hindered communication? What might have improved communication?

Working in different buildings Having more frequent meetings

Limited IT facilities Being able to share documents more easily

2.3.2 Effective communication

Whilst effective communication is an essential skill for the project manager, most people tend
to be over-optimistic about the accuracy and efficacy of the communication process.
Achieving understanding can be difficult, especially in the atmosphere of change and
uncertainty generated by a major project. Verma (1996) identifies the following barriers to
good communication.

‘Noise’ – Anything that distorts the message being transmitted, such as other conflicting
messages, can interfere with its meaning. There should be a shared understanding of a project's
actual objectives, in order to clarify what people think it should achieve. This avoids the
persistence of ‘alternative’ accounts of its purpose and unmet expectations once it is complete.

Selective and biased perceptions – People tend to listen to what they want to listen to and
read what they want to read into a message. Again, ensuring clarity of a project's objectives
and the achievement of project milestones once they are reached will help to counteract
‘subversive’ accounts of its progress (or lack of it!).

Conflict – Conflict can act as a wall between individuals or groups, preventing communication
between them. The most obvious situation for this to occur in a project is between different
functional groups (who may have different agendas regarding the outcome and development
of the project).

Language and tone – The intended meaning of a message can easily be missed by someone
whose background is different from the sender's. This is likely to be an issue in a project when
those responsible for it have specialist skills not shared by the project's clients or end users.

Lack of feedback – Receiving and listening to feedback, as well as imparting messages, is

essential for effective communication. It is as important to seek feedback from interested
parties throughout a project's lifetime, as it is to secure clarity about its objectives at the outset.
Without appropriate feedback, it is easy for a project to drift off course.

A project manager can facilitate effective communication.

2.4 Identifying and involving stakeholders in a project

For every project, there will be a range of individuals or groups who have an interest in the
different stages of the project. It could be the end users of an IT system, the line managers
who will be expected to lead a restructuring initiative throughout the organisation, or the
marketing department which will promote a new product. The support of these stakeholders
is essential, if the project is to succeed. Therefore a key responsibility of the project manager
will be to identify these stakeholders at an early stage of the project, anticipate their responses
to it, and gain and maintain their support. Their involvement can be important to the project's
success or failure, as illustrated in the following example.

Lives freed by water on tap

The British charity WaterAid co-operates with communities and non-governmental
organisations to install and maintain simple water systems in developing countries. It began
working with Ethiopian organisations in 1991 to devise water-provision schemes for areas of
the country worst affected by shortages. Employing a philosophy of community empowerment
and relying almost entirely on the skills and knowledge of local staff, WaterAid has provided
funds for seven projects serving some 285,000 people.

Completed in 1994, the Hitosa project is one of WaterAid's more ambitious supply schemes,
which it has carried out in conjunction with its local partner WaterAction. The project,
involving 75 miles of piping carrying water by gravity from a mountain spring, cost only £10
per beneficiary, but has dramatically improved the lives of those whom it serves. Until the
project was completed, Ayelu Nagash spent five hours every day walking to and from the
nearest water source. ‘I had to make do with whatever I could carry, which was about 25 litres.
Now I have an unlimited supply five minutes’ walk from my home,’ she said.

‘Our developmental philosophy is based on community empowerment,’ said Girma Mengistu,

director of WaterAction. ‘We ask each household to contribute £5 toward the project and try
to involve the community from the start.’ The communities also provide labour for trench
digging and pipe laying.

Eighty per cent of the funding for the Hitosa project came from WaterAid, three per cent from
the Ethiopian government and the remainder from the communities that benefit from it. Once
the projects are completed, a nominal charge is levied for the water, the proceeds of which are
sufficient to maintain the scheme. ‘Community involvement is the key to the success of our
projects,’ said Mengistu.

(Source: based on Gough, D. (1998), ‘Lives freed by tap water’, The Guardian, 30th December
1998. Copyright © Guardian News and Media Ltd)

It may not be immediately obvious who are the project stakeholders and what are their
interests. For example, for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like WaterAid, a key
group of stakeholders is those people who benefit from the aid that the NGO provides. As the
extract suggests, involving the beneficiaries in a project means empowering them so that they
can be involved in determining the outcome of the project (for example, where a well or a
water pump might most usefully be sited), so that they can get the most benefit from it.

To identify the stakeholders in a project and how their interests might best be managed, a
stakeholder analysis is carried out. This will enable the project manager to anticipate potential
points of resistance, as well as would-be allies and champions for the project. The first step in
this process is to identify the project stakeholders. This can be done by preparing a
stakeholder map – a diagram showing the main stakeholders likely to need attention. Next,
their interests must be identified. Finally, the project manager together with other members of
project team should generate ideas on how best to manage the stakeholders, given their
interests.
Activity 2: Preparing a stakeholder map

0 hours 20 minutes

You will need a piece of paper to complete this exercise

Write the name of a project you have been involved with or which has taken place where you
work in the centre of the paper.

Then around the project name write the names of individuals or groups whom you believe have
or had a stake in this project.

Put the most important nearest the centre.

Now, for each stakeholder individual and group, identify the following:

1. What are their priorities, goals and interests?

2. What specific behaviour is expected of them in relation to the project?
3. What are their likely reactions to the project?
4. How can their support be gained?

Discussion: The kinds of individual and group you are likely to have included in your stakeholder
map are members of the project team, senior managers, colleagues in various parts of your
organisation who have an interest in the project, staff in your organisation who are affected by its
outcome and people in other organisations who contributed to or benefited from the project. You will
probably have noted that many of their interests apparently conflict, e.g. in terms of what they want
from the project, which complicates the business of securing their support. However, by identifying
them on a stakeholder map, you can begin to formulate a strategy to achieve this – the stakeholder
map provides a basis for managing everyone with an interest in a project. You will need to consider
what relationships exist between the different stakeholders, since they may have to work together
during the project or be likely to react to or influence each other's experience of the project. It is also
important to realise that not all potential stakeholders are obvious at the beginning of the project;
some may emerge as the project develops and they realise that their interests could be affected by its
outcome. Stakeholder analysis therefore should also take into consideration the attitudes and actions
of stakeholders at different phases of the project.

2.5 Project team

Project team members are the individuals who actively work on one or more phases of the
project. They may be in-house staff or external consultants, working on the project on a full-
time or part-time basis. Team member roles can vary according to each project.

Project team member duties may include:

 Contributing to overall project objectives

 Completing individual deliverables
  Providing expertise
 Working with users to establish and meet business needs
 Documenting the process

Most project teams require involvement from more than one department, therefore most
project teams can be classified as cross-functional teams. The project team usually consists of
a variety of members often working under the direction of a project manager or of a senior
member of the organization. Projects that may not receive strong support initially often have
the backing of a project champion. Individual team-members can either be involved on a
part-time or full-time basis. Their time commitment can change throughout the project
depending on the project development stage.

Project teams need to have the right combination of skills, abilities and personality types to
achieve collaborative tension. Teams can be formulated in a variety of ways. The most
common method is at the discretion of a senior member of the organization.

2.5.1 Introduction – Project Team

Some projects, especially large-scale ones, will rely on a team, not just an individual, for their
successful implementation. Unlike permanent work teams, a project team's objective is the
achievement of a finite and specific task – the project. Its performance, especially its ability
to perform effectively as a group, is therefore critical to a project's outcome. However, it may
prove relatively difficult for a project team to work well together at the outset, since its
members are often drawn from different functions within the organisation, perhaps even from
different organisations, and may include external representatives such as external consultants
or representatives of the project's customers. This means that the group members’ interests
regarding the project are highly likely to differ at the outset.

Extract 1: Catalogue of errors at the British Library

Inspectors checking the British Library project found more than 230,000 defects between 1992
and 1996. As costs increased and delays lengthened, the Government even considered
abandoning the project, the National Audit Office disclosed. But with more than £450 million
already committed, the Treasury agreed to a further £46 million to allow the building, next to
St Pancras Station in London, to be completed.

A National Audit Office report uncovered a saga of building errors, management failures and
blurred responsibilities. Until 1992, when the Heritage Department was created, responsibility
for managing the project rested with the Office of Arts and Libraries. Since 1989, the British
Library has questioned how the specifications of the building have been implemented in design.
The Audit Office said that concern was expressed in 1991 that the Library and the Department
were behaving ‘as opposing parties rather than as partners’. To this day, they have been unable
to agree shared objectives largely because of the conflict between the Government's desires to
reduce costs and the Library's pursuit of the highest quality.
There had been ‘confusion, conflict and difficulty in determining liability’ when things went
wrong. Quality checks were ‘weak and failed to detect major technical problems until they
were hard or costly to rectify’ and there was insufficient control over the budget on the first
phase of the building.

The bureaucratic structure behind the British Library project is Byzantine. For the first phase
until the end of 1992, there were three titular heads: the Property Services Agency, the Treasury
and the National Heritage Department. At the strategic level, there was a project steering
committee and a project director appointed by the Government. On the site, a construction
professional was project manager. Below him was a superintending officer who administered
the contract. Under him was a construction manager, appointed by the builders, Laing.

(Source: based on The Daily Telegraph, 1996)

The example shows that, in the case of the construction of the British Library, failure to
establish a coherent and effective project team with clearly defined tasks meant that no shared
set of objectives was ever agreed by the parties involved. Thus no one group took
responsibility for driving through the project. A direct consequence of this was that control
over the project's progress was inadequate and technical problems proliferated.

For project teams to perform well, certain circumstances need to exist:

 members must feel personally involved in the project;

 members believe that they are serving the interests of those whom they represent who
will benefit from the project outcome;
 a readiness to accept new ideas;
 a certain autonomy for project teams to determine their own goals and their
approaches to achieving them if they are to work effectively. Not surprisingly, the
ability of the project manager to expedite effective project team working is crucial.

While the diversity of a project team may sometimes detract from its effective working,
especially at the beginning of a project, it is nevertheless essential that a range of skills and
knowledge is represented within it if it is to perform efficiently. Boddy and Buchanan (1992)
identify three aspects of a project for which a well-balanced project team will require
appropriate skills: process, content and control.

To deal with the content agenda, a team may require:

 expertise in the skills which the project concerns, e.g. IT skills;

 awareness of the organisation's policies and strategies;
 operating knowledge of how the part of the organisation which will benefit from the
project works.

To deal with the process agenda, a team may require:

  skills in team-building to help the members of the group work together;
 awareness that the process by which things are done are as important as what is done;
 willingness and ability to give time and commitment to the team.

To deal with the control agenda, a team may require:

 a helicopter view to set the project within a broader picture;

 deadline skills to ensure that the project is progressing satisfactorily;
 administration skills to ensure that appropriate and timely project documentation is
maintained.

2.5.2 Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a project team

Those involved in a project may have skills that fulfil more than one aspect of the project
agenda. This is likely to be particularly important in small-scale projects, where management
of the content, process and control agendas are just as important to the project's success, but
where fewer people are involved.

Activity 3: Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a project team

0 hours 15 minutes

Consider a project team you have worked on or with. This could be a team at work or a team
out of work, for example, one which organised an event at a local school or church.

Note down the answers to the following questions.

1. Make a list of the skills and expertise of the team members.

2. Compare it with the ideal project team skills described above.
3. Which roles and expertise were well represented and which were missing?
4. How did this affect the way in which the team worked?

Discussion: You may have found that your team had a surplus of content skills and not
sufficient process and control skills. This is because project teams are often put together with
a view to achieving the technical aspects of a project rather than anything else. This is a
potentially dangerous approach to take to project team building, since people management
and administration skills are also essential for a project's success. The project manager's
skills may be crucial in this regard, since it is primarily their responsibility to get the project
team to work together, whilst being mindful of both the wider organisational agenda and the
project deadline.
Managing a project team is complicated by the fact that it is not a constant process, since the
behaviour and tasks of the project team reflect the lifecycle of the project. It is argued that
project teams go through four identifiable stages of development, at each of which it may be
appropriate for the project manager to take particular actions to maximise their performance.

Undeveloped team – This is the stage at which people have been assembled to form a project
team but have not yet given much thought about how they might work together. At this stage
the project manager needs to be able to get team members to share any concerns and problems
that they might have regarding the project. They can begin to develop team cohesion by
explicitly identifying the strengths (and weaknesses) of the team.

Experimenting team – The main characteristic of this second stage is that the team makes a
conscious effort to review the way in which it works in order to improve performance. The
team begins to face problems more openly and consider options more widely. More listening
takes place and a broader range of contributions is considered. At this stage the project manager
needs to encourage team member openness and debate about ways of working, by inviting
feedback on performance and process issues.

Consolidating team – In the third stage the team creates clearer and more methodical ways of
working. Attention is given to matters such as clarifying the purpose of tasks and activities,
deciding what will need to be done and how, and reviewing progress. At this stage the project
manager needs to get the team to agree procedures and methods of working, and to facilitate
performance reviews as a means of identifying ways of improving team methods.

Mature team – In the fourth stage the team becomes confident and outward looking, able and
willing to take into consideration the wider aspects and implications of what it is doing. At this
stage, while the project manager can in general allow the team the autonomy necessary to
complete its allotted tasks, they must support any requirements to link up with other teams and
units and they must encourage external evaluation of the team's performance.

Team-management tasks remain constant throughout the lifetime of the project. These
include continually ensuring that the project team has a shared understanding of the project's
remit and objectives, effectively dealing with conflict and disagreement whenever it arises,
and generating excitement and celebrating success, where appropriate, in order to maximise
team motivation.

2.6 Dealing with senior management

You walk into your boss’s office with more confidence than you’ve ever had before. You’ve
never been more prepared. You know exactly what you’re going to say and how you’re going
to say it. You close the door, you sit down. But after your talk, you walk out without the raise
you asked for. Without the approval you wanted for that new initiative. Without the
promotion you’ve been gunning for over a year.

What happened? Intense preparation and practice might make you confident, but confidence
and a big smile aren’t always enough. If you want to make the most of these make-or-break
opportunities, you need to understand how your boss thinks. These six rules for “upward
communication”–that is, with superiors in your organization–can improve your chances of
getting what you’re after. Confidence and a big smile aren’t always enough.

1. Focus on Impact, Not Process

One of the keys to successful upward communication is to emphasize outcomes rather than
processes and background details. The higher the level of the person you’re addressing, the
less they’ll likely be concerned about your methodology. When you speak upward, your
audience wants you to actually address the questions that are most relevant to them–not how
you got here–so make your connections clear and precise. For example, rather than
explaining how you reached the conclusion that your sales force needs to be expanded, focus
on the impact more staff will have on labor costs and sales targets.

2. Look To The Future, Not The Past

Show off your vision of what’s ahead, not your ability to rationalize the past. It isn’t that
precedent and past experiences don’t count at all, but those in upper management are thinking
into the future–from the next quarter to the next decade. Unless you’re asked directly to
defend a past action or say how your plan compares with something that’s already been tried,
stay laser-focused on what comes next.

3. Know Your Numbers

When you’re speaking seriously with high-level decision-makers, anecdotes and explanations
aren’t enough. You need to have a strong grasp of the facts and data behind your claims.
While you can make broad statements and predictions, you have to follow up with
quantitative information that supports your conclusions. But don’t just use data for the sake
of using data–make sure it’s relevant both to the short- and long-term impact of whatever
changes you’re pushing for.

4. Avoid Business Idioms

 “Think outside the box.”

 “Hit the nail on the head.”
 “Run it up the flagpole.”

What do these phrases have in common? Besides being cliché, they’re too informal,
euphemistic, and empty of actual meaning. Every word counts; don’t waste your time on tired
phraseology. What’s more, business idioms don’t always translate well for a global audience.
If the superiors you’re appealing to aren’t native English speakers, some expressions can
even cause confusion–certainly not the impression you want to leave.

5. Get To The Point

Another key to successful upward communication is to get to the point immediately. Speak
with precision and clarity. “Time is money” has become a cliché, but it’s true. The higher-
level your listeners, the less patience they’ll have for big windups before you throw your
pitch. Don’t put your conclusion last–state it right from the beginning then spend the rest of
your energy explaining why it’s the right one.

6. Focus on Management’s Top Concerns

Don’t just use data for the sake of using data.

Communicating with upper management demands showing how your goals are aligned with
the vision and priorities of your listeners–and subsequently the company’s. It’s great to have
innovative ideas, but if they don’t square with the objectives of the people you’re speaking
with, they won’t go very far. For instance, if your company is focused on cutting costs but
you want approval for an expensive software program, don’t just talk about how amazing the
features are. Instead, explain how it will have a rapid return on investment and keep saving
money in the long run.

Whether you’re speaking to your manager, your CEO, or your board, the ability to
communicate with power and precision is crucial for getting anything done. By using these
six strategies, you’ll maximize your chances of gaining the support you need to score big on
your approvals, and even bigger in propelling your career forward.

2.6.1 The relationship with senior management

Senior management have a crucial sponsoring role to play both during the planning and the
implementation of projects, in terms of establishing their legitimacy, making project
resources available and endorsing project progress. For this reason, those involved in a
project must be proactive about securing and maintaining senior management support
throughout its lifetime. They need to be explicit with senior management that the project is
both attractive and feasible. However, during a project, senior management sometimes
behave in way likely to influence unduly or even undermine its outcome. They may attempt
to:

 Allow the client to dictate management of the project because of commercial

pressure;
 Sabotage the project because it is not fulfilling what they believe to be its aims or
even because they wish to limit the influence of the project manager;
 Micromanage the project – setting its agenda, handling its daily activities and
usurping the project manager's power.
There are a number of actions the project manager can make in order to improve the project
team's relationship with senior management and to deflect unnecessary and unhelpful
involvement in the project.

 Senior management may start to become too involved and the project manager needs
to re-establish authority to avert a micromanagement situation;
 Potential difficulties should be communicated to senior management clearly and
honestly. If senior management lose touch with reality, they will begin to make
unrealistic unfounded statements and promises about the project's progress and
outcome.

2.6.2 Using political skills

In particular, a project manager needs to employ good political skills in order to maintain the
support of senior management, without allowing them to undermine or take over the project.
However, this can raise questions about the ethics of their behaviour. Read the following
account that was given by a member of an external consulting team working on a project for
a local authority in Scotland. The project's objective was to revamp the structure of the
council which had operated in much the same style for the past 20 years. A new chief
executive had recently been appointed; the leader of the consulting team was a long-standing
personal friend of the chief executive.

Example 1: What the chief executive wants

‘We were invited to a meeting with the chief executive to launch the project, agree our liaison
mechanisms, find a room to work in, and so on. At the meeting the chief executive produced a
seven-page document. This set out what he wanted to see in our final report. Some of this had
been in the original brief for the assignment, set out in general terms, and here it was again
with some specific recommendations and markers for action concerning parts of the
organisation structure and named individuals in specific posts, which were not expected to
survive the review. We didn't have as much flexibility as we thought.

‘The project rolled out over that year and our recommendations got firmed up as we collected
more information. Basically, this was an autocratically managed, hierarchical, rigid,
bureaucratic organisation, with lots of time and money wasted on unnecessary procedures and
rule following, and with poor staff morale. So our recommendations were going to be about
cutting hierarchy, empowering people, changing the management style, making procedures
more flexible, getting decisions taken more quickly, and the chief executive was behind all
this.

‘The main client was a subcommittee, to which we reported about every quarter. But not before
the chief executive had, at his request, seen an advance copy of the report, commented on it
and suggested changes. This put us in an awkward position. We knew his thinking, and so
when other managers asked us about that, we had to fudge our answers. This also meant that
we had to build our ideas into our reports, finding some rationale for supporting them, which
was important because, if questions came up in committee, we would have to explain and
defend the point.

‘If we hadn't handled the chief executive in this sort of way, the whole project could have been
at risk, and the time and the contributions of a lot of other staff would have been wasted.’

Source: based on Buchanan and Badham, 1999

Activity 4

0 hours 20 minutes

1. Do you think the consultants' political behaviour was acceptable?

2. List the points for and against behaving this way.

Discussion: The points you listed in favour of the consultants’ behaviour may have included
that it ensured that the project was a success, that the chief executive was best placed to know
what needed to be done, that the consultants got to do what they wanted to do anyway, and
that their actions maximised the staff's contributions to the project.

The points you listed against the consultants’ behaviour may have included that the chief
executive may have not been well placed to know what action was needed, that he may have
been prejudiced against certain individuals in the organisation, that the consultants’
behaviour was dishonest, that it may not have achieved the best possible outcome for the
organisation, and that it compromised certain individuals.

2.7 Political behaviour

The more power you have, the better you are able to get the job done. Ignoring the external
and internal politics surrounding your project can be hazardous.

Most project managers have enormous responsibility but not enough formal authority. They
cannot succeed without the proper understanding of power and how to use it effectively.
Successful project managers recognize the need to evaluate power and political dynamics and
the importance of managing stakeholders through influence.

2.7.1 Introduction to Political Behaviour

Buchanan and Badham (1999) suggest that political behaviour can be usefully evaluated
against four criteria to help determine whether it is acceptable or whether it is not:
Four criteria to determine whether political behaviour is acceptable

1. Is the behaviour ethically acceptable?

2. Does the initiator of the behaviour have a reasonable warrant for carrying it out?
3. Can a plausible account be constructed to justify the behaviour?
4. Is the initiator’s reputation left intact?

In the case quoted in Example 1, the benefits of the change project for the organisation as a
whole seem to suggest that, on balance, the consultants’ behaviour might be justified. It can
certainly be argued that they had a reasonable warrant for behaving in this way, given the
overwhelming necessity to bring about change, that a plausible account could be constructed
to justify their behaviour in that it was necessary for the project to succeed, and that their
reputation probably remained intact, given their close relationship with the chief executive.
Whether you find their behaviour ethically acceptable is a matter of personal preference!
Whatever your opinion is about this, it is difficult to imagine that a project of this kind could
be managed successfully without some recourse to political behaviour.

2.7.2 Political skills

A project manager will encounter politics – the struggle to acquire and maintain power – on a
daily basis, as he or she competes to secure resources and support for their project. This is
inevitable, given the probable diversity of backgrounds and expectations of those with an
interest in the project. Political skills will be necessary to make deals and resolve conflicts
with stakeholders, over whom project managers may have little formal authority. Managing
the following aspects needs to be addressed:

The political environment – The project manager keeps aware of perceptions about
performance on the project, the reputation of project stakeholders, expectations of the project
manager's role and key organisational values.

Power structures in an organisation – While an organisation's structure indicates the formal

distribution of power in an organisation, it may conceal the true locus of power. Project
managers need to ascertain who has informal status and power in an organisation, since their
support may be vital.

Maintaining visibility – A project manager needs to maintain contact with the significant
stakeholders on a project in order to demonstrate its significance to the organisation, especially
to senior management. This can include having an influential senior sponsor which can be very
helpful in this regard and drawing attention to project milestones and achievements.

Managing the perceptions of interested parties – Not only must a project be visible, but it
must be seen to fulfil the perceptions that its stakeholders have been led to expect. This is
especially true of the behaviour of the project manager and the project team, who must both be
seen publicly to be performing the roles expected of them.
Giving the impression of success – A project manager should always try to give the
impression of success, even if he or she believes the project to be close to failure. Constantly
seeking help from management will give the impression that you are not in control. Showing
signs of weakness lays both the project manager and the project open to attack from those who
do not support it.

2.8 Building relationships across the organisation

Building relationships is just as important within the project team as it is outside. Good
relationships can be the difference between outstanding success and dismal failure because
it's all about getting people to like and trust you so that they will deliver what you need them
to deliver at the right time in the right way.

We have talked previously about managing stakeholders, finding out about and managing
their needs and expectations, however this is much easier if you have developed good
relationships with stakeholders in the first place.

Networking Helps Build Relationships

Networking (internal and external) is essentially about building solid business relationships.
To do this you need good skills in creating rapport and listening.

If you can make a connection with people on subjects you have a genuine interest in, their
confidence in you will grow. Use this connection to engage them and then ask genuine
questions and just listen. They'll often tell you what you need to know. Strong bonds will
inevitably stem from commonalities discovered in simple conversation.

Getting Personal

Building good relationships means being truly interested in the people you deal with, both
from a business and personal view. While discussing business issues is usually the main
purpose of speaking with someone, finding out something personal about them takes the
relationship to the next level.

Learning about hobbies, special interests, family, accomplishments, leisure time activities,
organisation memberships, and special dates such as birthdays will help you make a deeper
connection with them.

The important thing is what you do with the information. When dealing with team members,
suppliers, clients and stakeholders try to mix personal information in the conversation. Every
contact doesn't have to be about business. It's about peeling away the layers of formality and
resistance to improve your chances of achieving what you want to achieve from the
interaction.

Establish a Culture That Favours Relationships

The best project managers are those that develop a good sense of community within the
project team. Establishing a healthy culture as part of that community can help win the hearts
and minds of clients, staff and suppliers. Culture is about sharing values and a healthy culture
will be one that has people who care about each other. In projects it's about creating a
'community' within the project team that shares a common purpose.

It's not just a nice idea. A healthy culture can give a team an edge both in performance and in
attracting good quality team members which is of vital importance. A good culture includes
(often unspoken) expectations about the way things are done. In a project team these can be
about how members respond to inquiries, how they greet each other, and how they behave
when the pressure is on.

It's about treating people with respect and listening to their point of view. This doesn't mean
you have to agree, but it does mean you respect their right to think differently and to express
their views.

Cultures need leaders to set expectations and offer guidance on what's important. As a project
manager you will need to be aware that people are watching you for clues as to how to
behave in relationships with others. Actions speak louder than words.

Supplier Relationships

The contractual relationship is often one that's all about who has the power. One of the best
ways that project managers can improve their supplier relationships is to develop loyalty.
Loyalty is a two-way street and to earn trust of suppliers, project team members need to
demonstrate their value. It includes being professional and respectful in dealings with
suppliers, being efficient in delivery of orders and specifications and working one-on-one
when the supplier needs it.

In essence, it's about remembering that suppliers are people too and will respond well to a
personal touch. When making a judgment about how their client will be treated, a supplier
can't help but consider how he or she is treated by that organisation. Project managers can
cultivate supplier loyalty through open and honest communication. Keep them informed
about major decisions and show them you have thought about how decisions will impact on
them.

IT Projects Also Require Good Relationships

All this applies very well in IT projects. Too much of interaction within the IT industry is
about technical information and people are too often forgotten. However when people start
talking, listening and understanding each other, communication is improved and productive
relationships are developed. IT can deliver solutions if the people involved understand what
the client is asking for.

Good Relationships Are Key to Success

It's easy to have good relationships when everything is running smoothly. But relationships
really count when the project or related activities start to come undone. If you don't do or say
something on the basis of 'preserving the relationship,' think again…if the situation is such,
the relationships might not be worth preserving.

As with anything that involves people, establishing processes to encourage good

communication and relationships and make clear expectations, provides the cornerstone for
success in any project.

2.8.1 Sharing the project

As we have seen, the execution of a project may depend on the involvement and co-operation
of several departments or functions within an organisation. If this is the case, then, for it to
succeed, they must be prepared to share ownership of the project, be willing to work together
to help the project achieve its objectives and be happy to release adequate resources when
appropriate. The project manager and their team therefore have to create and maintain good
relationships with all interested parties across the organisation in order to get their support for
the project. This may not be a straightforward issue, since each function will have its own
priorities and interests; they may be indifferent or even downright hostile to the project. Not
surprisingly, the larger the project task, the more difficult the job of maintaining good
relationships with all interested parties, especially if the project involves more than one site.
This is complicated by the fact that it may not be obvious at the outset who has an interest in
a project or even what constitutes the organisation, as the following example illustrates.

Example 2

An RSPCA project to build Britain's biggest animal welfare complex using public donations
of £1.5 million is in turmoil because of a feud involving volunteers.

The Charity Commission has intervened in a dispute between the society's senior officials and
volunteers from Glamorgan West and Swansea over construction of a showpiece centre for 40
dogs and 20 cats. Volunteers, who raised £1 million in over 35 years, say the complex, to be
built on 75 acres at Penllergaer, near Swansea, is too big and could be built for 30 per cent less.
They accuse national officials of intimidating volunteers to get lavish plans agreed –
accusations that are strongly denied.

However, after complaints from the national society, the commission has suspended the local
volunteers and handed control of the project to Peter Wright, the society's national operations
manager. RSPCA officials are planning to subject the volunteers to a disciplinary inquiry.

The branch, however, an independent charity in its own right, is preparing to sue the national
RSPCA for negligence, alleging that it gave poor advice and failed to deliver grants on time.
Joe Harris, 50, the chairman, said: ‘The committee agreed to these plans, including an
administration block the size of a school, because they were told that advice from headquarters
was not to be questioned and that, if it was, they could be considered negligent and could lose
their homes and businesses.’

The branch collected £1.09 million. It wanted to replace its old Swansea premises. Local
members agreed a scheme, which included a headquarters grant of £360,000, but now say they
had misgivings about some features, which included an Inglenook fireplace and a mower store
worth £39,000. The branch produced more modest proposals which were rejected. It says that
by the time it hit financial difficulties the grant agreed by headquarters had not been paid and
it was tied to a contract it could not pay.

Peter Davies, the society's director general, said: ‘We just want to see the project completed.’
The administration block would house a shop, education and meeting facilities, and premises
for an inspector. ‘It was a farm and we had to buy it all. We need an equine facility and that is
part of the long-term plan.’

Source: based on The Daily Telegraph, 1996

The RSPCA example demonstrates how a project's success may be jeopardised if all
interested parties across the organisation do not share an understanding of its purpose and
proposed outcome. It illustrates that, especially in the voluntary sector, it may even be
difficult to identify exactly what is the ‘organisation’. It can be equally easy to ignore or side-
line certain interest groups within a more conventional organisation too, because they may
not have an obvious interest in a project, or even because their interest seems likely to
undermine the aims of the project as understood by more powerful interest groups.

2.8.2 Negotiation skills

Negotiation skills are essential for the project manager to get individuals and groups to agree
on a common approach to a project, despite their potentially conflicting interests and
priorities. The project manager needs to be able to negotiate with suppliers and customers and
individuals to adopt a particular course of action. It is also important that negotiation is
conducted in a way that will build long-term relationships, rather than simply secure short-
term gains.

Effective negotiation relies on identifying in advance what objectives need to be achieved

and what behaviours might be necessary to achieve them. The following is a process that can
be used in negotiating:

1 Labelling behaviour

Signalling that you are about to suggest a solution to a problem or to ask an important
question is one way of drawing attention to this and puts pressure on the person or persons at
whom your signal is directed to respond.
2 Summarising

During a long negotiation, summarising what has been proposed and the stage that the
negotiations have reached helps both to clarify key points and to create mutual trust by
indicating that all perspectives are being taken into consideration.

3 Sticking to one good argument

While it may seem better to use as many arguments as possible to support a case you are
trying to make, skilled negotiators tend to rely on fewer stronger arguments. This is because a
weak argument does not add to a strong one, but has the opposite effect of diluting and
weakening it.

4 Using questions

Questions can be used as a means both of persuasion and of control. Repeatedly telling an
individual something that they are unwilling to accept is unlikely to get them to change their
mind. It is better instead to ask carefully constructed questions that will lead him or her to
realise the strength of your case and the weakness of their own. Asking questions gives the
questioner more control over the conversation, forcing the other side to respond. Writing
down a list of appropriate questions before a meeting can help you direct them more
effectively and use them to play for time if you get into difficulty.

Activity 5: Practising negotiation

0 hours 15 minutes

You will probably be going into a meeting soon where you will need to use your negotiation
skills. Work through the behaviours that have been identified (labelling behaviours,
summarising, sticking to one good argument and using questions) and plan your meeting.

2.9 Satisfying the client and end user

Most projects have an identifiable client or customer group which will benefit from or use the
outcome of the project. The client may be external to the organisation which is implementing
the project, for example, the customer for whom a new building is being constructed. Or the
clients may be internal, for example, the users of a new IT system. As we have already seen,
it is important that the client or end user shares and endorses the project's objectives and is
actively involved in its development. If this does not happen, then the project is unlikely to be
a success, as Example 3 demonstrates.

Example 3
Powerco, a major UK energy organisation, introduced a new management information system
(MIS) which, while it was delivered on time, on budget and without major technical problems,
failed to succeed, in that many end users were not satisfied with what was delivered. The
company discovered that the primary cause of this dissatisfaction was a failure by the project
team to engage properly and honestly with potential users at crucial stages of the project.
Ironically, this failure of communication occurred despite the fact that user participation was
given high priority in the project. Research conducted after the project was completed indicated
that there were several crucial reasons for this mismatch between rhetoric and reality.

At the beginning of the project, its aims were not properly communicated to interested parties.
While the primary aim of the project was to get business units to switch from site-based to
business-based accounting, this was never made explicit outside the project team. In fact, at a
series of MIS roadshows held to overcome potential end user resistance, promises were made
to a wide range of potential users which suggested that the system's benefits would be far
greater than this. It was positioned by a project team desperate to win support for a panacea
that would meet everyone's needs. Inevitably, a strong feeling that the project had been
oversold eventually surfaced and there was deep disappointment, especially amongst non-
financial staff, once the system was installed. In fact, it later emerged that no definitive list of
end users had ever been drawn up!

Given the lack of clarity at the outset, it is unsurprising that end users were not given
appropriate feedback on how the project was progressing once it was underway. Nor were
implementation responsibilities made clear at any stage, with the result that some business units
ended up with unrealistically high expectations of the help they would be given in
implementing the new system from the project team and the corporate centre. In these respects,
the project team appears to have sacrificed effective user involvement for the need to meet
deadlines as the project progressed.

Once the project was complete and the system ‘successfully’ installed, ownership of it
inevitably remained a matter for debate, with some business units taking charge of its support
and development, while others claimed that this was the responsibility of the corporate centre.
The company was forced to conclude that, despite the avowed emphasis on user participation,
end user consultation and involvement in the implementation process had not been effective.
As a result, it incurred considerable additional expense in terms of hardware, software and
development time after the formal handover of the system in order to ensure the satisfaction of
all end users.

Source: based on Fowler and Walsh, 1999

Activity 6: What are the client's expectations of the project manager?

0 hours 10 minutes
Make a list of what kind of behaviours you think that a project end user should realistically
expect from the project manager and project.

Discussion: Establishing an open, honest and co-operative relationship with the client
should be priority for the project manager and project team if they want the project to succeed.
Your list is therefore likely to include the following.

Honesty – Clients expect project managers to plan and report honestly about the project. In
order to achieve this, they must brief clients frequently about the project's progress and be
willing for the client to attend project meetings when appropriate.

Co-operation – Clients expect the project manager to demonstrate that he or she seeks a high
level of co-operation with them. If indications of this are not forthcoming, then the relationship
between the two parties is likely to deteriorate rapidly.

Communication – Clients expect meaningful communication from the project manager, which
keeps them informed about the project's progress, any potential problems, and any clarification
that they might require from the client.

It is also extremely important that the project manager strives to provide the best output for
the client regarding schedule, budget and product or service. If the client's expectations in this
regard are unrealistic, the project manager must correct these misunderstandings at an early
stage.

Check your Progress

Multiple Choice Single Response;

1. You, the project manager, start to develop your project team. You decide to allow the
team to set ground rules. Who enforces ground rules?

A. HR department
B. The project manager
C. The project management team
D. The project team

2. Anita and Sunita are arguing about the design of a deliverable and are having a hard
time coming to consensus. You as the project manager have encouraged them to work
out their differences together, but it hasn’t worked so far. When you sit with them to
discuss, you eventually suggest that they use portions of each of their ideas in the
design of the project. They are amenable to this solution. Which conflict management
strategy have you applied?

A. Compromise/reconcile
B. Smooth/accommodate
 C. Withdraw/avoid
D. Collaborate/problem solve

3. What is the best solution to managing conflict?

A. Smooth/accommodate
B. Collaborate/problem solve
C. Compromise/reconcile
D. Force/direct

4. Your team has recently stopped arguing and jostling for power. Now they are just
beginning to learn to trust each other and adjust their work habits to each other. What
stage of team development are they in?

A. Forming
B. Storming
C. Norming
D. Performing

Summary

 This unit has focused on managing projects through people and how important this is
in relation to:

 managing the relationship with stakeholders;

 motivating the project team to get results;
 dealing with senior management;
 building relationships across the organisation to encourage co-operation;
 Satisfying the client and end user.

Recapping on the learning objectives from the beginning of this unit:

 Be able to identify why managing people is an essential part of project management –

we discussed how achieving project success depends on the effective use of human as
well as material resources. We also examined how this is especially important in large-
scale projects, which are becoming increasingly common in organisations today.
 Be able to establish which groups of people must be managed in a project and why and
be able to explain what issues are at stake in managing them – you were introduced to
stakeholder analysis as a means of identifying interest groups and their issues, and as a
vehicle for devising an effective strategy for managing the various stakeholders in a
project.
  Be able to evaluate how particular groups of people involved in a project might best be
handled – this was addressed by examining how an effective project team might be
built, discussing how senior management could best be handled, explaining the value of
building relationships across the organisation and establishing the importance of
satisfying the project client or end user.
 You are able to recognise which skills are most important for managing people in
projects and know how to apply these skills where appropriate – communication skills,
negotiation skills and political skills are particularly important skills for the project
manager to have, we then discussed strategies and techniques for effective application
of these skills.

Keywords

 Project team: Project team members are the individuals who actively work on one or
more phases of the project. They may be in-house staff or external consultants,
working on the project on a full-time or part-time basis. Team member roles can vary
according to each project.
 Political behaviour: Behavior is political whenever individuals or groups try to
influence or escape the influence of others. Political behavior is the subset of human
behavior that involves politics and powers. Successful project managers recognize
the need to evaluate power and political dynamics and the importance of managing
stakeholders through influence
 Negotiation skills: Negotiating skills include methods of Communicating, Persuading
and influencing, Planning, Strategizing, Employing tactics, techniques, tools, systems,
processes, and teamwork

Self-Assessment Questions
1. Why People management matters to the successful delivery of the Projects?
2. Define the role of a project Manager. List out his responsibilities and accountabilities.
3. Why do you feel that the involvement of every stakeholder is equally important for
successful completion of the Projects?
4. What do you mean by Project Teams? What all resources these team members bring
along with them when they become the part of the teams?
5. What are the strengths and the weaknesses of the project teams?
6. Why project managers are expected to possess the political skills and negotiation
skills?

Answers to check your progress

Multiple Choice single Response;

 1. D. The project team

2. A. Compromise/reconcile

3. B. Collaborate/problem solve

4. C. Norming

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn

References

Boddy, D. and Buchanan, D. (1992) Take the Lead: Interpersonal Skills for Project
Managers, London, Prentice Hall.
Buchanan, D. and Badham, R (1999) Power, Politics and Organizational Change,
London, Sage.
Deeble, S. (1999) ‘Holding hands on the brands’, The Guardian, 17 July.
Fowler, A. and Walsh, M. (1999) ‘Conflicting perceptions of success in an information
systems project’ International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 1, pp. 1–10.
Gough, D. (1998) ‘Lives freed by water on tap’, The Guardian, 30 December.
Johnston, P. (1996) ‘Catalogue of errors at the British Library’, The Daily Telegraph,
15 May.
Jones, M. and Harrison, A. (1996) ‘IS project team performance: an empirical
assessment’, Information and Management, Vol. 31(No. 2) pp. 57–65.
Katzenbach, J. and Smith, D. (1993) The Wisdom of Teams, New York, Harvard
Business School Press.
Muir, H. (1996) ‘Row delays £1.5m RSPCA complex’, The Daily Telegraph, 2
September.
Verma, V. (1996) Human Resource Skills for the Project Manager, Newton Square,
Pennsylvania, Project Management Institute.

Acknowledgements
Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this
content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
ShareAlike 4.0 Licence

Course image: A not very creative mind in Flickr made available under Creative
Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Licence .

Figure 3: Boddy, B. and Buchanan, D. (1992), Taking the Lead: Interpersonal Skills for
Project Managers, Prentice Hall International (UK) ltd. Copyright © Prentice Hall
Europe 1992;

Deeble, S. (1999), ‘Holding hands on the brands’, The Guardian, 17th July 1999.
Copyright Sandra Deeble. With permission of the author;

Gough, D. (1998), ‘Lives freed by tap water’, The Guardian, 30th December 1998.
Copyright © Guardian News and Media Ltd;

Johnston, P. (1996), ‘Catalogue of errors at The British Library’, The Daily Telegraph.
15th May 1996. Used with permission.

Muir, H. (1996),‘Row delays £1.5m RSPCA complex’, The Daily Telegraph. 2nd
September 1996. Used with permission.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright owners, but if any has been
inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary
arrangements at the first opportunity.
 Unit 3
Managing Virtual Project Teams

Structure
3.1 Introduction
3.1.2 Building the team
3.1.3 Technical skills
3.1.4 Responsibility assignment matrix
3.1.5 Group working functions
3.1.6 Interpersonal skills
3.1.7 Person specification
3.2 Managing Virtual Teams
3.2.1 Awareness
3.2.2 Social presence and information richness
3.2.3 Common ground
3.2.4 Successful virtual team work
3.2.5 Challenges in Managing Virtual Teams

Summary
Keywords
Self-Assessment questions
Check your Progress
Suggested Readings

Objectives:
After going through this unit, you will be able to;

 Consider the types of skills needed within a project team and the implications for
writing a person specification
 Analyse the social and task behaviours that can support an effective team
 Appreciate a responsibility assignment matrix
 Identify the difference in awareness between team members in a collocated team and
between team members in a virtual team
 Be aware of the approaches and techniques needed for a virtual team to be successful.

3.1 Introduction

There are important differences between projects and operations, and managing and leading
people within projects is different from managing and leading people within operations.
The project manager uses communication skills to provide leadership, and needs to
understand the dynamics of team development to resolve conflict within the team. The
manager cannot micromanage the project and so must delegate effectively. The manager
must also master negotiation and influencing skills to maintain the commitment of all the
stakeholders in the project.

The project manager might be in a position to create or change a team structure to suit the
needs of the project, but the possibility of doing so in itself depends on the constraints
imposed by the organisation running the project or by the client who has commissioned the
project. Another major factor in how the project team works together is whether they are
collocated or not. Virtual teams are increasingly common, where either some or all of the
team members are at a distance geographically or, even if some are collocated, there may be
variations in working times, so that the work on the project can proceed in different times and
at different places.

3.1.2 Building the team

The project manager may be able to select some or all of the members of the team, or at least
influence and negotiate with those who do provide the human resources for the project
(managing up and across) to secure the personnel identified by the project manager as most
suitable.

Motivation and commitment to the project can be strengthened by creating a feeling of

ownership of the project and its tasks by team members, and this sense of ownership can be
enhanced by involving all team members in planning and, in particular, in human resource
planning. In addition, it is a good use of the expertise of the group to involve everyone in the
role and task assignment process. This is an example of participatory management.

3.1.3 Technical skills

The team must have members who, together, have the skills to complete the project. The
necessary team roles should be evident from analysis of the project definition documentation,
for example in a work breakdown structure. Understanding of the work tasks to be completed
will be the basis for assigning responsibilities according to competencies. The elements of the
tasks can be mapped to project participant roles using a responsibility matrix, also known as a
linear assignment matrix. Thus, given the work that needs to be done and the roles that need
to be performed to do it, the most suitable individuals to perform those roles can be selected.

3.1.4 Responsibility assignment matrix

The work of a project needs to be divided and allocated to people, and there needs to be a
comprehensive and unambiguous understanding by everyone concerned of their own roles
and responsibilities and of the roles and responsibilities of the others. One tool that can be
used to first arrive at and then document roles and responsibilities is a responsibility
assignment matrix (RAM), of which there are different types. The RAM is a grid, where the
work that has to be done is listed in the left-hand column, with participant roles (performed
by team members or groups) listed in the first row.
The cells of the grid that are intersections of the first column and first row are used, at
different levels of detail, to show a connection between the work and the team member or
team group. This connection is a type of participation by the person or organisational unit for
an element of work in the project. In this way, all the people connected to each element of
work and all the work connected to each person are displayed in one place.

For larger projects, the elements of work can be considered at different levels of detail, in
different matrices for the same project. These different matrices would show the
responsibilities at different levels of decomposition of the project tasks, from deliverables to
specific sub-tasks.

One popular type of RAM is a RACI (responsible, accountable, consulted and informed)
chart. Here the participation types are subdivided to show the following for each task:

 Who is responsible (R): the people who carry out the task
 Who is accountable (A): the single person who is answerable for the correct
completion of the task
 Who is consulted (C): the people who need to be consulted in the carrying out of the
task, who have a say in how it is carried out or who are expert in the subject area
 Who is informed (I): the people who need to be informed about the task and its
progress.

Table 1 The RACI matrix

RACI chart Person

Activity Ann Ben Carlos Dina Ed
Create charter A R I I I
Collect requirements I A R C C
Submit change request I A R R C
Develop test plan A C I I R
R = responsible A = accountable C = consult I = inform
(PMI, 2013, p. 262)

The RACI matrix is useful in different respects, for example:

 It is a tool that can be used in team selection where the participant roles are known but
not the specific people who will perform them. It can be used to fit skills to tasks and
balance workload.
 It can be used as a basis for gap analysis to highlight project needs that are not met by
the skill sets of existing team members and so to identify recruitment or training
requirements.
 It encourages and assists the delegation of work.
 It shows all the interested parties the division of labour within tasks and projects as a
whole and the unambiguous ownership of tasks.
 It encourages communication between those with the different participant roles by
setting up the expectations of the nature of communication and who is to be involved
in communications.
  It can be used as a starting point to consider the lines of communication and suitable
methods of communication, including reporting.
 It can be used by the project manager as a tool for monitoring project work.
 It can feed into other formats for documenting team members’ roles and
responsibilities, such as detailed textual role descriptions.

There are many variants to the RACI matrix that use the same acronym with different
participation functions or introduce additional types of participation beyond the four
characters of RACI. For example, in a RASCI matrix the participation function ‘Support’ is
added. Those designated as ‘S’ assist the ‘R’s in their work. The different participant
functions imply different aspects of the person management role of the project manager. As
well as identifying which role is required to meet the needs of each element of the WBS, and
thereby playing a part in team selection, the project manager needs to ensure that the ‘I’s are
informed, the ‘C’s consulted and so on.

Activity 1

Why is it important that all participants know which type of RACI matrix is being used?

Discussion

The RACI is part of the shared language of communication of the project. If there is not a
common understanding of its meaning, responsibilities and divisions of labour will also not
be understood and any ambiguity can easily lead to serious problems. For example, if team
colleagues are not doing what other team members think they are meant to be doing the
atmosphere of trust that is needed in an effective team can be lost.

3.1.5 Group working functions

The skills the project manager needs to consider in the team members are not just the
required technical ones, but also the ability to carry out functions supporting group working
and the team itself. This described these team and group working support functions as task
and maintenance functions. People usually take on a number of roles during the life of a team
and these can be placed under these task and maintenance headings, both of which are
necessary for the team to achieve what it sets out to do. Task functions help to get the job
done and will have an influence upon product quality by doing such things as initiating
action, seeking information and opinions, clarifying and summarising. Maintenance functions
hold the team together and keep good relations going between its members by such activities
as encouraging, harmonising and setting standards.

Levi (2007) argues that, to function effectively, groups perform two basic types of
behaviours: task and social behaviours, with the latter focusing on the social and emotional
needs of group members. He cites the work of Benne and Sheets (1948) in a table of types of
group behaviours.

Table 2 Types of group behaviours

Behaviour Function
Task behaviours
 Initiator/contributor Proposes new ideas or new ways for the group to act
Information giver Provides data and facts for decision making
Information seeker Requests more information to help in making decisions
Opinion giver Provides opinions, values and feelings
Opinion seeker Requests the opinions of others in making decisions
Coordinator Shows relationships of ideas to organise the discussion
Energiser Stimulates the group to continue working
Evaluator/critic Questions the group’s ideas and procedures
Social behaviours
Encourager Supports and rewards others
Harmoniser Mediates conflicts among members
Compromiser Shifts their position in order to reduce conflict
Expediter Facilitates communications from others
Standard setter Evaluates the quality of the group’s interactions
Follower Accepts ideas of others
Group process observer Observes and comments on the group’s processes
(Levi, 2007, p. 67, Table 4.1)

3.1.6 Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills include:

 communication skills
 emotional intelligence
 conflict resolution
 negotiation
 influence.

‘Soft skills’, such as these, are important attributes of a project manager but, in turn, the
project manager will also look for a mix of interpersonal skills in prospective team members
with a view to influencing the group dynamics of the team.

3.1.7 Person specification

To assemble a team with the right work skills and the optimum personality mix, the project
manager can draw up specifications for the people required for the team. Even where the
project manager has little direct involvement in team selection, the act of drawing up a
specification at least gives a clear picture of the discrepancies between the ideal person and
the individual who will actually fill the post. A person specification should contain
requirements relating to areas such as:

 educational and professional qualifications and licences

 relevant experience
 communication and numeracy
  personal characteristics, e.g. physical characteristics if they are required for the job
 willingness to travel
 team-building or administrative skills.

Job descriptions and person specifications can be used for job advertisements, interviews and
any other recruitment and selection procedures that might be used (for example,
psychometric testing).

Activity 2

Where the project manager has had little or no involvement in the selection of the team, what
considerations or actions might be needed?

Discussion

 Find out why each person was selected.

 Meet separately with each team member and find out what their aspirations are.
 Ask the sponsor or senior management for extra staff on the project if there is some
key skill missing and funds for training to raise skill levels where these are weak.
 Look for any member of the team who may be more destructive than constructive (for
example, someone who is unduly aggressive with others); if any are found, talk
privately and constructively to the person involved about the problem.
 Try to get the team to set the detailed objectives, plans or schedules collectively (their
ownership of what they are going to do is important).
 Try to find a quick win for the team (e.g. an extra person, more resources, extra time)
to gain the team’s confidence and establish a position of leadership.
 Use all the team-building skills and techniques possible.
 Evaluate the gap between the team they have been given and the ideal team (which
would be fully capable of all the required project tasks and roles); determine how to
manage these gaps.

3.2 Managing Virtual Teams

When selecting members for virtual teams there is a tendency to select computer-literate
individuals and those who are comfortable sharing information electronically. However, as
we have seen, functional and team roles are also important, so that selecting team members
with other skills is required for project success. It is clearly important to select team members
to create a balanced team and training needs to be provided to improve team members’ skills.
In fact, Kirkman et al. (2002) suggest that interpersonal skills may be more important in a
virtual team because electronic communication is not as rich as face-to-face interactions.

The ability to work together at a distance makes it possible to carry out some projects that
could not otherwise be carried out, and to involve some team members who could not
otherwise have been involved. It could be argued that in the present day nearly all teams are,
to some extent, virtual teams. Virtual project team work has the potential to provide great
benefits and opportunities. There are, however, also disadvantages and challenges that need
to be addressed. The study of the difficulties of collaboration at a distance involves the
comparison of such work with collaboration that takes place between team members
physically located in the same space, or nearby, and present for at least some of the same
working time, known as collocated working. Thus as we learn more about working at a
distance, we are also gaining insights that apply to working in the same place and that can
inform the management of collocated projects.

An important theme of research into the difficulties presented by distance working can be
summed up by the word ‘understanding’. A key role of the project manager is to promote
understanding amongst team members, and in a virtual team this becomes harder to achieve.
A level of mutual understanding is necessary to allow effective collaboration to take place
and the project to progress. Mutual understanding can be fostered by the use of suitable
collaboration and communication tools, and therefore the evaluation and choice of the most
appropriate available tools is an important activity for the virtual project team manager. To
allow evaluation and choice of tools, a project manager needs to be familiar with the array of
tools currently available and has to keep abreast of a fast-changing area of technology. The
project manager also needs to be aware of the problems and challenges of working at a
distance, and an appreciation of some of the theory of understanding in teams can assist in
making the right choices.

3.2.1 Awareness

Project team members need to gain awareness of each other: to know what each has done, is
doing and is going to do, and have an understanding of the current status of the work that
they share.

A person working alone on a task has ‘situation awareness’ of the task. For example, a person
working on a document is aware of what it is they are writing, what its purpose is, what form
it should finally take, the place they are within it, when it needs to be completed and whether
that timescale can be achieved. They are aware of the tools they are using and their physical
environment, the workspace. They are also aware of their own level of commitment to the
overall task, and have a sense of their own capability to carry out the task successfully. These
different aspects of awareness allow the author to make decisions about what needs to be
done next, enabling the task to proceed.

Awareness in collocated team working

When people work together on a task, another dimension is added. The collaboration itself is
a task, and each person’s share of the work is to some extent dependent on the work of others.
So, the individual situation awareness has to grow to include both the original task and the
collaboration, and becomes a shared situation awareness.

Collaborators who are collocated are likely to have a natural awareness of each other, each
other’s work and the workspace where the task and the team are located. Such awareness, or
shared understanding, is achieved by conscious and unconscious observation, by verbal
communication and by non-verbal cues. The resultant understanding of who is present and
what they are doing provides the context for each participant’s own activity. This context is
used to evaluate individual actions against group goals and allows the management of
collaborative work (Dourish and Bellotti, 1992).

In addition, familiarity engendered by awareness can make possible the creation of mutual
confidence, trust and group identity. In the same way that self-awareness provides an
individual with an understanding of their own commitment, mood and capability, shared
awareness provides the same awareness of their team colleagues.
Awareness in remote team working

Where collaboration takes place at a distance, the different aspects of awareness discussed
above become problematic. The ability of the participants to obtain the information they need
is limited by their distance and the capabilities of their means of communication. It therefore
becomes necessary to decide what information to make available and how to present that
information to allow collaborators the awareness that they need. In doing this the need for
awareness needs to be balanced with the need for a level of privacy for each individual. One
way of allowing for this level of privacy (which is likely to differ from individual to
individual) is to allow users some control over the amount of information about themselves
that is made available to others.

Awareness of the workspace is not confined to the current context of work, where the
workspace is the meeting itself and any shared artefact, such as a whiteboard, that is used in
that meeting. Collaborators need to make use of existing knowledge and information to carry
out their work. They also often need to preserve the knowledge and information that they
generate to lead to more knowledge and information and completion of work. To do this they
must share a persistent workspace, a knowledge repository, which may be a directory of files
that holds the work to date and data that supports that work, possibly held in databases. A
knowledge repository is part of the ‘organisational memory’ of the group, and the
management of that memory requires a recording and archiving of work, data, knowledge
and experience to allow the development of a project over time. Team members must have a
shared awareness of the knowledge repositories they intend to use, and a common
understanding of the meaning of the stored data and the relationships that participants have
with parts of that data. For instance, they might need to know who generated it, who can
change it, who is working on it, and who has access to it.

An example of the problem of lack of awareness can be found in the ownership of a shared
resource, such as a wiki. Does the fact that people work together on a document mean that
they all have equal ownership of that document and can do what they like with it, such as
change it? Or are there levels of ownership, with some people having read-only access and
others having write-access, for example, and how does everyone know what these ownership
rules are? This example relates to the self-confidence of team members and their perception
of their own influence and importance within the project. The project manager can influence
effective teamwork by being conscious of levels of awareness and of the ways that team
members perceive their position and, where necessary, bolster their perceptions or provide
missing information.

3.2.2 Social presence and information richness

Two related factors that affect the levels of awareness in collaboration are social presence and
information richness.

Social presence is the degree to which an approach to communication helps people feel a
personal connection with others (Wilson and Edward, 2004). The more social presence that
exists in team communications in general, the more the personal relationships between team
members can develop. A face-to-face meeting has a high level of social presence, and email
usually much less. Synchronous communications tend to have more social presence than
asynchronous ones (Duarte and Snyder, 2006). A large element of social presence lies in the
immediacy, warmth and spontaneity of communication: the back-and-forth exchanges of
normal conversation. Thus an email exchange where two team members are both online at
the same time and send messages to and fro might have more social presence than a single
asynchronous exchange. In the synchronous email exchange, both team members have the
feeling that the other is really there. The usefulness of social presence depends on what a
group or individual is trying to achieve at any particular time. Sometimes it can be better to
have less social presence. For example, interpersonal connection, while being useful for some
aspects of team work, such as the building of trust, might be time consuming and interfere
with tasks which require clear and sustained concentration such as analytical tasks.

Information richness is the amount and variety of information flowing through a

communication medium. High levels of information richness enable the transfer of clues to
the meaning of communication through the reproduction of gestures, body language, facial
expressions and emotions. This richness helps to avoid confusion and misunderstanding
(Duarte and Snyder, 2006). To allow high levels of information to flow, communication
mediums with high bandwidth are needed. That is to say, the communication channels that
are used must be capable of high rates of data transfer.

Virtual project team managers can evaluate the suitability of different technological
approaches by assessing the amount of social presence and information richness required in
different situations and provided by different approaches. They then need to evaluate the
effectiveness of the approaches by assessing the bandwidth that is required by each of them
and that is available to different team members.

3.2.3 Common ground

A consequence of the natural awareness that collocated team members enjoy, or the provision
of software mechanisms that promote awareness, is common ground. Common ground refers
to the knowledge that collaborators have in common and are aware that they have in
common. Common ground is established by shared knowledge of the object of the work
itself, the background and context of collaborators (whether, for example, they are even
present), what artefacts they share, and knowledge gained from their appearance and
behaviour during interaction. The establishment of common ground is itself often a
collaborative process where participants mutually establish what they know to allow a
conversation to proceed (Olson and Olson, 2000). The field studies of Olson and Olson
demonstrated that it is relatively easy for collocated teams, in contrast to virtual teams, to
establish common ground. This is because they share a local and cultural context and
knowledge of who is doing what and what remains to be done at any time. The participants
are both aware of each other and familiar with each other: communication is easier and an
atmosphere of trust is engendered.

The relationship between technological infrastructure, different aspects of awareness and

successful team work is illustrated in the following Figure.
Figure 1 Information richness, social presence, awareness and common ground
Long description

Establishing trust and commitment, encouraging communication and assessing team

members pose tremendous challenges for virtual team managers. Here are a few tips to make
the process easier:

 Establish regular times for group interaction.

 Set up firm rules for communication.
 Use visual forms of communication where possible.
 Emulate the attributes of co-located teams. For example, allow time for informal
chitchat and socializing, and celebrate achievements.
 Give and receive feedback and offer assistance on a regular basis. Be persistent with
people who aren’t communicating with you or each other.
 Agree on standard technology so all team members can work together easily.
 Consider using 360-degree feedback to better understand and evaluate team members.
 Provide a virtual meeting room via intranet, web site or bulletin board.
 Note which employees effectively use e-mail to build team rapport.
 Smooth the way for an employee’s next assignment if membership on the team, or the
team itself, is not permanent.
 Be available to employees, but don’t wait for them to seek you out.
 Encourage informal, off-line conversation between team members.
3.2.4 Successful virtual team work

As well as having an understanding of the technologies and tools for collaboration and the
challenges of distance working, the project manager can study successful project teams at
work to identify common factors that allow success.

Virtual teams can be remarkably successful, even outperforming collocated teams, argue
Majchrzak et al. (2004) in their article ‘Can absence make a team grow stronger?’ This
article, co-written with the authors, Lipnack and Stamps (2000), of a popular book on virtual
teams, describes a survey of successful virtual teams undertaken in the early 2000s. In this
article, the authors describe several case studies of successful virtual teams and they identify
three rules that were instrumental to the success of the virtual teams they surveyed.

Activity 3

Read through the article ‘Can absence make a team grow stronger?’ by Majchrzak et al.
(2004) and briefly summarise the three rules that the authors highlight. (Note: for technical
reasons this link goes to the top-level of the journal and further navigation will be required to
find the paper. Right click the link above to the journal and choose to open it in a new
window or tab. You will need to first select the year (2004), followed by the volume and issue
(Vol.82, Issue 5 March/April). Finally scroll down to locate article 20 called ‘Can Absence
Make a Team Grow Stronger?’)

Discussion

Majchrzak et al. (2004) identify three rules as important to the success of the virtual teams
they surveyed. Briefly stated, these rules are: exploit diversity, use technology to simulate
reality, and hold the team together. These rules are summarised below.

 Exploit diversity within the team

In successful teams, team members with different perspectives and backgrounds

worked together to devise innovative and creative solutions to problems. Individual
members did this by capitalising upon their differences within the team, rather than
seeing their differences as a barrier that had to be overcome. Differences of opinion,
which almost inevitably arose because of the team’s diversity, were channelled so
they generated solutions to problems rather than acrimony between team members.
This is captured in the simple phrase ‘light, not heat’.

 Use technology to simulate reality

In other words, use information technology to bring people together in the virtual
realm. In the teams surveyed by Majchrzak et al., many teams found email and video
conferencing to be poor ways to communicate and collaborate. Instead, most teams
used conference calls and shared websites. It is possible that the findings regarding
video conferencing would be different today, with improved hardware and software
and in particular great advances in available bandwidth. Note that the article did not
use the term ‘wiki’, but a wiki is an example of a shared website. Conference calls
 tended to be used for discussion (particularly to discuss areas of disagreement)
whereas shared websites were used to record team decisions and remind members of
their commitments. In other words, the shared websites were used as virtual
noticeboards or team rooms.

Hold the team together

Communicate frequently to keep the team together. This is required to prevent some
of the hazards of teamwork from arising: mistrust between team members, clique
formation, and the distraction of other activities unrelated to the team’s activities. The
team leader has an important role to play in keeping in touch with each team member
and in holding the team together. Strategies such as asking team members to work in
ad hoc pairs for short periods provide an effective way of helping team members to
get to know each other better, and to discourage the formation of cliques. In summary,
frequent, effective communication is a critical success factor for a virtual team.

3.2.5 Challenges in Managing Virtual Teams

Keeping members on the same page without being in the same place poses challenges for
managers. As communication technologies improve, employees often exchange ideas and
information with distant colleagues. Most workers can benefit from this ability to touch base
with people beyond a particular set of walls. But what happens when a project or task
depends on the ongoing cooperation of employees who are miles apart?

Virtual teams—usually formed when geographical separations can’t be bridged—may be the

answer. By definition, they are composed of members who rarely, if ever, meet physically.

Companies may form virtual teams to get employees out of the office and closer to
customers, to unify a function across the organization, or to cut time and travel costs. Or a
company in an undesirable location may desperately need to recruit employees who have the
right skills but don’t want to move. Sometimes companies use virtual teamwork to integrate
employees who were added through mergers and acquisitions.

That’s what happened at USFilter in Palm Desert, Calif. When the company began growing,
it didn’t make sense to relocate numerous employees who became part of the company as a
result. Instead, certain departments, such as the company’s legal division, simply became
virtual teams.

When IBM’s leaders need to staff projects, they give a list of skills they need to HR, which
pulls together a pool of people for them. The manager decides whether the team needs to be
virtual or not. “It’s the skills and talent that are important, rather than face time.”

Virtual teams work well for managers whose employees often travel, If people are in sales,
for instance, do you really need them all in one place—particularly if they’re in charge of a
region that involves more than one state?
There are industries, such as manufacturing, in which virtual teams won’t work. Any type of
work that’s very sequential or integrated can pose problems for virtual teams, this includes
some types of project work, where everyone has to be together for back-and-forth
conversation.

Virtual teams aren’t miracle cures, Virtual teams should exist only for the same reason that
any team exists. Teams must have a common purpose, share responsibility for specific
outcomes and work interdependently.

Making It Work

Though many experts believe that co-located teams still work best, most feel that virtual
teams can be successful if they are formed, trained and managed correctly. Team members
must be able to communicate well and work independently. They also should possess a good
work ethic, initiative and creativity. Employees who are stimulated by interaction with other
people or who need external structure to stay on track may be unsuccessful in a virtual
environment without training and acclimation.

Employees’ training needs can be hard to assess, because any struggles they have take place
behind the scenes. For task-related skills training, managers must encourage team members to
make their needs known.

Five areas of training that are especially useful for virtual team members:

1. Understanding the technology infrastructure.

2. Using technology tools.
3. Collaborating effectively in a work group.
4. Conducting virtual meetings.
5. Planning and managing tasks.

Team managers must be comfortable with relinquishing traditional control over their
employees, while remaining committed to mentoring and evaluating them. Additionally,
virtual team managers must pay particular attention to the challenges posed by the physical
separation between members.

Managers should apply to the virtual setting the techniques they use when building traditional
teams. Virtual teams need to stop and think about all the things we do in a co-located team
and emulate those actions. “Break down these co-located team actions and formalize them.
Create an agreement, with team buy-in.” The agreement can cover issues such as how quickly
e-mail should be answered, when videophones should be used and who has authority to make
decisions.

Ground rules and expectations also need emphasis, because managers don’t have
opportunities to enhance their communications via casual hallway or lunchroom meetings.
Because employees operate independently on virtual teams, managers also need to work at
keeping a team focused. Managers can foster camaraderie between team members and keep
them engaged by encouraging media-based “face-to-face” encounters, and through
communication via e-mails, telephone calls and instant messages. Giving the team a name or
logo can also promote a sense of belonging.

Common courtesies can also help solidify a far-flung team. If an office celebrates birthdays,
for example, managers should include virtual team members through videoconferencing and
consider having cakes delivered to remote sites.

Communication represents a tremendous problem for virtual teams. Managers have to give
more support and positive messages when they’re working virtually. The written word can be
so much harsher than the spoken word; even a critique needs to be phrased positively.

Another challenge arises when team members cross time zones: The window of opportunity
for contacting each other can diminish. These delays may frustrate team members who can’t
proceed without an answer from a colleague.

Technology and cooperation can resolve many of these problems, but team members have to
work hard to overcome the gaps left by their inability to communicate face-to-face.

Getting a team together physically is perhaps the best step a manager can take to enhance
communication and trust between its members and minimize the sense of isolation. Even if
teams can’t meet on a regular basis, an initial meeting will help members understand who
they’re working with and strengthen their connection.

Managers Are Key

Managers also may find it difficult to coach and advise, assess training needs and give
feedback to team members who aren’t in view. Reviews using 360-degree feedback can help
managers understand how members are performing, and analyzing bulletin boards and
intranets will give a feel for the team’s issues and problems.

Most managers agree that recognition programs for virtual teams aren’t much different than
those for co-located teams, but members of virtual teams have difficulty getting promoted
because they have fewer opportunities for face-to-face networking. Managers must act as
advocates for employees who are out of sight.

Check your Progress:

Multiple Choice single Response:

1. You are managing a virtual team. The project has been under way for several
months, and you believe your team members do not view themselves as a team or a
unified group. To help rectify this situation, you should—
 a. Ensure that every member of the project team uses e-mail as a form of
communication
b. Mandate that the team follow the vision and mission statement of his or her
organization
c. Enhance communications planning
d. Provide team members with the latest in communications technology and
mandate its use

2. Major difficulties arise when multiple projects need to be managed in the functional
organizational structure because of—
a. The level of authority of the project manager
b. Conflicts over the relative priorities of different projects in competition for
limited resources
c. Project team members who are focused on their functional specialty rather than
on the project
d. The need for the project manager to use interpersonal skills to resolve conflicts
informally

3. The team you have organized for your new project consists of three people who will
work full-time and five people who will support the project on a part-time basis. All
team members know one another and have worked together in the past. To ensure a
successful project start-up, your first step should be to—
a. Meet with each team member individually to discuss assignments
b. Prepare a responsibility assignment matrix and distribute it to each team
member
c. Distribute the project plan and WBS to the team
d. Hold a project kickoff meeting

4. The primary result of effective team development is—

a. Improved project performance
b. An effective, smoothly running team
c. An understanding by project team members that the project manager is
ultimately responsible for project performance
d. Enhancement of the ability of stakeholders to contribute as individuals and
team members

5. The team members on your project have been complaining that they do not have any
sense of identity as a team because they are located in different areas of the building.
To remedy this situation, you developed a project logo and had it printed on T-shirts to
promote the project, but this action has not worked. Your next step is to—
a. Initiate a newsletter
b. Create an air of mystery about the project
c. Establish a “team meeting room”
d. Issue guidelines on how team members should interact with other stakeholders
 6. The project team directory is an output from which of the following processes?
a. Develop project team
b. Acquire project team
c. Develop human resource management plan
d. Manage project team

7. You realize that leadership without management or management without leadership

probably will produce poor project results. Which one of the following key
responsibilities best represents project leadership?
a. Developing a vision and strategy, and motivating people to achieve them
b. Getting things done through other people
c. Using charismatic power to motivate others even if they do not like the work
d. Using all types of power, as appropriate, as motivational tools

Summary

 This unit, Managing virtual project teams, has introduced you to the approaches
needed to effectively establish the project team.
 With sound HR practices, including selection, training and management, virtual teams
can reduce travel and relocation costs, and provide work/life balance and flexibility
for employees.
 Where a project team is virtual, with some or all of team members at a distance in
time or space, the project manager needs additional skills and techniques to manage
the team.
 The skills we have highlighted for leading virtual project teams can be adapted for
many different situations and you may be able to identify approaches already used in
your workplace or suggest some which could be usefully considered to improve team
interactions and project success.

Key words:
 Virtual Teams: A virtual team (also known as a geographically dispersed team,
distributed team, or remote team) usually refers to a group of individuals who work
together from different geographic locations and rely on communication technology
such as email, FAX, and video or voice conferencing services in order to collaborate.
 Interpersonal skills: These are the behaviors and tactics a person uses to interact
with others effectively. In the business world, the term refers to an employee's ability
to work well with others. Interpersonal skills range from communication and listening
to attitude and deportment
 Responsibility Assignment Matrix: (RAM) describes the participation by various
organizations, people and roles in completing tasks or deliverables for a project. ... A
 RAM is also called a Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed (RACI)
matrix. Responsible: Those who do the work to achieve the task

Self-Assessment Questions:
1. Differentiate between the effectiveness of Physical Team and virtual Team. Which
one do you think is more effective in managing projects?
2. What do you understand by Responsibility Assignment Matrix? Does it really help in
role clarity and accountability? Explain.
3. Do you really think that interpersonal skills are essential for managing virtual teams?
Does it really helps virtual team members? How?
4. What do you understand by Social Presence and Information Richness?
5. List down some challenges in managing virtual teams.

Answers to check your progress;

1. c. Enhance communications planning

2. b. Conflicts over the relative priorities of different projects in competition for limited
resources

3. d. Hold a project kickoff meeting

4. a. Improved project performance

5. c. Establish a “team meeting room”

6. b. Acquire project team

7. a. Developing a vision and strategy, and motivating people to achieve them

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn

References

APM (2012) APM Body of Knowledge, 6th edition, Princes Risborough, Association
for Project Management.
 Dourish, P. and Bellotti, V. (1992) ‘Awareness and coordination in shared workspaces’,
Proceedings of the 1992 ACM Conference on Computer-supported Cooperative Work,
pp. 107–14, New York, ACM Press.
Duarte, D. and Snyder, N. (2006) Mastering Virtual Teams: Strategies, Tools, and
Techniques That Succeed (Jossey Bass Business and Management Series), San
Francisco, Wiley.
Kirkman, B. I., Rosen, B., Gibson, C. B., Tesluk, P. E. and McPherson, S. O. (2002)
‘Five challenges to virtual team success: lessons from Sabre Inc.’, Academy of
Management Executive, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 67–79.
Levi, D. (2007) Group Dynamics For Teams, 2nd edition, Sage Publications.
Lipnack, J. and Stamps, J. (2000) Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and
Organizations with Technology, 2nd edition, New York, John Wiley and Sons.
Majchrzak, A., Malhotra, A., Stamps, J. and Lipnack, J. (2004) ‘Can absence make a
team grow stronger?’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 82(5), pp. 131–7.
Olson, G. M. and Olson, J. S. (2000) ‘Distance matters’, Human–Computer Interaction,
vol. 15, pp. 139–78.
PMI (2013) A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMI BoK Guide),
5th edition, Pennsylvania, USA, Project Management Institute Inc.
This, L. E. (1974) A Guide to Effective Management: Applications from Behavioral
Sciences, Reading, MA, Addison-Wesley.
Wilson, J. and Edward, A. (2004) ‘Technology for virtual teams’ (in collaboration with
Clarke, S.) in Implementing Virtual Teams: A Guide to Organizational and Human
Factors, Aldershot, Gower Publishing Ltd.

Acknowledgements

This content was written by Kay S. Bromley based on material produced by Matthew
Nelson.

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated in the acknowledgements section,
this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial-
Share Alike 4.0 Licence.

The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not subject to
Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following
sources for permission to reproduce material in this course:

Course Image © Rawpixel/iStockphoto.com

Table 1: ‘A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK (r)

Guide)’, Fifth Edition, Project Management Institution.

Table 2: adapted from: Levi, D. (2007) Group Dynamics For Teams, 2nd edition, Sage
Publications.

Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently
overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the
first opportunity.
 Unit 4

Project Human Resource Management

Structure

4.1 Introduction
4.2 Develop Human Resource Plan
4.3 Project Team Acquiring
4.4 Project Team Developing
4.5 Project Team Managing
4.6 Tasks and responsibilities of line managers, project managers and team members
4.7 How guided teams drive successful projects
Summary
Keywords
Self-Assessment questions
Check your Progress
Suggested Readings

Objectives:

After going through this unit, you will be able to;

 Develop Human Resource Plan

 List down the inputs, tools and techniques and output of Project Team Development
 Elucidate the tasks and responsibilities of Line Managers, Project managers and
Project Team Members.

4.1 Introduction

Project human resource management describes the processes that enable the project manager
to organize and lead the project team. A subset of the project team is the project management
team, which is responsible for leadership activities in major process groups.

Part of the role of the project manager in managing the project team is to influence the team
when human resource factors may impact the project, and to ensure professional and ethical
behavior at all times when conducting project activities.

When developing the human resource plan, the project manager needs to understand what
enterprise environmental factors and organizational process assets can affect the outcome of
the project.

Enterprise Environmental Factors - these elements need to be addressed thoroughly,

especially when it comes to organizational and political issues. Remember the definition of a
stakeholder? It is anyone that can be positively or negatively impacted by your project. If
there is a negative impact on a stakeholder, that stakeholder may have a completely different
agenda and may work against successful completion of the project. The project manager's job
is to uncover any alternative agendas and work with stakeholders to ensure their needs are
met.

Organizational Process Assets –the elements that will assist the project manager are
standardized matrices such as standardized roles and responsibilities as well as any
documented and repeatable processes. Usually an organization will have established
templates and tools (e.g. progress reports, executive dashboards, change request forms, etc.)
that are subsumed inside the organization's PMIS. Historical data from previous projects and
organizational structures that have been successful on previous projects can serve as guidance
for the project manager.

Human Resource Roles

The key responsibilities of each group are listed below:

The Project Sponsor

 Protects the project from external influences

 Provides funding
 Approves the charter and PM Plan
 Sets priorities between projects
 Identifies Project Manager and authority level
 Approves or rejects changes
 Formally accepts deliverables or product of project

The Stakeholders

 May have PM plan signoff responsibilities

 Validate Scope and deliverables
 May be part of the change control process for approvals/rejections
 Provide requirements

The Line (functional) Manager

 Provides project resources and SME’s (in a matrixed organization)

 Participates in initial planning
 Manages project activities that fall to their area
 May address team member performance with the project manager
The Project Manager

 May contribute to writing the project charter

 Is responsible for all aspects of the project:
o Project management planning
o Communications to stakeholders
o Change management planning
o Creating all needed management plans (scope, time, budget, quality,
communications, HR, risk and procurement)
o Using metrics to measure project progress and implement changes or
corrections when needed
o Proactively addressing potential problems
o Possesses the authority to accomplish the work of the project
o Resolves variances to the project management plan with the team
o Regularly and proactively addressing project risks with the team
o Ultimately responsible for project success or failure

Project Management Organizational Structure

Project management structure is very vital to the success of any project team; an organization
or project team that is structured gives support to the work that’s being done. Misaligned
project management teams or organizations create a negative impact on the outcome of a
project. This is simply because the organizational structure has an influence on the authority
of the project manager, thereby affecting how projects are run. It goes without saying that
non-structured project management teams often lack guidance and a guided team drives
successful projects.

In this section, we are going to be looking at the project management organizational structure
from two angles; we will be studying them in terms of who the project leader is and who is
responsible for decision making where the project is concerned.

As we know, an organization could be defined as a group of persons who come together to

accomplish set goals; in order to successfully achieve those set goals, a project manager
would need to familiarize himself with the project management office structure.

Three Types of Project Management Structures

An organizational structure could be described as the official line of authority and control
within an organization. Project management structures tell us how reporting relationships
work in a particular organization.

Depending on the environment the organization finds itself operating in, the goals they set for
themselves and the nature of work being done, you would find that organizations are
structured in 3 ways:
  Functional Organizational Structure
 Matrix Organizational Structure – This can be further broken down into – Balanced
matrix, Strong Matrix, and Weak Matrix
 Projectized Organization Structure

Now that we know how organizational structures are categorized, let’s take a closer look at
each one of them to see what makes them unique.

Functional Organizational Structure

In a functional organizational structure, you would find the components of a hierarchy system
where authority-driven decisions on budget, schedule, and equipment rest on the shoulders of
the functional manager who possesses a significant level of expertise in the same field.

That is to say that the project manager, in this type of organization has little to no authority
here; in some functional organizations, that position does not even exist.

What would you find, however, is that the work is broken down into departments such as the
human resource department, sales department, finance, public relations, administration, etc.

In simple terms, it can be likened to that of a more traditional company where staff is
presided over by a supervisor, based on their functions within the organization and
communication is most often done through the department heads to senior management.

What is fascinating about this type of organizational structure is that employees appear to be
more skilled in their respective departments, thereby leading to greater work efficiency.
Everyone knows who to hold accountable if something were to go wrong as responsibilities
are predetermined.

On the downside, the work may prove monotonous over time, which could result in less
enthusiasm and reduced loyalty to the organization. In addition to that, you would also find
that cross-departmental communication becomes poor and the high level of bureaucracy
could affect decision-making negatively.

Projectized Organizational Structure

The projectized organizational structure is the complete opposite of the functional

organizational structure even though the organization may still group staff according to their
work functions.

In this case, the project management team structure is organized in such a way that the
project manager has project authority. He has jurisdiction over the project’s budget, schedule,
and the project team. You would find him at the top of the hierarchical structure, calling all
the shots; with employees playing supporting roles for the project. At the end of the project,
the project team members are released and resources directed towards more relevant areas.
What’s great about this kind of structure is that there is a clear, established line of authority;
resulting in faster decision-making and approval. Communication becomes easier and more
effective and project team members gain more experience working on different types of
projects as the need for them arises.

A major disadvantage to this type of organizational structure, however, would be that

employees could see themselves being under a lot of pressure most of the time, especially if
they happen to work on multiple projects at the same time. This often leads to poor
communication amongst the team members as everyone is left more or less playing “catch-
up”.

Matrix Organizational Structure

The matrix organizational structure can be found lying somewhere between the functional
organizational structure and the projectized organizational structure depending on what type
of matrix structure is being run.

For instance, the strong matrix organizational structure has some similarities with that of a
projectized organizational structure in the sense that the project manager is responsible for a
project. If the organization is running a weak matrix structure, then the project authority
would fall to the hands of a functional manager – as it is in a functional organization.
Interestingly enough, in a balanced matrix organization, both the project manager and the
functional manager shares equal authority for the project.

If an organization finds itself working in a dynamic environment, then this might be the right
structure to run with it and it promotes greater efficiency, helping the organization respond to
customer demands or changes in the marketplace, faster.

This is easily achieved because while the project manager exhibits project authority in a
horizontal manner, the functional manager does so in a vertical, flowing downwards. For
example, the project manager could be responsible for handling project schedule or budget
while the functional manager would be responsible for outlining and distributing
responsibilities, overseeing the performance of the equipment, etc.

4.2 Develop Human Resource Plan

Developing the human resource plan includes the major headings listed below, along with a
brief description of what is expected for each.

Roles and Responsibilities - can be assigned to a person or group. This defines roles,
authority, responsibility, and competency. These individuals or groups can be within or
outside the performing organization. The roles described for the project may not have a direct
analog to a position within the organization. Thus it is the project manager's job to identify
resources that can take on the responsibilities of the particular role needed for the project.
These roles can be documented in a responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) in the form of a
RACI chart (responsible, accountable, consult, inform)

Org Charts - an organizational breakdown chart (OBS) is critical for identifying

management hierarchies in the project and identifying potential escalation paths should there
be issues that the project manager has not been empowered to resolve. In a matrix
organization this becomes a critical factor, as it may identify functional managers from whom
the project manager secures resources for the project. The org chart also works hand-in-hand
with a roles and responsibilities chart, in that it will identify an unambiguous owner for each
work package in the project.

Staffing Management Plan - this plan describes how human resource requirements will be
met for the project. The plan can be formal or informal, detailed or general, depending on the
project needs. The staffing management plan is continually updated during the project and
usually includes the following elements:

 Staff Acquisition - identifies when specific resources roll on or off the project and the
skill levels required of those resources
 Resource Calendars - identifies when staff acquisition activities should begin as well as
staff availability and hours available from a particular resource
 Staff release plan - defines when resources are released from the project so that those
resources are no longer charged to the project
 Training - may be required if the performing organization is dealing with a new or
untried technology. It is also beneficial in that it will help team members attain
certifications that support their ability to meet project requirements. In PMI’s view,
training is not used as a ‘perk’.
 Recognition and Rewards - the idea of a recognition and reward system is that it tends
to promote desired behavior on the project.
 Compliance - this involves compliance with government regulations or union contracts
in addition to established human resource policies
 Safety - these include methods and procedures that are designed to protect team
members from the potential safety hazards. These elements are not only included in a
staffing management plan, but can also be included in the risk register

Plan Human Resource Management—the process of identifying and documenting project

roles, responsibilities, required skills, reporting relationships, and creating a staffing
management plan.

Overview of the Project Human Resource Management processes, which are as follows:
Fig. 4.1

4.3 Project Team Acquiring

The process of acquiring project team is an activity that allows selecting and approving
human resource availability according to the list of required skills and criteria for choosing
human resource for the purpose of obtaining the team necessary to accomplish project work.

Criteria For Acquiring Project Team

The process is managed by the project management team. The project manager is a person who
has an authority to manage the recruiting process and decide on team members. While selecting
and deciding on team members, the following acquiring project team criteria should be
considered:

 Required level of experience at appropriate projects and activities. The project manager
gathers all information about current experience level of team member to compare it
with the required experience level.
 Interest level. The project manager defines whether team member is interested in
participating in project and why.
 Personal qualifications. By means of interviews and questionnaires, the project
manager look at personal skills and talents of team member and measure how this
individual team member will work with other project team members.
 Availability. The project manager identifies whether project team member desired for
the project is available. The project manager should decide with functional managers
on the availability of potential team members.
 Knowledge. The project manager identifies the competency and proficiency of
available project team members.

Methods of Acquiring Project Team

By using the acquiring project team criteria, the project manager and members of the project
management team select a method of team acquisition. There are several standard acquiring
project team methods, including the following:
  Method of pre-assignments allows selecting team members in advanced, before project
starts. The method is used in situations when implementation of project depends on the
expertise of specific people who deliver a competitive proposal to project.
 Method of virtual team building is used when the whole project or a significant part of
it is to be fulfilled by groups of people who carry out their roles and responsibilities
with little or no time spent on face to face communication and collaboration. Virtual
teams use electronic means of communication (such as email and video conferencing)
to fulfill project tasks. A virtual team environment is based on communication planning
so the project manager needs to ensure virtual teams have all required communication
tools to participate in project.
 Method of negotiations allows making staff assignments between multiple projects in
order to ensure each of the projects has appropriately competent human resources
within the required time frame. The method entails development and use of delegation
and re-assignment models to make efficient staff assignments considering the benefits
and visibility of competing projects.

The team acquisition methods can be used separately or taken together to acquire project
team. Project gets staffed when all team members have appropriate assignments. Then the
process of acquiring project team comes to an end and generates the following acquiring project
team outputs:

 Project staff assignment documentation – includes names of project team members,

memos to team members, and a project team directory.
 Work schedules – document team member availability and include time periods that
every team member can work on project considering schedule conflicts, such as
vacation time and commitments to other projects.
 Updates to the project management plan – concern such elements of the plan as human
resource plan and staffing requirements.

Fig. 4.2 Project Team Acquiring

4.4 Project Team Developing

Develop Project Team—the process of improving competencies, team member interaction,

and overall team environment to enhance project performance
The process of developing project team

The process of developing project team is an activity that allows improving internal and
external interactions of team members, developing their competencies and skills, and
optimizing the overall team environment for the purpose of enhancing project performance.

The process of developing project team is associated with teamwork management considering
all team building factors such as cultural diversity, team climate, and global environment.
Teamwork management and team building should be organized and implemented in the context
of clearly and timely stated communication between team members throughout the whole
project life-cycle.

Objectives of Project Team Development

The process pursues the following major project team development objectives:

 Improve skills and technical competencies of team members to increase the probability
of achieving project deliverables in the context of decreasing costs, improving quality
and reducing schedules.
 Improve internal agreement and personal recognition among team members to enhance
morale, reduce number of conflicts, and improve productivity.
 Establish a dynamic team culture to improve team spirit and cooperation between team
members to contribute to better knowledge and expertise sharing.

To achieve these team development objectives, the outputs obtained during the acquiring
project team process are used. Project staff assignment documentation, resource schedules and
human resource plan allow achieving the following:

 Creating a list of team members who will participate in project team development
activities.
 Defining times when team members can participate in project team development
activities.
 Identifying training and development strategies to improve performance of team
members.

Methods of Developing Project Team

Development of project team is a continuous process, not an instantaneous one. There are four
basis methods to develop a productive project team which is able to accurately and effectively
complete the project scope. The the methods of developing project team are shown below:

 Method of team building activities allows creating reliable, friendly, and long-term
interpersonal relationships between project team members to help them work together
face-to-face, operate from remote locations, and achieve the feeling of trust and
 confidence. Team building activities may aim at preventing conflicts and solving team
problems. The method lets use the five stages of team building:
o Forming allows team members to gather and learn about interests and concerns
of each other.
o Storming allows team members to figure out the team hierarchy and both formal
and information team roles. The stage is vital for taking control of team
members.
o Norming allows team leaders to set requirements and standards as to the project
work.
o Performing allows team members to focus on performing the project work as a
team. During this stage high-performance teams are developed and they work
at synergy.
 Method of team training allows improving competencies of project team members by
means of formal and informal training sessions, such as classrooms, online seminars
and webinars, on-job-training, mentoring and coaching. Schedules of training sessions
are specified in project human resource plan.
 Method of team co-location allows placing all team members, which may be at
difference locations, in one physical location to improve their abilities to perform the
project work. The method entails creation of team co-location strategies to organize
team meetings. Team co-location is an alternative to virtual team activities.
 Method of rewards and recognition allows recognizing and rewarding appropriate
behavior of team members by means of financial and non-financial incentives for the
purpose of motivating team members, creating positive reinforcement, and increasing
support among team members.

Assessment of Team Performance

Development of project team should be assessed in order to identify success of team

development activities and team building strategies. Assessment of team development efforts
can be achieved by using the following team performance assessment indicators:

 Improvements in skills and competencies of team members to allow a team member to

perform assignments more efficiently.
 Reduced rate of staff turnover.
 Improved team cohesiveness which contributes to an increase of the overall project
performance.
Fig. 4.3 Project Team Developing

4.5 Project Team Managing

Manage Project Team—the process of tracking team member performance, providing

feedback, resolving issues, and managing changes to optimize project performance.

The Process of Managing Project Team

The process of managing project team is an activity that allows tracking performance of team
members, using feedback, resolving strategic and operational issues, and managing changes
for the purpose of optimizing project performance.

The process of managing project team addresses specific team management challenges
associated with communication, recognition and assessment of team objectives. The project
manager takes responsibility of managing project team and ensuring success of team
management activities. The project manager should have and use the following interpersonal
skills for managing project team:

 Leadership is a critical skill for teambuilding and teamwork management. A high level
of leadership allows the project manager to communicate the project vision and
organize the project team to achieve high performance.
 Influencing is critical for bearing influence on project stakeholders and their decisions.
The project manager needs to develop this interpersonal skill to reach mutual
agreements with project team members and address critical issues.
 Effective decision making is an ability to undertake the decision-making process which
entails conducting negotiations with stakeholders and project team for the purpose of
studying environment factors, developing personal quality of team members,
stimulating team creativity, and managing risks and opportunities.

Methods of Managing Project Team

The process involves the use of specific project team management methods and techniques
which are listed below:

 Method of communication and supervision is used to track current work and attitudes
of project team members. By means of live conversation and observation, the project
manager communicates with team members and reviews their achievements in the
context of deliverables, accomplishments and interpersonal issues.
 Method of performance appraisals allows measuring performance of project team
members to clarify project team roles and responsibilities, review constructive
feedback, discover unresolved issues, develop individual training programs, and outline
specific goals for future project activities.
  Method of conflict management allows handling conflicts in a team environment to
achieve higher productivity and positive working relationships among team members.
The method is used within the conflict management process and managed by the project
manager. The following characteristics of conflict should be considered while
perfuming the conflict management process:
o Nature of conflict: a conflict may be a team issue or an individual issue.
o Openness to conflicts.
o Time: a resolution of conflict should focus on the present, nit the past.

Success of the conflict management process requires application of different conflict

resolutions styles, and the project manager should consider the following factors when deciding
on a resolution style:

 Conflict intensity and importance

 Available time for resolving conflict
 Players involved in conflict and their position to conflict
 Motivation to resolve conflict
 Technique of issue logging allows making records on all issues occurred during the
project course to create issue logging documents (the issue logs). The issue logs help
monitor persons responsible for issues and address obstacles that block project team
members from implementing objectives and goals.

The implementation of the methods and techniques results in fostering teamwork, integrating
collaborative efforts of team members, and achieving high performance. In particular, the
following outputs can be obtained from the successful project team management process
implementation:

 Change requests are generated during the course of the process and submitted to the
project management team. Change requests allow reducing the probability or issue
occurrence and mitigate a negative impact on project activities. The major purpose of
change requests is to ensure development of preventive actions to reduce team member
absence, achieve appropriate role clarification, and avoid gaps in project schedules and
timelines.
 Project management plan updates generally include changes to team member roles,
responsibilities and authorities which all together are parts of the staff management
plan.
 Project management organization assets include lessons learns documentations,
historical records, various templates, and standards. All this information can be
collected and then used later in future projects.
Fig. 4.4 Project team Managing

Source: https://mymanagementguide.com/guidelines/project-management/hr-
management/project-team-managing/

4.6 Tasks and responsibilities of line managers, project managers and team
members.

4.7 How a Guided Team Drives Successful Projects

Once the project team starts to work on the ‘how’ aspect of its end product, it is very crucial
that the team members are aligned and tuned in to the goals of the project. Even if they are
going to be working in autonomy, the project manager needs to guide his team because a
well-guided team is the key to a successful project.
Most organizations pride themselves of having a great teamwork while some companies
adopt self-organizing teams. However, the trend is now into autonomy. Members who belong
to the ‘teamwork’ oriented organizations often complain of lack of autonomy. Autonomy is a
certain level of independence that is accorded to a member wherein he or she is free of
influence and control by his or her superior. Autonomy is definitely scary to accept as well as
allow but one of the requirements in producing high-performing teams is to build trust,
transparency and commitment. In a project team that fosters a teaming culture, it is essential
that the members be given a certain level of autonomy for them to be free to perform their
tasks in the best way that they can.

Project management consultants often encounter this dilemma in project teams. With this
type of problem they know that a very important component is the leadership aspect – project
manager, executives and stakeholders. The consultants work with them on how they can
create a culture that supports the real ‘teaming’. They encourage managers to support self-
organizing teams and they know this isn’t an easy task. It is hard for managers to let go of
their control especially on teams and people who lack the experience to govern themselves.

Unfortunately, this type of insight is similar to what parents feel when their children who are
either young kids or grown-ups start learning new things or enter a new stage of life. They are
scared to think how they can cope up with the challenges that go with something new. This is
how managers in ‘teaming’ spirit feel as regards self-organizing teams. It is actually an
insight that they need to direct and control the team and not let them work on their self-
determination so that when they become successful, all the credits go to the managers.

Considering the need of autonomy amidst the anxiety of the managers, how can a project
manager guide his team effectively if the members are allowed to become responsible for
their own tasks? How can he ensure that the team will be going smoothly as a whole group
despite everybody doing their tasks responsibly on their own?

The keyword is ‘alignment’. If a project manager knows how to align everything towards the
common mission and vision or goals of the team, the members will naturally follow.
Communication is very crucial because every problem needs to be brought up so that it can
be solved and the team collaborates with each other in arriving at the best possible solution.
There is a need to emphasize the vision/goals each and every time because the future is the
key to direction and purpose.

A guided team drives successful projects despite its autonomy because there is guidance from
its leaders and an organizational structure that binds the members together to a common goal.

Check your progress:

Multiple Choice Single Response;

1. You have been assigned as project manager on what could be a “bet the company”
project. You realize that to be successful you need to exercise maximum control over
project resources. Which form of project organization should you establish for this project?

A. Strong matrix
B. Projectized
C. Project coordinator
D. Weak matrix

2. You are using a RACI matrix to keep track of deliverables. How many individuals
can be “Accountable” for a particular deliverable?

A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. There is no limit.

3. As the project manager, you are reading through the Project Management Plan again.
Your project requires an employee with high technical skills in a particular areas for
success. You have asked your fellow project managers and HR department if they
know anyone in the company who would be a good fit for the role. No one seems to
think that anyone at your company has that particular technical skill. What should you
do next?

A. Ask a functional manager for an employee that almost has the skills.
B. Look outside of your organization for a consultant or subcontractor.
C. Use a virtual team to see if the resource exists elsewhere in your company.
D. Cancel the project.

4. You have the human resource management plan and the project staff assignments.
What do you need before you can start to develop the project team?

A. Team-building
B. Training
C. Ground rules
D. Resource calendars

5. You are a project manager in a matrix environment, so you share supervision of your
project team members with their functional manager. Sometime there are competing
priorities, and your team members are spending too much time on their function, which
may lead your project to fall behind schedule. You decide to go to each of your project
team member’s office to ask questions and listen to their concerns about the project.
You persuade them, while clearly articulating your points and positions, that they
should be spending more time on the project. What skill are you using?

A. Smoothing/accommodating
B. Influencing
C. Effective decision-making
D. Bribing
 6. Your project team members are feeling stressed because they can’t seem to complete
their required work in the given time. What document can you consult to determine
how much time your project team members have available?

A. Resource histogram
B. Project organization charts
C. Compliance plan
D. RACI chart

7. Project performance appraisals are a tool in which project management process?

A. Monitor and Control Project Work

B. Control Quality
C. Manage Project Team
D. Validate Scope

Summary

We looked at what an organizational structure is and how vital it is for project

managers to understand the different organizational structures.

We looked at the merits and demerits of running a functional, projectized and matrix
structure and we noted that the decision to go with either of them would depend on the
kind of environment in which the organization operates in, their goals and the nature of
work being done.

Keywords
Organizational Process Assets – the elements that will assist the project manager are
standardized matrices such as standardized roles and responsibilities as well as any
documented and repeatable processes.

Projectized Organizational Structure: The projectized organizational structure is the

complete opposite of the functional organizational structure even though the
organization may still group staff according to their work functions

Self-Assessment questions:
1. Explain how Enterprise Environment factors and Organisational Process Assets can
affect the outcome of the project.
2. Explain the key responsibilities of Project Sponsors, the stakeholders, line managers
and Project Managers.
3. What are the different types of Project Management Structure?
4. Explain the important components of Develop Human Resource Plan.
5. What are the tools and techniques of ‘Plan Human Resource Management?’
 6. Explain the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of Project Team Acquisition..

Answers to check your progress

1. B. Projectized

2. B. 1

3. B. Look outside of your organization for a consultant or subcontractor.

4. D. Resource calendars

5. B. Influencing

6. A. Resource histogram

7. C. Manage Project Team

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn
 Unit 5

Introduction to Project Communication

Structure:

5.1 Introduction
5.2 Communication Methods
5.3 Communication Planning
5.4 Types of Communication
5.5 Communication Technology
5.6 Assessing New Communication Technologies
5.7 Report Performance
5.8 Manage and Monitor Communications
5.9 Project Reporting
5.10 Dealing with Time Zones

Keywords
Self-Assessment questions
Answers to check your progress
Suggested Readings

Objectives:

After going through this unit, you will be able to;

 Analyse the communication methods in Project Management

 Evaluate the types of communication and Communication Technologies
 Differentiate between Synchronous and Asynchronous Communication tools
 Deal with different time zones if working on international projects

5.1 Introduction

Almost more than 80% of a project manager’s time is spent in communicating.

Communication-related issues are the most frequent problems faced by the project manager.
There is a need for structured communications management plan.

Communicating on projects require an understanding of:

 Understanding the communication requirements from stakeholders

 Sharing with stakeholders on what communication is required from them
  Frequent updates to communication plan as per changing needs of the project

There are 2 steps in successful project communications - develop communications strategy

based on stakeholder and project needs, then develop communications plan based on strategy.

5Cs of communication are advised for reducing misunderstandings, these are – correct,
concise, clear purpose, coherent (logically connected ideas and possibly using markers like
introduction and summary), controlled (by using summaries and graphics).

Skilled communication involves actively listening, cultural/personal aspects, understanding

stakeholder expectations, and people handling skills.

Fundamentals of effective communication include clarity, the understanding receiver needs &
monitoring the communication.

5.2 Communication Methods

Communication methods can be grouped into the following categories:

Interactive Communication:

In this method, two or more people interact with each other. An individual provides
information which is received by the other person who then responds to the
information given by the individual. Meetings, conference calls, video conferences are
examples of Interactive communication.

Push Communication:

Unlike interactive communication, this method involves sending the information to

the recipient with no expectation of receiving the feedback. This is one-way streaming
of information. Status reports, mass-mailers, project updates sent to a large population
are examples of push communication.

Pull Communication:

In this method, the sender places the information at a central location (like a
SharePoint or a shared drive) and the recipients responsible to use the information or
need the information retrieve the details from that location.

5.3 Communication Planning

Communications management is about keeping everybody in the loop. The communications

planning process concerns defining the types of information you will deliver, who will receive
it, the format for communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution. It turns out
that 90% of a project manager’s job is spent on communication so it’s important to make sure
everybody gets the right message at the right time.

The first step in defining your communication plan is figuring out what kind of communication
your stakeholders need from the project so they can make good decisions. This is called the
communications requirements analysis. Your project will produce a lot of information; you
don’t want to overwhelm your stakeholders with all of it. Your job is to figure out what they
feel is valuable. Communicating valuable information doesn’t mean you always paint a rosy
picture. Communications to stakeholders may consist of either good news or bad news. The
point is that you don’t want to bury stakeholders in too much information but you do want to
give them enough so that they’re informed and can make appropriate decisions.
Communications technology has a major impact on how you keep people in the loop.

Methods of communicating can take many forms, such as written reports, conversations, email,
formal status reports, meetings, online databases, online schedules, and project websites. You
should consider several factors before deciding what methods you’ll choose to transfer
information. The timing of the information exchange or need for updates is the first factor. Do
you need to procure new technology or systems, or are there systems already in place that will
work? The technologies available to you should figure into your plan of how you will keep
everyone notified of project status and issues. Staff experience with the technology is another
factor. Are there project team members and stakeholders experienced at using this technology,
or will you need to train them? Finally, consider the duration of the project and the project
environment. Will the technology you’re choosing work throughout the life of the project or
will it have to be upgraded or updated at some point? And how does the project team function?
Are they located together or spread out across several campuses or locations?
The answers to these questions should be documented in the communication plan.
All projects require a sound communication plan, but not all projects will have the same types
of communication or the same methods for distributing the information.
The communication plan documents the types of information needs the stakeholders have,
when the information should be distributed, and how the information will be delivered.
The types of information you will communicate typically include project status, project scope
statements and updates, project baseline information, risks, action items, performance
measures, project acceptance, and so on. It’s important that the information needs of the
stakeholders be determined as early in the planning phase of the project management life cycle
as possible so that as you and your team develop project planning documents, you already
know who should receive copies of them and how they should be delivered.

5.4 Types of Communication

Completing a complex project successfully requires good communication among team
members. If those team members work in the same building, they can arrange regular meetings,
simply stop by each other’s office space to get a quick answer, or even discuss a project
informally at other office functions. Many projects are performed by teams that interact
primarily through electronic communication and are, therefore, called virtual teams. To avoid
miscommunication that can harm trust and to include team members in a project culture, the
project team needs a plan for communicating reliably and in a timely manner. This planning
begins with understanding two major categories of communication.

Synchronous Communications
If all the parties to the communication are taking part in the exchange at the same time,
the communication is synchronous. A telephone or Skype conference call is an example
of synchronous communication. The following are examples of synchronous
communications:
• Live meeting: Gathering of team members at the same location
• Conference call: A telephone call in which several people participate
• Audio conference: Like a conference call, but conducted online using software like
Skype
• Computer-assisted conference: Audio conference with a connection between
computers that can display a document or spreadsheet that can be edited by both parties
• Video conference: Similar to an audio conference but with live video of the participants.
Some laptop computers have built-in cameras to facilitate video conferencing
• IM (instant messaging): Exchange of text or voice messages using pop-up windows on
the participants’ computer screens
• Texting: Exchange of text messages between mobile phones, pagers, or personal digital
assistants (PDAs)—devices that hold a calendar, a contact list, a task list, and other
support programs.

Asynchronous Communications
Getting a team together at the same time can be a challenge—especially if they are spread
out across time zones. Many types of communication do not require that the parties are
present at the same time. This type of communication is asynchronous.
There are several choices of asynchronous communications.

Mail and Package Delivery

Many companies prefer that final contracts are personally signed by an authorized
representative of each party to the agreement. If several signatures are required, this can
take weeks to get all the signatures if the contracts are transferred by a postal service. If
this process is holding up the start of the project, you can use an overnight delivery
service to minimize the time spent transferring the documents.

Fax
Fax machines have been around a long time and enjoy a high level of trust for
transmitting documents accurately. Although it might seem archaic to still use fax
transmissions, in many countries a fax of a signed contract is legal, but a computer
scanned image is not.

Email
 Electronic mail (email) is widely used to coordinate projects and to communicate
between team members. It has several valuable characteristics for project management:
• Information can be sent to a list of team members.
• Messages can be saved to document the process in case of a misunderstanding or
miscommunication.
• Files can be attached and distributed.

Project Blog
A blog is an online journal that can be private, shared by invitation, or made available to
the world. Some project managers keep a journal in which they summarize the day’s
challenges and triumphs and the decisions they made. They return to this journal at a later
date to review their decision-making process after the results of those decisions are
known to see if they can learn from their mistakes. Many decisions in project
management are made with incomplete knowledge, and reflecting on previous decisions
to develop this decision-making skill is important to growth as a project manager.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

Some projects are directly affected by external factors such as political elections,
economic trends, corporate mergers, technological or scientific breakthroughs, or
weather. To keep informed about these factors, you can subscribe to online news sources.
A technology that facilitates this process is Really Simple Syndication (RSS).
Web pages with RSS news feeds have labelled links.
If the user clicks on the RSS feed, news from the website is automatically sent to the
user’s news reader, such as Google Reader. The news reader can be set to filter the news
for key words to limit the stories to those that are relevant to the project.

5.5 Communication Technology

Planning communications involve determining how to communicate each item.
Communication can take place through face-to-face interactions, by telephone, fax, mail, or
email; through virtual or in-person meetings; and through an intranet or internet-based forums
for information. These different means of communications is termed Communication
Technology.

Modern communication technologies make it possible to assemble project teams from

anywhere in the world. Most people work during daylight hours, which can make synchronous
meetings difficult if the participants are in different time zones. However, it can be an
advantage in some circumstances; for example, if something must be done by the start of
business tomorrow, team members in Asia can work on the problem during their normal work
hours while team members in North America get some sleep.

Plan communications consider the performing organization's environment (i.e. Enterprise

Environmental Factors), including its culture and expectations. The performing organizations
processes, procedures, historical records, lessons learned and other information (i.e.
organizational process assets) should also be taken into consideration. The output is the
Communications Management Plan which is a component of the Project Management Plan.
During project initiation, the efforts would begin to identify stakeholders and their
communication requirements. In planning, it is determined how to apply that information.
The information and communication needs of the stakeholders are taken into consideration in
the Plan Communication process. A clear and concise communication requires handling
communications in a structured way and choose the best type of communication for the
situation.
Formal written: It is used when there are complex problems, for project management
plan, for project charter, memos, communicating over long distances
Formal verbal: Used during presentation and speeches Informal written. Used for Emails,
handwritten notes, text messages, instant messaging
Informal verbal: Used in meetings, conversions

5.6 Assessing New Communication Technologies

New technologies for communicating electronically appear with increasing frequency.
Using a new technology that is unfamiliar to the team increases the technology complexity,
which can cause delays and increase costs. To decide if a new technology should be included
in a communications plan, seek answers to the following questions
• Does the new communication technology provide a competitive advantage for the project by
reducing cost, saving time, or preventing mistakes?
• Does the project team have the expertise to learn the new technology quickly?
• Does the company offer support such as a help desk and equipment service for new
communication technology?
• What is the cost of training and implementation in terms of time as well as money?

Communication Models
Project management requires a more structured approach to communications.
Communication models are comprised of three parts: the sender, the message and the
receiver. Each message is encoded by the sender, gets transmitted to the receiver and is
decoded by him. There are certain noise factors in communication models such as receiver’s
education, language, cultural effect of the way the message is decoded by the receiver.

Effective Communication
For effective communication, the sender should decode the message carefully, identify the
communication method to be used to send the message and confirm if the message is
understood. The sender can be aware of the following communication factors:

Nonverbal: Most of what is communicated is non-verbal. It is based on physical mannerism.

About 55% of all communication is non-verbal

Paralingual: Pitch and tone of voice help to convey a message.

Effective listening: The receiver should decode the message carefully and confirm that the
message is understood. This includes watching the speaker to pick up physical gestures and
facial expressions, thinking about what to say before responding, and active listening, in
which the receiver confirms that he/she is listening, expresses agreement or disagreement, or
ask for a clarification.

Stake Holder Expectations:

Managing stakeholder expectations requires proactive actions from the project manager to
make the stakeholders feel that their needs and concerns are at least being considered, even if
they are not agreed to. The efforts of managing stakeholder expectations also allow the
communication channels to be open between the stakeholders and the project managers so
that the stakeholders can inform the project managers of potential risks, changes and other
related information.
Attention to stakeholders needs is required for managing their expectations when the work is
being done. This helps in building trust, resolving conflicts, preventing problems and
increases belongingness of the stakeholder for the project. The project manager can review
multiple project documents such as stakeholder register, stakeholder management strategy,
communications management plan, issue logs, and changes to determine the actions required
to manage stakeholder expectations.

Communication Blockers
The communication blockers include noisy surroundings, improper encoding and decoding of
messages, making negative statements, culture, language, hostility, distance between those
trying to communicate, among others.

Communication Channels
Communication channels can be calculated using the formula: N (N 1) / 2 where N = the
number of people.

A project manager should spend time in the early stages of the project to identify all
stakeholders and take a structured approach to communications by creating a
communications management plan.
When planning communications, the following techniques are very helpful:

1. Stakeholder engagement assessment matrix or – a table which shows current and

desired engagement levels of stakeholders, thereby helps to identify communication
requirements.
2. Communication styles assessment – understanding stakeholder communication styles
help in tailoring communications for them; this can be used along with the
engagement assessment matrix.

A communication management plan documents how the project manager manages and
controls communication. All stakeholder needs must be addressed. Communication
management plan becomes a part of the project management plan.
5.7 Report Performance
Collecting information related to work performance, analyzing it, creating reports and
sending them to respective stakeholders are involved in reporting the performance of the
project. Report performance is a part of communications management plan.
The reports should provide all the information needed by stakeholders to the level of detail
required by them. The need for the projects should be considered while designing the reports.
The most appropriate method is to be used to send the reports. The method used to send
reports plays a crucial role in getting the report read and acted upon. A project manager must
not spend all the time only doing reporting activities. The project management plan can be
used to identify the performance measurement baseline. This baseline can be used in the
reports to measure the performance of the project. All reports must give a clear, concise and
true picture of the information that is being depicted. Reports should not just include
schedule, but also include cost, scope and quality performance as well. The appropriate
moment of recommending and implementing corrective actions is known by looking at the
reports. Report performance includes looking at the future.

The different types of performance reports include:

 Status Report; Reports the current performance of the process against performance
measurement baseline
 Progress Report; Describes the total work accomplished
 Trend Report; Whether performance has an upward trend or a downward trend is
reported by the trend report
 Forecasting Report; Future project status and performance is reported basis current
(or historical) data
 Variance Report; Compares actuals to baselines
 Earned Value Report; This report integrates scope, cost, and schedule measures to
assess project performance
 Lessons Learned Documentation; Performance reports are used as lessons learned
for future projects

A project manager should spend time in the early stages of the project to identify all
stakeholders and take a structured approach to communications by creating a
communications management plan.

5.8 Manage and Monitor Communications

Managing communications involves collecting, creating, distributing, storing, retrieving and

managing project information. Effective techniques, technologies, and methods need to be
used. Stakeholder expectations are important when managing communications. The process
should also facilitate stakeholders to respond with feedback, ask for additional information or
clarification.
When managing communications, communication skills play an important role. Some
important ones are:

 Communication competence – information clarity, sharing, demonstrating

leadership and relationship during communications
 Feedback – this includes mentoring or responses during the negotiation
 Nonverbal – body language and gestures, facial expressions and eye contact, voice
characteristics, advanced techniques like mirroring
 Presentations – to a group of people

By performing project reporting, the work performance report of the project is communicated
to stakeholders in the customized manner they expect. Such tailored reports are known as
project communications.

Monitoring Communications

The project manager cannot control all of the information

The project manager needs to control the flow of communication and the information shared
in the communication About 85-90% of the project managers time is spent in communicating
Meetings There are several rules for meetings. Some of them are:

Meetings should have a time limit, and the project manager should keep to it.

 Recurring meetings should be scheduled in advance Meeting with the team should be
regular (however, need not be often)
 Each meeting should have a specific purpose and agenda
 The agenda should be distributed to the meeting attendees before the meeting
 The team should stick to the agenda during the meeting
 Team members and meeting attendees should know their role in meetings beforehand
(for example, one member could be the minute taker and the other could be a time-
keeper)
 Meetings to include the right audience
 Effective facilitation is required by the project manager to chair and rules are to be
kept in view
 For each action, the action owner and deliverable date to be assigned in the meeting
Minutes to be documented and published

5.9 Project Reporting

Collecting information related to work performance, analyzing it, creating reports and
sending them to respective stakeholders are involved in reporting the performance of the
project. Report performance is a part of communications management plan.
The reports should provide all the information needed by stakeholders to the level of detail
required by them. The need for the projects should be considered while designing the reports.
The most appropriate method is to be used to send the reports. The method used to send
reports plays a crucial role in getting the report read and acted upon. A project manager must
not spend all the time only doing reporting activities. The project management plan can be
used to identify the performance measurement baseline. This baseline can be used in the
reports to measure the performance of the project. All reports must give a clear, concise and
true picture of the information that is being depicted. Reports should not just include
schedule, but also include cost, scope and quality performance as well. The appropriate
moment of recommending and implementing corrective actions is known by looking at the
reports. Report performance includes looking at the future.

Project communication plan examples and template

So how do you create a communication plan?

1. Identify your stakeholders (to whom)
2. Identify stakeholder expectations (why)
3. Identify communication necessary to satisfy stakeholder expectations and keep them
informed (what)
4. Identify time-frame and/or frequency of communication messages (when)
5. Identify how the message will be communicated (the stakeholder’s preferred method) (how)
6. Identify who will communication each message (who)
7. Document items – templates, formats, or documents the project must use for communicating.

You know your team and stakeholders best, so how you organize the details is up to you. Just
be sure it’s easy to understand. These examples show you 3 different options for structuring
the same communication plan.

Simple matrix communication plan example

Communication plan example by method

Communication plan example by audience

5.10 Dealing with Time Zones

It is important to remember time zones and calculate the difference between yours and your
associates’ zones correctly so as not to miss important meetings or deadlines. Cities and
countries to the north or south of each other all observe the same local time. Be aware that
many well-educated people in the United States and Canada think of South America as directly
south of North America. As you can see, South American countries can be up to five time zones
east of North America. A helpful site to convert local time to another time zone is
http://www.timezoneconverter.com
Time zones are calculated in reference to the time zone of the Royal Observatory in
Greenwich, England. The time at that location is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). More recent
references designate it as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) instead of GMT.
The time zones advance from Greenwich in an easterly direction, However, at the international
dateline (about the midpoint around the world from Greenwich), you subtract the time zone
from GMT. To prevent confusion between a.m. and p.m., times are often given using a 24-hour
clock. For example, midnight is indicated as 00:00, noon is 12:00 and 1 p.m. is 13:00.

Example: Conference Call between Toronto and Paris

A project manager for a software development project in Toronto is five time zones west of the
reference zone, so the time is given as UTC–5 (or GMT–5). If it is noon in the reference zone,
it is 7 a.m. (five hours earlier) in Toronto. The manager would like to contact a project team
member in Paris, France. Paris is one time zone east of the reference zone (UTC+1 or GMT+1).
If it is noon (12:00) in the reference zone, it is 1 p.m. (13:00) in Paris. This means that there is
a six-hour difference between Toronto and Paris. If the project manager waits until after lunch
to place the call (1 p.m. in Toronto), it will be too late in the day in Paris (7 p.m.) to reach
someone.

World Time Zones. Standard time zones of the world by TimeZonesBoy

((http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Standard_time_zones_of_the_world.png) under
the Public Domain).

Check your Progress:

Multiple Choice single Response;

1. As project manager, you plan to conduct a “kickoff” meeting at which you will discuss all the
following EXCEPT—
a. Establishing working relationships and standard formats for global communication
b. Reviewing project plans
c. Establishing individual and group responsibilities and accountabilities
 d. Discussing specific legal issues regarding the contract

2. One purpose of the communications management plan is to provide information about the—
a. Methods that will be used to convey information
b. Methods that will be used for releasing team members from the project when they are no
longer needed
c. Project organization and stakeholder responsibility relationships
d. Experience and skill levels of each team member

3. Project managers for international projects should recognize key issues in cross-cultural
settings and place special emphasis on—
a. Establishing a performance reporting system
b. Using good communication planning
c. Establishing and following a production schedule for information distribution to avoid
responding to requests for information between scheduled communications
d. Using translation services for formal, written project reports

4. You are managing a project with team members located at customer sites on three different
continents. As you plan communications with your stakeholders, you should review—
a. Stakeholder management plan
b. Stakeholder register
c. Communications model
d. Communications channels

5. Having worked previously on projects as a team member, you are pleased to now be the project
manager to develop a new process to ensure that software projects in your IT Department are
considered a success and are not late or over budget. However, many of your team members are
new to the organization. As you work to establish a high-performing team, you realize the
importance of—
a. Mentoring
b. Coaching
c. Moving quickly through the forming and storming stages
d. Safeguarding information

6. As a project manager, you try to use empathic listening skills to help understand another
person’s frame of reference. In following this approach, you should—
a. Mimic the content of the message
b. Probe, then evaluate the content
c. Evaluate the content, then advise
d. Rephrase the content and reflect the feeling

7. Statements of organizational policies and philosophies, position descriptions, and constraints

are examples of—
a. Formal communication
b. Lateral communication
c. External communication
d. Horizontal communication

8. You have decided to organize a study group of other project managers in your organization to
help prepare for the PMP® exam. What type of communication activity are you employing in
your efforts to organize this group?
a. Horizontal
 b. Vertical
c. Official
d. External

9. Project managers spend a great deal of time communicating with the team, the
stakeholders, the client, and the sponsor. One can easily see the challenges involved,
especially if one team member must communicate a technical concept to another team
member in a different country. The first step in this process is to—
a. Encode the message
b. Decode the message
c. Determine the feedback loops
d. Determine the medium

Summary:

 A communication management plan documents how the project manager manages

and controls communication. All stakeholder needs must be addressed.
Communication management plan becomes a part of the project management plan.
 5Cs of communication are advised for reducing misunderstandings, these are –
correct, concise, clear purpose, coherent (logically connected ideas and possibly using
markers like introduction and summary), controlled (by using summaries and
graphics).
 Planning communications involve determining how to communicate each item.
Communication can take place through face-to-face interactions, by telephone, fax,
mail, or email; through virtual or in-person meetings; and through an intranet or
internet-based forums for information. These different means of communications is
termed Communication Technology.
 The communication blockers include noisy surroundings, improper encoding and
decoding of messages, making negative statements, culture, language, hostility,
distance between those trying to communicate, among others.
 Report performance is a part of communications management plan.
 The reports should provide all the information needed by stakeholders to the level of
detail required by them.
 It is important to remember time zones and calculate the difference between yours and
your associates’ zones correctly so as not to miss important meetings or deadlines

Keywords

 Push Communication: Unlike interactive communication, this method involves

sending the information to the recipient with no expectation of receiving the feedback.
  Synchronous Communications: If all the parties to the communication are taking part
in the exchange at the same time, the communication is synchronous. A telephone or
Skype conference call is an example of synchronous communication.
 Project Reporting: Collecting information related to work performance, analyzing it,
creating reports and sending them to respective stakeholders

Self-Assessment questions:

1. Explain the 5 C’s of communication.

2. Differentiate between Push and Pull communication
3. What do you mean by communication planning?
4. List down various Synchronous and Asynchronous communication methods in project
management.
5. What do you mean by Report Performance? What are the components of ‘Performance
Report’?
6. How would you deal with different time zones especially when you are working on
International projects

Answers to check your progress

1. d. Discussing specific legal issues regarding the contract

2. a. Methods that will be used to convey information

3. b. Using good communication planning

4. b. Stakeholder register

5. b. Coaching

6. d. Rephrase the content and reflect the feeling

7. a. Formal communication

8. a. Horizontal

9 a. Encode the message

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn
Attribution
This unit of Project Management is a derivative copy of Project Management for
Instructional Designers by Amado, M., Ashton, K., Ashton, S., Bostwick, J., Clements, G.,
Drysdale, J., Francis, J., Harrison, B., Nan, V., Nisse, A., Randall, D., Rino, J., Robinson, J.,
Snyder, A., Wiley, D., & Anonymous. (DATE). Project Management for Instructional
Designers. Retrieved from http://pm4id.org/ licensed under Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported and Communication Plans by Inte6160 Wiki licensed under
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported.
 Unit 6

Managing communications effectively and efficiently

Structure

6.1 Introduction
6.2 Poor Communications and the Impact on Our Projects
6.3 The Impact of Cultural Differences on Communications
6.4 Communication Planning Best Practices
6.5 Communication plan components
6.6 Communication Modes and Styles
6.7 Communication for Virtual Teams
6.8 Effective Use of Technology to Communicate in Global Environments
Summary
Keywords
Self-Assessment questions
Answers to check your progress
Suggested Readings

6.1 Introduction

There are so many individuals we must communicate with from the very beginning through
to implementation and evaluation – and they all want to be communicated with differently!
Additionally, our communications vary depending on the role we have on the project, the
stage of the project that we are in, and with whom we are communicating. Regardless of your
role on the project – you must learn to communicate effectively to be successful.

While there are many paths we can take in discussing communications on projects, this unit
will discuss best practices for engaging stakeholders early on and continuing to communicate
and engage stakeholders and others throughout the project lifecycle. Additionally, given that
many of our projects these days have a virtual component and likely we are working with
individuals from across the globe – our communications are becoming even more complex
and challenging. The use of technology enables for more effective communications in such
situations along with an understanding of cultural differences and their impact on how we
process communications received.

While we realize the importance of regular and sufficient communications for our
stakeholders – and the desire to communicate to them as they would like us to do so – we
also need to be practical. One of our goals as project managers is to limit the ways we
communicate with our stakeholders – preferably communicating in a way that works best for
us given everything else we need to do on the project. We do this because we just don't have
the time to do otherwise. However, what works best for us does not necessarily work best for
our stakeholders. We all absorb information differently. Some of us are more visual than
others and want to see charts and graphs; other prefer to listen to others communicate the
information to them through a presentation or in a meeting; and yet others want information
prior to review and analyze on their own and then to speak with someone about what they
have read. When we present information in just one or two ways to our stakeholders, we
engage some and not others.

Then of course once a project becomes more complex, our communications must be more
detailed to ensure that we reach all the individuals with whom we must communicate to be
successful. When we plan our communications upfront, we enable for:

 Improving the effectiveness of communications overall, including frequency and

quality
 Keeping individuals engaged in the initiative through open communications
 Getting stakeholders involved in communications through enabling for more effective
two-way conversations

On more complex projects, as a project manager we don't want to be the only one
communicating with stakeholders. We want to enable for other project team members to be
involved in stakeholder communications based on their expertise on components of the
project. This doesn't mean as a project manager we relinquish control of communications,
rather we still manage the overall communications but enable for others to be involved. For
example, if the project has stakeholders located in remote office locations, ideally a project
team member in or close to that location will be responsible for communications with those
stakeholders. It is easier to engage stakeholders located remotely when there is someone close
by with whom they might communicate personally and reach out to with questions or
concerns.

And, as a best practice, we want to check in with stakeholders to ensure communications

about the project meet their needs (and not just our own needs as the project manager). This
may be done through sending a brief email or survey that asks three questions:

1. What is working in how we communicate with you about the project?

2. What is not working or is not effective in our communications?
3. Where can we improve our communications with you?

For more complex projects that require significant stakeholder buy-in and commitment, We
may ask these questions on a bi-monthly basis; for smaller initiatives we may ask just once
mid-way through the project. Timing is dependent on your project and your stakeholders.

6.2 Poor Communications and the Impact on Our Projects

When we do a poor job communicating with our stakeholders or even with our project team,
we have a tremendous impact on the success of our project. Poor communications results in:

Poor Team Communications Poor Stakeholder Communications

 Misunderstanding around project goals  Lack of or limited buy-in and
and objectives commitment to the project
 Missed deadlines  Misunderstanding around
 Conflicts between team members stakeholder expectations on what is
 Individual team members moving in considered project success
different directions  Conflicts between the project team
 Decreased productivity on the project and stakeholders, or between
leading to increased timelines and going stakeholder groups
over budget  Stakeholders who may actively work
 Lack of commitment on the part of against the project being
project team members in accomplishing accomplished
the work of the project  Failed projects

Sometimes poor communications are due to feeling overwhelmed by the project or are unable
to effectively manage a conflict. When we have a stakeholder who is a frequent complainer
or finds fault in all we do in managing the project, we may lean toward avoiding the
individual. It certainly is easier on us if we don't have to engage with that stakeholder outside
of our regular communications about the project. However, when we don't engage them and
respond to their issues/complaints, we now have a disengaged stakeholder who can cause
damage to the project through being non-responsive or communicating negatively about the
project to others.

Poor communications are also reflected in over-communicating to stakeholders. If we are

sending out too many emails about the project or setting up too frequent stakeholder
meetings, we will lose the attention and engagement of our stakeholders. There needs to be a
fine balance between too much and too little communications. To avoid the imbalance, work
with your project team and key stakeholders to determine:

 Who needs to know what information?

 How often must that information be communicated/shared?
 By what means will information be communicated/shared?

Your communication plan, discussed later in this paper, will focus on delineating your
responses to these three simple questions.

6.3 The Impact of Cultural Differences on Communications

Communication across cultural boundaries adds an element of complexity and challenge in

our communications on projects. We need to consider the best ways to communicate with
others dependent on a number of factors such as their attitudes toward hierarchy, their
communication styles with others, ability to understand our language and how they might
interpret and process what we tell them in our communications. Nonverbal behaviors are
often the most challenging because individuals of different cultural backgrounds may react
differently to our body movements, facial expressions, eye movements, and the tone of our
voice. For example, in the United States there is a tendency to be very direct in
communications and our approach with others; however, in other cultures, such as certain
parts of Asia, there is a tendency to be more indirect and soft-spoken. As another example,
we might use hand gestures to make our point; however, in some parts of Asia, exaggerated
hand gestures or dramatic facial expressions are distracting and considered rude. Or, we
might ask stakeholders if they have questions about the project, and hearing none assume
everyone is on board and understands what is going to happen and where they are needed.
Only to learn that for the culture with which we were interacting, asking questions is not a
common practice as it is seen as critical of the speaker or shows weakness on the part of the
questioner. There are a number of resources to help us understand how others communicate
and how they expected to be communicated with. Understanding a variety of cultures enables
us to more effectively tailor our communications to those individuals.

When you need to communicate across boundaries with stakeholders who may speak limited
English, try the following best practices:

 Keep the number of topics to be discussed in one meeting at a minimum, be aware of

information overload
 In your presentation use visuals and charts to help communicate your ideas
 Use simple terminology – don't use slang, jargon or terms that may not be universally
understood
 Speak clearly and ask specific questions rather than “yes,” “no,” or “do you
understand”
 Be aware of nonverbal cues from stakeholders that may indicate a lack of
understanding

Barriers to effective stakeholder communications are a combination of cultural biases (our

impressions of others), a lack of awareness of cultural differences, language differences,
ethnocentrism and poor listening skills. When we learn how to get past these barriers and
communicate inclusively, we develop a better understanding of how stakeholders from
different cultures than our own hear and process what we say in our communications to them.

6.4 Communication Planning Best Practices

When developing your project communication plan, consider having two plans – one a
simple overview plan of your communications and the other a more detailed communication
plan. Certainly for smaller, less complex projects a simple overview plan may be effective
and sufficient. The goal of any communication planning is to establish communication with
stakeholders that manage their perceptions of the project – which means supporting and
championing the project.

Develop your communication plan in conjunction with your project team, not by yourself.
Focus your plan on the communication needs of the stakeholders (consider the three
questions discussed earlier). Our communications prior to the project start are likely quite
different from communications once the project has launched, throughout the project and
again at the end. And certainly communications may change if challenges arise that must be
addressed with stakeholder involvement. Initial communications about the project should
focus on socializing the project with stakeholders. Discuss the project in detail, answer any
questions and ask for stakeholder support on the project overall. Discuss how you will
communicate about the project as it progresses. This communication should be done prior to
any communications around specific needs from stakeholders. Use this first communication –
ideally in person or in a virtual environment (videoconference call) to establish a rapport with
stakeholders. Too often project managers forget this essential initial communication and
rather jump into discussing what they need from the stakeholders and by when, without really
discussing the project in detail. Consider how you might feel if you are walking down the
hallway and get pulled aside by someone who tells you they need you to do something by a
certain date to benefit them. You are not as engaged or motivated to do so.

The challenge for any project manager is determining who needs to know what and when. It
is essential to balance the distribution of information amongst stakeholders. Some will want
to be, or need to be, communicated with more than others. Some will prefer email updates,
others will prefer face-to-face meetings. Our goal as project managers is to reach all of our
stakeholders to keep them engaged and committed to the project while reducing the amount
of time we are spent communicating with stakeholders. Of importance here is understanding
the stakeholders with whom you are communicating. To do this, you need to establish
relationships with your stakeholders. Once you get to know them, you are better able to
communicate and get your message across because you understand how you need to
communicate with them to be effective, efficient and get your message across in as limited a
time as possible. Building relationships with your stakeholders also helps to build trust
between you, them and your project team – and trust around the project. Trust is a key
component of effective communications with others. Stakeholders who feel they can trust
you are more apt to share information with you and be engaged in the project. They are more
apt to provide you what is needed for you to accomplish the goals of the project – whether
that is completing tasks, providing information, answering your questions or being a
champion for the project. When we don't have trust between the project manager, project
team and the stakeholder group, we focus on our differences rather than areas where we may
be in agreement.

When building your communication plan, consider your stakeholders and your relationship
with them. Do you know who they are? Have you worked with them previously and if so,
how was the interaction? Have you ever interacted with them outside of needing something
from them or them needing something from you? If you answer “no” to these questions, you
need to begin to build a relationship with your stakeholders in order to enable for effective
communications with them. If you have worked with them before but have had poor
interactions with them, consider that you need to start from the beginning in re-building a
relationship with them before you can effectively engage them in the project. Yes, this takes
time and effort on your part. However, the best project managers have worked to establish
relationships throughout the organization and with potential stakeholders before they need
those relationships. If you do not have these relationships in place, your first communication
plan must be focused around reaching out to stakeholders to build relationships and begin to
build trust.

6.5 Communication plan components

Simple Communication Plan Components

Your simple communication plan should capture the following elements:

 With whom you will communicate (e.g., leadership team)

 What will be communicated (e.g., status report on project)
 When you will communicate (e.g., monthly)
 How you will communicate (e.g., at the leadership meeting)
 Format for your communications (e.g., presentation at the meeting)

The simple communication plan enables for a high-level overview of your communications
with stakeholders. By focusing on stakeholder groups (e.g., leadership team), it enables for
more effective and efficient communications. Unless there is a pressing reason to do so, I
want to keep my stakeholders grouped for communications rather than communicating with
every single individual stakeholder. This enables me to better control and manage my
communications overall and reduce the time I need to spend in communications.

Detailed Communication Plan Components

Your detailed communication plan should include much more information about your
stakeholders and your communications to stakeholders, including guidelines for distributing
information about the project and how information will be gathered from stakeholders.

Capture the following elements in more detailed communication plans:

 List of all stakeholders (individual names), including their responsibility on the

project and contact information (along with time zone differences where they exist)
 Stakeholder information requirements by group and/or individual
 Requirements for how information will be distributed to stakeholders including:
o What will be communicated (e.g., status report, project budget)
o Due dates for communications
o With whom you are communicating (e.g., stakeholder group and/or individual)
o Person on the team responsible for the communication component
 o How you will distribute the information (e.g., email, presentation, via a portal)
 Requirements for how information will be gathered and reported on, including:
o What information is needed from stakeholders (e.g., information on the
budget, scope of project)
o Team member responsible for collecting and reporting on the information
o Stakeholder responsible for communicating/sharing the information
o Due dates
 Guidelines for gathering and distributing information
o How project information will be stored
o Approved communications methods and technologies

In addition to using detailed communication plans for complex projects, they are often of
value when managing a variety of stakeholders who must contribute significantly to the
project and/or managing stakeholders who are very detail oriented in their approach to the
project.

Communication plans must be updated on a regular basis. As the project changes and
progresses, your project communications will need to change. You may also identify new
stakeholders to whom you must communicate in a way differently from your current
stakeholders.

6.6 Communication Modes and Styles

There are a variety of communication modes and styles. Modes are of particular importance
depending on your stakeholder audience, what you are communicating and how urgent the
communication is to the project. Styles are based on our own preference for communicating
and receiving communications.

Individuals communicate using a variety of communication styles along a continuum that

includes passive at one end – expressive in the middle – aggressive at the other end. There is
also the possibility of a passive-aggressive communicator who moves rapidly from one end
of the continuum to the other. The well-balance communicator is “expressive. As a project
manager you want to be “expressive” in your communications. Project managers who are
expressive in their communications are better able to engage stakeholders and keep them
committed throughout the project initiative. They communicate effectively by enabling for a
two-way conversation with stakeholders. They engage their stakeholders through effective
listening skills, communicating in a way that is non-confrontational but candid so as to
establish trust and enabling for better conversations overall.

When communicating with a wide audience, especially on complex projects with

stakeholders that come from a variety of locations, use a variety of modes or channels to
communicate. Certainly the more complex the project, the more modes will be used to
capture the greatest number of stakeholders in a way that works for them. For simpler
projects, communications via a few meetings and/or via email may suffice.
Modes, or channels, for communicating might include:

 One-on-one meetings/casual conversations in the hallway or in the cafe for those who
are local to you
 Small group or department meetings
 All-staff meetings
 Lunch and learns or before or after hours get-togethers
 Internal website or portal established specifically for the project
 Email
 Chat technology
 Project newsletters
 Virtual meetings
 Conference calls/videoconference calls

The more methods used to communicate about the project, the more likely we are to engage
stakeholders and keep them engaged. As a best practice, we make the business case to have
one face-to-face stakeholder meeting prior to the start of the project and, ideally, one other
meeting at the end of the project. In our first communication with stakeholders, we share the
variety of modes we will use to communicate (e.g., bi-weekly emails, monthly stakeholder
meetings, etc.) and ask individuals if there are particular ways that will work better for them
than others. This is particularly important when working with stakeholders from a variety of
countries or who are remote/virtual stakeholders.

6.7 Communication for Virtual Teams

When working with virtual teams – as most project managers are doing these days – you
want to be sure to set up essential processes and procedures for effective communications
early on for the team. Similar to the need to manage stakeholder communications to enable
for more efficient and effective communications, you must do the same with your project
team. Otherwise, you risk spending far too much time on communications with and between
the team and neglecting your stakeholders and/or your project.

Involve the team in planning communications and processes and procedures for
communicating. When involved, team members are more apt to follow the rules and to be
engaged in communications.

When developing your communication plan for communications with and between virtual
team members, include these components:

 What needs to be communicated and when

 How communications will flow – from whom to whom on the team
 What communication modes/channels will be used for communications
  Communication response times (e.g., four hours for emails, two hours for
emergencies, etc. – keeping in mind time zone differences, holidays and vacation
time)
 Communication status (e.g., priority, important, routine, information only, etc. –
include a status in the subject line of each message – especially for complex projects
that require frequent communications, e.g., PRIORITY: Updated Project Plan)
 Timing of regular communications (e.g., weekly, bi-weekly)

It is also important to designate modes for specific communications. For example, the team
may choose to use email for “need to know” information, instant messaging for emergencies
or a collaboration portal to share documents.

As with stakeholder communication plans, team communication plans must be evaluated on a

regular basis to ensure they are still effective and make sense. Changes to the project, new
team members joining the team or others leaving the team, new stakeholders, etc. all impact
the communication plan.

6.8 Effective Use of Technology to Communicate in Global Environments

Use technology to enable for more effective and efficient communications with stakeholders
and others. When selecting an appropriate technology, consider challenges such as:

 Lack of specific technology in a particular country or lack of sufficient access to that

technology
 Lack of or limited knowledge of the technology; unsure how to use it
 Using the wrong technology to accomplish a task
 Overuse of technology thereby reducing more personal communications

Consider any of the following tools/technology to effectively communicate in a global

environment:

 Use of Skype, Webex, NetMeeting or other virtual meetings tools that include virtual
white boards
 Use of collaboration portals (Microsoft SharePoint, GoogleDocs) or intranet sites
 Instant messaging/texting
 Email
 Telephone/audio or video conferencing

Using a variety of methods enables for increased engagement of a variety of stakeholders –

including simpler (phone call or email) to more complex methods (collaboration portal) in
order to meet a variety of needs and comfort levels with the technology. As a best practice,
for more complex projects, provide stakeholders and team members with a hand out
describing technology to be used, how it will be used, how to access it and any other relevant
information to increase usage of the tool and comfort levels.
Be sure to use the appropriate tool/technology for the appropriate situation. For example, for
sharing information with stakeholders or getting answers to questions on the project, you
might use teleconferencing, email, virtual meetings or a collaboration site. However, if you
want to brainstorm with stakeholders to resolve a problem or determine whether to expand
project scope, you would want to use virtual meetings or collaboration site to collaborate as
conference calls or emails will not be very effective.

A collaboration portal is a great tool to have a “one-stop shop” for all things related to the
project. Use of a collaboration portal might reduce the amount of communications with
stakeholders as they can utilize the portal for:

 Status reports
 Project schedule/timeline
 Project documentation/information
 Access to a team member directory
 A forum to ask questions about the project or to log issues/concerns

The more complex your project, the more effectively you can manage your communications
with stakeholders through the use of a portal solution. You might utilize the portal to share all
communications about the project and eliminate the need for excessive face-to-face, virtual or
audio conference meetings. In such situations, set up a few initial meetings with the
stakeholders then transition them to using the portal for future standard communications,
such as status reporting on the project. If you take this approach however, be sure to hold a
stakeholder meeting at least occasionally – whether bi-monthly or quarterly for longer
projects and hold a last meeting to wrap up the project (your lessons learned meeting). Of
course, should decisions need to be made, or challenges arise on the project, or extraordinary
circumstances occur, reinstate meetings with stakeholders to ensure continued engagement
and involvement rather than rely on the portal for these communications.

Check your Progress

Multiple choice single Response;

1. Your company CEO just sent you an e-mail asking you to make a presentation on your project,
which has been in progress for 18 months, to over 50 identified internal and external
stakeholders. You have been conducting such presentations and holding meetings regularly on
this important project. You should begin by—
a. Defining the audience
b. Determining the objective
c. Deciding on the general form of the presentation
d. Circulating issues to be discussed
2. You are responsible for a project in your organization that has multiple internal customers.
Because many people in your organization are interested in this project, you realize the
importance of—
a. Conducting a stakeholder analysis to assess information needs
b. Performing communications planning early
c. Determining the communications requirements of the customers
d. Having an expert on communications management an customer relationship management on
your team

3. Project managers spend a great deal of time communicating with the team, the stakeholders,
the client, and the sponsor. One can easily see the challenges involved, especially if one team
member must communicate a technical concept to another team member in a different country.
The first step in this process is to—
a. Encode the message
b. Decode the message
c. Determine the feedback loops
d. Determine the medium

4. On your project, scope changes, constraints, assumptions, integration and interface

requirements, and overlapping roles and responsibilities pose communications challenges. The
presence of communication barriers is most likely to lead to—
a. Reduced productivity
b. Increased hostility
c. Low morale
d. Increased conflict

5. The most common communication problem that occurs during negotiation is that—
a. Each side may misinterpret what the other side has said
b. Each side may give up on the other side
c. One side may try to confuse the other side
d. One side may be too busy thinking about what to say next to hear what is being said

6. You finally have been appointed project manager for a major company project. One of your
first activities as project manager will be to create the communications management plan. As you
match the stakeholder with the appropriate communication methods for that stakeholder, you
could use any one of the following methods EXCEPT—
a. Interactive communications
b. Passive communications
c. Pull communications
d. Push communications

7. As an output of plan communications, it may be necessary to update the project documents,

which include the—
a. Stakeholder register
b. Corporate policies, procedures, and processes
c. Knowledge management system
d. Stakeholder management plan

8. Sample attributes of a communications management plan include which one of the following?
a. Roles
b. Responsibilities
c. Ethics
d. Authority

9. The process of conferring with others to come to terms or reach an agreement is called—
a. Win-win
b. Negotiation
c. Getting to “yes”
d. Confrontation

Summary

 If we don't plan for communications with stakeholders early on in the project, we run
the risk of either spending too little time on communications so as to disengage our
stakeholders or spending so much time being inefficient in our communications that
we are unable to effectively manage our project. Planning for communications means
that we take the time to understand our stakeholders and how they want to be
communicated with so that we engage them in the project and get what we need to be
effective in meeting the goals of the project.
 When working with virtual stakeholders with a variety of cultural backgrounds, an
understanding of their communication needs and expectations is essential for success.
Cultural differences can have a negative impact on our project communications when
we believe we can simply communicate as we always do without taking into
consideration the needs of others. Taking the time to build relationships and
understand your stakeholders enables for improved communications.
 Use a variety of communication modes to capture the greatest number of stakeholders
– keeping them engaged and communicating in a way that works for them. The use of
technology enables for better control of communications -especially on complex
global projects.
 As a best practice, take time upfront before the project officially starts, to develop
your communication plan and outline the ways and tools to be used for
communications. Validate this information with your stakeholders to be sure it will
meet their needs.
 The more effectively you communicate with your stakeholders, the more engaged and
committed they will be to the project enabling for increased project success.

Keyword

Project communication Plan: A project communication plan is a simple tool that

enables you to communicate effectively on a project with your client, team, and other
stakeholders. It sets clear guidelines for how information will be shared,

Self-Assessment questions
 1. Do you agree that communication impacts Projects? What best you could do to ensure
timely, clear and complete communication?
2. What impact does poor communication has on Project Teams and Stakeholders?
3. How cultural differences does impacts effectiveness of communication on projects?
4. What are the important elements of detailed Communication plan?
5. List communication modes for effective project management.
6. What communication precautions will you take while dealing with Virtual Teams?

Answers to check your progress

1. d. Circulating issues to be discussed

Meetings are held regularly on projects to update and communicate project information and to
respond to requests from stakeholders for the information. Most meetings consist of stakeholders
coming together to resolve problems or make decisions. Typical meetings begin with a defined
list of issues to be discussed, which are distributed in advance with minutes and other key
information relative to the meeting.

2. b. Performing communications planning early

On most projects, communications planning should be performed very early such as when the
project management plan is prepared. This approach then allows appropriate resources, such as
time and budget, to be allocated to communications activities.

3. a. Encode the message

As the first step in the basic communication model, it is essential to translate thoughts or ideas
into a language that is understood by others. Then, the message is sent using various
technologies, and the receiver decodes it or translates it back into meaningful thoughts or ideas.

4. d. Increased conflict
Barriers to communication lead to a poor flow of information. Accordingly, messages are
misinterpreted by recipients, thereby creating different perceptions, understanding, and frames of
reference. Left unchecked, poor communication increases conflict among project stakeholders,
which causes the other problems listed to arise. Then, the project manager must work actively to
resolve conflicts so disruptive impacts are prevented

5. a. Each side may misinterpret what the other side has said
Effective communication is the key to successful negotiation. Misunderstanding is the most
common communication problem. A project manager should listen actively, acknowledge what is
being said, and speak for a purpose. It is essential to listen attentively ad communicate
articulately.

6. b. Passive communications
You can use several different methods to share information. Interactive communications are
multidirectional in nature, such as conferences and meetings. Pull communications are those
methods where the recipient finds the information at their leisure and gets the information that
they want at their discretion. Push communications is targeted information sent to a select group
but does not certify that the recipient actually has received the information, such as e-mail.
Passive communications is more of a style of delivering the content or receiving the content.
7. a. Stakeholder register
In the plan communications management process the two documents that may be updated are the
project schedule and the stakeholder register.

8. b. Responsibilities
The communications management plan should identify the person responsible for communicating
the information and the person responsible for authorizing release of any confidential information

9. b. Negotiation
Negotiation if done well increases the probability of project success and involves conferring with
others of shared or opposed interests with a view toward compromise. Negotiating is required to
achieve mutually acceptable agreements between parties.

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn

Source: Abudi, G. (2012). Communicating with stakeholders in ways that work for them.
Retrieved on August 9, 2013 from http://www.ginaabudi.com/communicating-with-
stakeholders-in-ways-that-work-for-them/.
 Unit 7

Project Management Communication Plan

Structure

7.1 Introduction
7.2 The Importance of a Communication Plan
7.3 How Important Are Communication Plans for Project Managers?
7.4 What Makes a Communication Plan Effective?
7.5 Key Reports for a Communication Plan
7.6 Case let: Four-Step Process for Effective Communication
Summary
Keywords
Self-assessment questions
Answers to check your progress
Suggested Readings

7.1 Introduction

Communication is strange. It should be so easy. You say something, someone listens and
understands. But it doesn’t always work out that way, does it? So, what do we do to make
sure our words are heard and the message we’re trying to convey is comprehended and acted
on correctly? That’s a tall order. You’ve probably noticed in both your personal and
professional life that it’s easier said than done.

Communication plays an integral role in keeping a project on task. The project manager is
charged with guiding all aspects of the project, including the communication plan. The
specifics of communication, including the method and frequency, vary depending on your
project's needs. Understanding the purpose of the project communication plan helps a
manager realize the plan's goals.

If you have a project communication plan, then you have a way to get information out to
those who need it, in a way that is understandable and actionable.

7.2 The Importance of a Communication Plan

Communication isn’t just about barking directives or conveying your message, it’s also about
asking questions. Communications are a two-way street, and if you’re only going one-way
then you’re going to get stuck in a dead end. Okay, enough with the traffic metaphors.
There’s enough data to support the idea that communication is crucial to project success.
Everything you do when managing a project is partially if not entirely a communicative
process. Planning is a way to communicate your path through time to complete a series of
tasks. Managing those tasks is a constant communicative effort with your team. And so on.

You wouldn’t start a project without a plan in place, and so a communications plan is equally
important, as it defines how you’re going to get the critical project information out to the
people who need it, clearly and in a timely manner.

Project Communication Can Vary: Different projects, of course, demand different

communication management styles. Large projects requires more structure to your
communication plan, but a smaller one doesn’t mean you can just wing it. Communication
plans must be made in context, but they must be made.

When you formalize the process of communications in a project, you’re taking steps to make
the project successful. If you don’t… well, you know what happens.

7.3 How Important Are Communication Plans for Project Managers?

Expectations: The project communication plan sets the standards for how and when
communication takes place. As the project manager, you want to set the tone for all
communication concerning the project. This allows you to maintain control of the project and
ensure all stakeholders receive the necessary information. Set standards for how participants
communicate, including email, meetings, phone calls and memos. For regular communication
such as meetings, timing is another consideration. Schedule weekly project meetings to keep
participants updated on progress.

Consistency: A solid communication plan increases the consistency of how the project is
handled. The participants who follow the plan should communicate consistently with one
another. You also need to ensure that all stakeholders have the same information on the
project requirements and changes. If some stakeholders aren't informed of changes, you risk
mistakes or delays in the project work.

Productivity: Regular communication allows the employees working on the project to

remain productive. When they are kept in the loop on project happenings, employees will feel
more comfortable with their duties. They are equipped with the necessary information to keep
working rather than stopping frequently to seek out information they are missing. The
employees are also better able to work together with proper communication, allowing for
collaboration and effective performance on the project.

Outcome: A communication plan enables you as the project manager to lead the team to the
desired project outcome. Without proper communication with all stakeholders, you might fail
to meet the requirements of the project. You need clear communication from the stakeholders
to figure out exactly what they want and need from the project. For example, if you are
developing a software program for a third party, regular communication with the third party
is imperative to figure out exactly how they want the software to work. Continued
communication ensures that the final product will meet the expectations when it is delivered.

7.4 What Makes a Communication Plan Effective?

Now that we’re all onboard with the validity of creating a communication plan, how exactly
do we make one that can work fluidly across all the channels we need to communicate? Let’s
define the communication plan for a larger project, as it’s easier to take away what you don’t
need than add it later.

Know the Project Culture

Knowing the context of the communications is critical to creating an effective plan. That
means understanding the culture at the organization you’re working for. How structured or
casual is it? How have communications been handled in the past? Have those
communications been successful? Know the environment you’re working in first.

Start with the Background

Before effective communications can start, you should have a clear picture of what exactly it
is that you’re communicating. By describing the project landscape, so to speak, you know
what your parameters are, and it’ll help you get buy-in from the stakeholders and your team.

In short, you lead through your communication.

Start with a project vision and its objectives. What are they? Jot them down. This is the
lodestar you’ll follow throughout your project, so you want to have them clearly defined from
the start and remind people throughout the project the importance of this mission.

Next, you must assign an owner to the communication process. If you have too many people
responsible for communications, then your message is scattered and less effective. Pick that
person and provide them with the right tool or tools, such as chat, email, text, etc.

You’re also going to need a review method in place to monitor the effectiveness of your
communications. This way, if your metrics show that you’re not getting a message across to
those who need to hear it, you can tweak the process before it negatively impacts the whole
project.

And you’re going to want to record the measurement process after you close out the project.
Now you have a record of how well your communication plan worked and where it fell short,
so you can address those issues when developing a communication plan for your next project.
Have an Actual Communication Plan

It seems obvious, a better communication plan requires having a plan, but it’s surprising how
many people fly by the seat of their pants. Communications is just emailing or meetings or
talking with someone. You tell them what they need to know and then they take that
information and apply it.

Sure, but it doesn’t always work out that way. You need to have a process in place to make
sure no messages fall through the cracks. A plan helps you reach the right people with the
right information.

For example, you may use the Calendar feature in ProjectManager.com to create tasks for key
dates. Those tasks have descriptions, comments, file attachments and assignees, priority
levels and more. By planning out your tasks ahead of time, you’ll maintain a steady flow of
communication for everyone involved.

Create and manage a model communication plan in ProjectManager.com

Analyze the Situation

What are strengths and weaknesses in your plan? You might have a team that is very tightknit
and communicates easily. But maybe stakeholders are not happy with the method you’ve
chosen to communicate the project’s progress with them?
These strengths and weaknesses are not etched in stone. They can be springboards of
opportunity, and you should use them as such. Now you have a chance to improve your
communications. Be aware of all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and even threats to
your communication process, and record them all.

What Have You Learned Before?

If this isn’t your first project, then you have a historical record to look back upon. That’s a
great resource, one that will give you precedent and direction on moving forward.

Even if you’ve never led a project before, chances are that the organization you’re working
for has, and they’ve keep archives of past projects, which can be a valuable tool at your
disposal.

Start with a list of the basic communications that have taken place, how they were made and
if they were successful. Now document what you’ve learned from this research and apply it
to the present communication plan.

Be SMART!

What are you going to achieve with your communication plan? Good communications, of
course. But how to you make sure of that?

Well, begin with a list. What are your three top objectives? Got those. But make sure you’re
SMART about it. Yes, SMART is an acronym to remind you to be:

 Specific
 Measurable
 Actionable
 Relevant; and
 Timely

Relevance is key. Don’t assume everyone wants the same amount of info delivered in the
same way, but most everyone wants their information delivered consistently on time.

Have Guidelines, and Follow Them

With your objectives in place, you now need to formulate a plan by which to achieve them.
So, you need to set guidelines to help you get those communication objectives out.

For example, you must determine how you’re going to deliver the message, whether you
want structured and regular feedback, meetings, a procedure of approval before sending a
missive, what to send, etc.
Define the core types of communications you are producing, and then set about clarifying the
method of delivery and process for feedbacks and approvals for each method. The
communications owner or liaison should own this chart and process to make sure they are
followed up on.

Make Rules for Meetings

Meetings are a great communications tool and should be part of any project communication
plan. But meetings have a bad reputation as time-wasters. They certainly can be, but they
don’t have to be inefficient. That’s why you want to have guidelines to make sure your
meeting is getting the right message to the right people.

Start by only having those people in a meeting who need to be there. Then make sure you
have an agenda to keep you on message. Keep meeting minutes and assign action items. Not
all meetings need such structure, but you want them to facilitate the work, not interrupt it.

Determine who Your Stakeholders are

These are people that you’ll be in communications with throughout the project, as you note
the progress, so they can feel things are moving smoothly to a positive end. If you
miscommunicate to them, you risk the very project itself.

So, you want to make a list of those stakeholders, what their role in the project is and what it
is that they need to know about the project, what frequency do you need to communicate with
them, etc. Make sure you also ask your stakeholders how they need information. Some of
them have stakeholders of their own!

Make sure this list shared with those stakeholders, so they can approve or comment. This will
help to keep them in the loop and you focused on the project at hand.

There Are Many Messages, What’s Key?

You can get inundated with data when you’re managing a project. That’s why it’s important
to prioritize the most important data points, and define where that information needs to go.

Communicating on projects means focusing on one thing or else you have too broad a
message. There are many metrics to communicate, from project status and issues to project
risk and deliverables. Decide which are most crucial for which people.

How Are You Delivering Your Message?

There are many channels to disseminate your message. One method might not be the magic
bullet to cure all your communication ills. Some like email, others prefer text or chat, and
there are those who still like to get a printed document. Know who needs what and set up
those channels.
What’s the Schedule?

A great way to make sure people get your message is for them to know when it’s coming. If
they expect a missive from you every Monday morning, then they’ll be looking out for it.

You can create the schedule for your communication plan on a Gantt chart, so there’s an
easy-to-read visual of its frequency. Meetings, newsletters, social events, conferences,
seminars, etc., can all be charted on the timeline to keep track of your various
communications.

ProjectManager.com’s interactive Gantt chart

Monitor Your Project Communications

Communications aren’t thrown into the void with the hope that they’ll connect. If you want to
know if your communications are hitting their marks, you must monitor them. You can
simply ask if they’ve been received or required an acknowledgement of receipt. There is also
software or options that can automate this process for you.

7.5 Key Reports for a Communication Plan

When communicating during the execution of a project, there are several vehicles that best
deliver the information to show your progress. Of course, different stakeholders need
different reports, but the following are the most substantial ones.

Status Report
 The status report periodically updates the work being done by the project team to the
project manager and stakeholders. It is a marker that shows where the project is in
relation to where it is supposed to be at that time. They help with the communication of
keeping everyone focused on the same issue and provide a record of the project’s
progress. They should be clear.

Automate your project status reports

Budget Report

The budget report is focused on the costs of the project as they are being spent in real
time and compared to the established budget from the project plan. The only way to
communicate how much money is being spent in a project is to monitor it and report
back periodically to capture a picture of your spending at that time. Then you can look
at where you planned to be in your budget at that point in the project and determine if
you’re on track or not.

Workload Report

The workload report charts the workload for your project, according to the progress of
the teams and their tasks. Workload reports communicate how far along each team
member is with their tasks by showing if the task is completed, still in progress or
overdue. This is another way to communicate the progress of the project as well as keep
everyone abreast of where they are in the larger picture.

Project Dashboards
 A dashboard is going to track a series of project metrics and just crunch that data to
show in charts and graphs where you are in the project. This takes what is often
complex and hard to digest information and delivers it in a more palatable and
understandable way.

ProjectManager.com has project dashboards that deliver data in real time.

If your dashboard is illustrating metrics in real-time, then that data is current and you
can easily share the information with your stakeholders. This makes communication
clear and offers stakeholders a visual for the project’s progress during presentations.

Communicating Clearly Isn’t Simple

By now you’ve gotten the picture that for communications to be clear and effective is a
complicated matter. A template is necessary to organize all these various parts and keep track
of them.

Of course, there are other ways, more dynamic tools, which can streamline the process and
add efficiencies so your communications is more productive. But you must start somewhere!

Source: https://www.projectmanager.com

7.6 Case let: Four-Step Process for Effective Communication

Art Of communication in Project Management

Springfield Community Hospital is a large hospital located in the northwest portion of the
United States. They have eight campuses throughout Washington and Oregon. Their
hospitals specialize in general practice, heart health, long-term care, and health education.
This is a key example for the four steps for effective communication.

The project, led by Martin Anderson, was a paperless initiative that allowed doctors and
nurses to use wireless technologies with patient interaction. The project, while large and
ambitious, helps patients receive more care that is accurate, reduces paperwork, and
streamlines processes throughout the hospital.

1. Identify Communication Requirements

“A project of this size, with this vast amount of stakeholders, requires this much
communication,” said project sponsor Kisper, as she stretched her arms wider and wider
apart. “Communication is, without a doubt, a project manager's most important job.”

Throughout the project, Anderson had to work with interfaces from medical, technical, legal,
public relations, business managers, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
of 1996 (HIPPA), inspectors from the Office for Civil Rights, and personnel from the
Department of Health and Human Services. One of the first tasks within the project was to
create a project team directory that included e-mails, phone numbers, campus locations, and
roles for each project team member. This directory was published in print and on the
hospital's intranet. Because of the variety of the project team members, it was not ideal to
locate all of the project team members in one place physically, but the directory helped bring
the project team closer together.

2. Identify the 5Ws (Why, What, When, Where, Who) and 1H (How)

 Who—Anderson, the project manager, had a large project team to work with. His
team included network engineers, wireless engineers, nurses, doctors, and other
health liaisons to incorporate into the project team.
 What—The project team, in its early stages, stayed very segmented between the
technical staff and the medical staff. Each part of the project team had never really
worked with each other. Once the project team began to see how they needed to work
with each other in order for the project deliverable to be successful, the walls began
to break down and thoughtful communication began
 When—The initial phase of the project went well thanks to the planning and
simulations the project team completed. Once the first campus was moved to the
wireless system, the project team monitored the facets of the project and then reported
them as expected to the project manager. Anderson then worked with the project team
experts to create solutions for any problems that cropped up and within two weeks'
time, the system was functional. The first campus served as a model for the remaining
campuses
  Where—Anderson created, with the project team's help, a schedule for weekly status
reports throughout the project. In addition, the communications management plan
defined the following:

• When the project team would be expected to report variances in the project implementation;

• How the project team was to interact with other team members through the project's work
authorization system;

• The expectations from management for status reports, variance reports, and project
summary reports;

• The hospital's public relations department role announcing and reporting on the project
progress;

• The expected communication among the project team, Anderson, and the functional
managers of the project team members;

• The expected modalities for the types of communication; and

• The knowledge management system the hospitals use to store and retrieve project
communications.

 Why—In order for the project to succeed, Anderson knew that effective
communication was paramount. In addition to the large project team, he had
considerations from the hospital board of directors, the community, and ultimately the
hospital patients. Very early in the project Anderson addressed the Communications
Management Plan
 How—The project communications management was based on a template for all
projects within Springfield Community Hospital. This project plan, however,
addressed new areas of communication demands because of the structure of the IT
department compared to the structure of the medical staff, their expectations, and
availability for communication. Anderson continually reinforced the pending
communication expectations to keep the project team, stakeholders, and management
abreast of the project
The project team also relied on one another. One of the first tasks within the project
was to create a project team directory that included e-mails, phone numbers, campus
locations, and roles for each project team member. This directory was published in
print and on the hospital's intranet. Because of the variety of the project team
members, it was not ideal to locate all of the project team members in one place
physically, but the directory helped bring the project team closer together. Regular
status meetings, e-mail, phone conferences, and impromptu hallway meetings all
contributed to the project's success.

3. Identify and Accommodate the Enterprise Environmental Factors

This project focused on changing the culture to a paperless working environment. They had
to comply with the expected norms and standards of any health organization. They used the
intranet within the organization. The major databases that provided inputs were the patient
records, medical history, etc.

4. Identify Organizational Process Assets

 Hospital standards and policies;

 Hospital guidelines, work instructions and performance measurement criteria;
 This was a paperless initiative that allowed doctors and nurses to use wireless
technologies with patient interaction;
 Future use of tablet PCs to assist with health care administration, patient interviews,
and hospital rounds;
 Project closure requirements;
 Financial controls and procedures;
 Process measurement database;
 Project file structure, organization and retention; and
 Historical patient information.

Check your progress

Multiple choice single response:

Q: 1. Keith, the project manager of a large publishing project, sends an invoice to his client.
Which communication type is he using?
1. Formal verbal
2. Formal written
3. Informal written
4. Informal verbal

Q: 2. Which of the following is NOT an input to the Plan Communications Management process?
1. Enterprise environmental factors
2. Organizational process assets
3. Information gathering techniques
4. Project management plan

Q: 3. You take over for a project manager who has left the company and realize that the team is
talking directly to the customer and having status meetings only when there are problems. The
programming team has one idea about the goals of the project, and the testing team has another.
Which document is the FIRST one that you should create to solve this problem?
1. Communications Management plan
2. Status report
3. Meeting agenda
4. Performance report

Q: 4. You ask one of your stakeholders how things are going on her part of the project and she
says, “things are fine” in a sarcastic tone. Which is the BEST way to describe the kind of
communication that she used?
1. Feedback
2. Active listening
3. Nonverbal
4. Paralingual

Q: 5. You’re managing an industrial design project. You created a Communications Management

plan, and now the team is working on the project. You’ve been communicating with your team,
and now you’re looking at the work performance data to evaluate the performance of the project.
Which of the following BEST describes the next thing you should do?
1. Use formal written communication to inform the client of the project status.
2. Compare the work performance data against the time, cost, and scope baselines and look for
deviations.
3. Update the organizational process assets with your lessons learned.
4. Hold a status meeting.

Q: 6. You have five people working on your team, a sponsor within your company, and a client,
all of whom need to be kept informed of your project’s progress. How many lines of
communication are there?
1. 28
2. 21
3. 19
4. 31

Q: 7. Which of the following is NOT an example of active listening?

1. Nodding your head in agreement while someone is talking
2. Restating what has been said to be sure you understand it
3. Asking questions for clarification
4. Multitasking by checking your email during a conversation

Q: 8. Sue sent a message to Jim using the company’s voicemail system. When he received it, Jim
called her back. Which of the following is true?
1. Sue encoded the voicemail; Jim decoded it, and then encoded his feedback message.
2. Sue decoded her voicemail message; Jim encoded his phone call and decoded the feedback.
3. Jim sent feedback to Sue, who encoded it.
4. Sue decoded her voicemail message and Jim encoded his feedback.

Summary

 This unit strongly suggests communication is the key for success for any project.
 It lists the importance of communication, the communication process, the steps to
keep communication alive, an effective communication plan, four steps for effective
communication, importance of communication in a diverse work group and tips for
any individual to communicate effectively in a team.
 Finally, it elaborates a case study for the four-step effective communication. It saves
time and money, makes life easier, makes you more profitable, and it just makes
sense!
Keywords:

 Status Report: The status report periodically updates the work being done by
the project team to the project manager and stakeholders. It is a marker that
shows where the project is in relation to where it is supposed to be at that time.
 Workload Report: The workload report charts the workload for your project,
according to the progress of the teams and their tasks. Workload reports
communicate how far along each team member is with their tasks by showing if
the task is completed, still in progress or overdue.

Self-Assessment Questions:

1. What is the importance of communication Plan?

2. How important are the communication plan for project managers?
3. What makes communication plans effective?
4. What are the various key reports for a communication plan? Explain.
5. What do you understand by project dashboard?

Answers to check your progress

1. Answer: 2
Any communication that can be used for legal purposes is considered formal written
communication. An invoice is a formal document.

2. Answer: 3
Information gathering techniques are not part of Plan Communications Management.
NOTE
See the word “technique”? That’s a good indication that it’s a tool and not an input.

3. Answer: 1
The Communications Management plan is the first thing you need to create in this situation. It
will help you organize the meetings that are taking place and get everyone on the same page. The
Communications Management plan will help you to streamline communications so that the
customer can use you as a single point of contact, too.

4. Answer: 4
Paralingual communication happens when additional information is conveyed by the tone or pitch
of your voice. It’s when you use more than just words to communicate.

5. Answer: 2
When you look at work performance data, you’re in the Control Communications process. And
what do you do with the work performance data? You compare it against the baselines to see if
your project is on track! If it isn’t, that’s when you want to get the word out as quickly as
possible.

6. Answer: 1
NOT E
A lot of people choose B here. Don’t forget to include yourself! Look out for questions like this
on the exam too.The formula for lines of communication is n x (n – 1) ÷ 2. In this problem there
were seven people named, plus you. (8 x 7) ÷ 2 = 28.

7. Answer: 4
All of the other options show the speaker that you understand what is being said. That’s active
listening.
NOT E
Active listening sometimes means saying things like “I agree,” or “can you explain that a little
further?”

8. Answer: 1
This question is just asking if you know the definitions of encode, decode, and feedback.
Encoding is making a message ready for other people to understand, while decoding it involves
receiving the message and understanding it. Feedback means letting the sender know that you got
the message.

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn

References

 Alby, T. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.project-management-knowledge.com

 Binder, J. (2007). Global project management: Communication, collaboration and
management across borders. Aldershot, UK: Gower.
 CBS Interactive Inc. (n.d.). Retrieved from Resources.bnet.com
 Unit 8

PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT PROCESS

Structure:
8.1 Introduction
8.2 Plan Communications Management
8.2.1 Plan Communications Management: Inputs
8.2.2 Plan Communications Management: Tools and Techniques
8.2.3 Plan Communications Management: Outputs
8.3 Manage Communications
8.3.1 Manage Communications: Inputs
8.3.2 Manage Communications: Tools and Techniques
8.3.3 Manage Communications: Outputs
8.4 Control Communications
8.4.1 Control Communications: Inputs
8.4.2 Control Communications: Tools and Techniques
8.4.3 Control Communications: Outputs
Summary
Keywords
Self-Assessment Questions
Answers to check your progress
Suggested Readings
References

Objectives:

After Going through this unit, you will be able to;

 Identify the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of Plan Communication
Management
 Analyse the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of Manage Communication
 Appreciate the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Outputs of Control Communication
Process

8.1 Introduction

Project Communications Management includes the processes that are required to ensure timely
and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management,
control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information. Project managers
spend most of their time communicating with team members and other project stakeholders,
whether they are internal (at all organizational levels) or external to the organization.
Effective communication creates a bridge between diverse stakeholders who may have
different cultural and organizational backgrounds, different levels of expertise, and different
perspectives and interests, which impact or have an influence upon the project execution or
outcome.

As per PMBOK, the following is an overview of the Project Communications Management

processes:

Fig. 8.1 Project communication Management overview

Plan Communications Management— The process of developing an appropriate approach

and plan for project communications based on stakeholder’s information needs and
requirements, and available organizational assets.

Manage Communications— The process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing,

retrieving and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance with the
communications management plan.

Control Communications—The process of monitoring and controlling communications

throughout the entire project life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project
stakeholders are met.

The communication activities involved in these processes may often have many potential
dimensions that need to be considered, including, but not limited to:
• Internal (within the project) and external (customer, vendors, other projects, organizations,
the public);
• Formal (reports, minutes, briefings) and informal (emails, memos, ad-hoc discussions);
• Vertical (up and down the organization) and horizontal (with peers);
• Official (newsletters, annual report) and unofficial (off the record communications); and
• Written and oral, and verbal (voice inflections) and nonverbal (body language).

Most communication skills are common for both general management and project
management, such as, but not limited to:
• Listening actively and effectively;
• Questioning and probing ideas and situations to ensure better understanding;
• Educating to increase team’s knowledge so that they can be more effective;
• Fact-finding to identify or confirm information;
• Setting and managing expectations;
• Persuading a person, a team, or an organization to perform an action;
• Motivating to provide encouragement or reassurance;
• Coaching to improve performance and achieve desired results;
• Negotiating to achieve mutually acceptable agreements between parties;
• Resolving conflict to prevent disruptive impacts; and
• Summarizing, recapping, and identifying the next steps.

8.2 Plan Communications Management

Plan Communications Management is the process of developing an appropriate approach and
plan for project communications based on stakeholder’s information needs and requirements,
and available organizational assets.
The key benefit of this process is that it identifies and documents the approach to communicate
most effectively and efficiently with stakeholders. The inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs
of this process are depicted in
The following Figure 8.2 and Figure 8.3 depicts the data flow diagram of the Plan
Communications Management process.

Fig. 8.2 Plan communication Management: Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output
 Figure 8.3 Plan Communication Management Data Flow Diagram

Input Tools & Techniques Outputs

Planning the project communications is important to the ultimate success of any project.
Inadequate communications planning may lead to problems such as delay in message delivery,
communication of information to the wrong audience, or insufficient communication to the
stakeholders and misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the message communicated.
On most projects, communication planning is performed very early, such as during project
management plan development. This allows appropriate resources, such as time and budget, to
be allocated to communication activities. Effective communication means that the information
is provided in the right format, at the right time, to the right audience, and with the right impact.
Efficient communication means providing only the information that is needed.
While all projects share the need to communicate project information, the information needs
and methods of distribution may vary widely. In addition, the methods of storage, retrieval,
and ultimate disposition of the project information need to be considered and appropriately
documented during this process. Important considerations that may need to be taken into
account include, but are not limited to:
• Who needs what information, and who is authorized to access that information;
• When they will need the information;
• Where the information should be stored;
• What format the information should be stored in;
• How the information can be retrieved; and
• Whether time zone, language barriers, and cross-cultural considerations need to be taken into
account.
The results of the Plan Communications Management process should be reviewed regularly
throughout the project and revised as needed to ensure continued applicability.

8.2.1 Plan Communications Management: Inputs

Project Management Plan

The project management plan provides information on how the project will be executed,
monitored, controlled, and closed.

Stakeholder Register
The stakeholder register provides the information needed to plan the communication with
project stakeholders.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

The Plan Communications Management process is tightly linked with enterprise environmental
factors, since the structure of an organization will have a major effect on the project’s
communication requirements. All enterprise environmental factors are used as inputs for this
process, since communications need to be adapted to the project environment.

Organizational Process Assets

All organizational process assets are used as inputs to the Plan Communications Management
process. Of these, lessons learned and historical information are of particular importance
because they can provide insights on both the decisions taken regarding communications issues
and the results of those decisions in previous similar projects. These can be used as guiding
information to plan the communication activities for the current project.

8.2.2 Plan Communications Management: Tools and Techniques

Communication Requirements Analysis

The analysis of the communication requirements determines the information needs of the
project stakeholders. These requirements are defined by combining the type and format of
information needed with an analysis of the value of that information. Project resources should
be expended only on communicating information that contributes to the success of the project
or where a lack of communication can lead to failure.
The project manager should also consider the number of potential communication channels or
paths as an indicator of the complexity of a project’s communications. The total number of
potential communication channels is n(n – 1)/2, where n represents the number of stakeholders.
For example, a project with 10 stakeholders has 10(10 – 1)/2 = 45 potential communication
channels. As a result, a key component of planning the project’s actual communications is to
determine and limit who will communicate with whom and who will receive what information.
Sources of information typically used to identify and define project communication
requirements include, but are not limited to:
• Organizational charts;
• Project organization and stakeholder responsibility relationships;
• Disciplines, departments, and specialties involved in the project;
• Logistics of how many persons will be involved with the project and at which locations;
• Internal information needs (e.g., when communicating within organizations);
• External information needs (e.g., when communicating with the media, public, or
contractors); and
• Stakeholder information and communication requirements from within the stakeholder
register.

Communication Technology
The methods used to transfer information among project stakeholders may vary significantly.
For example, a project team may use techniques from brief conversations to extended meetings,
or from simple written documents to extensive materials (e.g., schedules, databases, and
websites), which are accessible online as methods of communication.
Factors that can affect the choice of communication technology include:

• Urgency of the need for information. There is a need to consider the urgency, frequency,
and format of the information to be communicated as they may vary from project to project
and also within different stages of a project.

• Availability of technology. There is a need to ensure that the technology that is required to
facilitate communication is compatible, available, and accessible for all stakeholders
throughout the life of the project.

• Ease of Use. There is a need to ensure that the choice of communication technologies is
suitable for project participants and that appropriate training events are planned for, where
appropriate.

• Project environment. There is a need to determine if the team will meet and operate on a
face-to-face basis or in a virtual environment; whether they will be located in one or multiple
time zones; whether they will use multiple languages for communication; and finally, whether
there are any other project environmental factors, such as culture, which may affect
communications.

• Sensitivity and confidentiality of the information. There is a need to determine if the

information to be communicated is sensitive or confidential and whether or not additional
security measures need to be taken. Also, the most appropriate way to communicate the
information should be considered.

Communication Models
The communication models used to facilitate communications and the exchange of information
may vary from project to project and also within different stages of the same project. A basic
communication model, consists of two parties, defined as the sender and receiver. Medium is
the technology medium and includes the mode of communication while noise includes any
interference or barriers that might compromise the delivery of the message. The sequence of
steps in a basic communication model is:
• Encode. Thoughts or ideas are translated (encoded) into language by the sender.
• Transmit Message. This information is then sent by the sender using communication channel
(medium).
The transmission of this message may be compromised by various factors (e.g., distance,
unfamiliar technology, inadequate infrastructure, cultural difference, and lack of background
information). These factors are collectively termed as noise.
• Decode. The message is translated by the receiver back into meaningful thoughts or ideas.
• Acknowledge. Upon receipt of a message, the receiver may signal (acknowledge) receipt of
the message but this does not necessarily mean agreement with or comprehension of the
message.
• Feedback/Response. When the received message has been decoded and understood, the
receiver encodes thoughts and ideas into a message and then transmits this message to the
original sender.

Fig. 8.4 Basic communication Model

The components of the basic communication model need to be considered when project
communications are discussed. As part of the communications process, the sender is
responsible for the transmission of the message, ensuring the information being communicated
is clear and complete, and confirming the communication is correctly understood. The receiver
is responsible for ensuring that the information is received in its entirety, understood correctly,
and acknowledged or responded to appropriately.
There are many challenges in using these components to effectively communicate with project
stakeholders, such as in a highly technical, multinational project team. Successful
communication of a technical concept from one team member to another team member in a
different country could involve encoding the message in the appropriate language, sending the
message using a variety of technologies, and having the receiver decode the message into his
or her native language and then reply or provide feedback. Any noise introduced along the way
may compromise the original meaning of the message. In this example, there are multiple
factors that may lead to the intended meaning of the message being misunderstood or
misinterpreted.

Meetings
The Plan Communications Management process requires discussion and dialogue with the
project team to determine the most appropriate way to update and communicate project
information, and to respond to requests from various stakeholders for that information. These
discussions and dialogue are commonly facilitated through meetings, which may be conducted
face to face or online and in different locations, such as the project site or the customer’s site.
There are several types of project-related meetings where project communications may occur.
Most project meetings consist of stakeholders coming together for the purpose of resolving
problems or making decisions.
Although casual discussions may be construed as a meeting, most project meetings are more
formal with a prearranged time, place, and agenda. Typical meetings begin with a defined list
of issues to be discussed, which are circulated in advance with minutes and other information
documented specifically for the meeting. This information is then disseminated to other
appropriate stakeholders on an as-needed basis.

8.2.3 Plan Communications Management: Outputs

Communications Management Plan

The communications management plan is a component of the project management plan that
describes how project communications will be planned, structured, monitored, and controlled.
The plan contains the following information:
• Stakeholder communication requirements;
• Information to be communicated, including language, format, content, and level of detail;
• Reason for the distribution of that information;
• Time frame and frequency for the distribution of required information and receipt of
acknowledgment or response, if applicable;
• Person responsible for communicating the information;
• Person responsible for authorizing release of confidential information;
• Person or groups who will receive the information;
• Methods or technologies used to convey the information, such as memos, e-mail, and/or press
releases;
• Resources allocated for communication activities, including time and budget;
• 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;
• Flow charts of the information flow in the project, workflows with possible sequence of
authorization, list of reports, and meeting plans, etc.; and
• Communication constraints usually derived from a specific legislation or regulation,
technology, and organizational policies, etc.
The communications management plan can also include guidelines and templates for project
status meetings, project team meetings, e-meetings, and e-mail messages. The use of a project
website and project management software can also be included if these are to be used in the
project.

Project Documents Updates

Project documents that may be updated include, but are not limited to:
• Project schedule, and
• Stakeholder register.

8.3 Manage Communications

Manage Communications is the process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing, retrieving,
and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance to the communications
management plan. The key benefit of this process is that it enables an efficient and effective
communications flow between project stakeholders. The inputs, tools and techniques, and
outputs of this process are depicted in Figure 8.5. Figure 8.6 depicts the data flow diagram of
the Manage Communications process.

Inputs Tools & Techniques Outputs

Figure 8.5 Manage Communications: Inputs, Tools & Techniques, and Outputs
 Figure 8-6. Manage Communications Data Flow Diagram

This process goes beyond the distribution of relevant information and seeks to ensure that the
information being communicated to project stakeholders has been appropriately generated, as
well as received and understood. It also provides opportunities for stakeholders to make
requests for further information, clarification, and discussion.
Techniques and considerations for effective communications management include, but are not
limited to, the following:
• Sender-receiver models. Incorporating feedback loops to provide opportunities for
interaction/ participation and remove barriers to communication.
• Choice of media. Situation specifics as to when to communicate in writing versus orally,
when to prepare an informal memo versus a formal report, and when to communicate face to
face versus by e-mail.
• Writing style. Appropriate use of active versus passive voice, sentence structure, and word
choice.
• Meeting management techniques. Preparing an agenda and dealing with conflicts.
• Presentation techniques. Awareness of the impact of body language and design of visual
aids.
• Facilitation techniques. Building consensus and overcoming obstacles.
• Listening techniques. Listening actively (acknowledging, clarifying, and confirming
understanding) and removal of barriers that adversely affect comprehension.
8.3.1 Manage Communications: Inputs

Communications Management Plan

The communications management plan describes how project communications will be
planned, structured, monitored, and controlled.

Work Performance Reports

Work performance reports are a collection of project performance and status information that
may be used to facilitate discussion and to create communications. To optimize this process, it
is important that reports be comprehensive, accurate, and available in a timely manner.

Enterprise Environmental Factors

Specific enterprise environmental factors that can influence the Manage
Communications process include, but are not limited to:
• Organizational culture and structure,
• Government or industry standards and regulations, and
• Project management information system.

Organizational Process Assets

Organizational process assets that can influence the Manage Communications process include,
but are not limited to:
• Policies, procedures, processes, and guidelines regarding communications management;
• Templates; and
• Historical information and lessons learned.

8.3.2 Manage Communications: Tools and Techniques

Communication Technology
The choice of communication technology is an important consideration in the
Manage Communications process. As this can vary significantly from project to project and
also throughout the life of a project, the focus is to ensure that the choice is appropriate for the
information that is being communicated.

Communication Models
The choice of communication models is an important consideration in this process. As the
components in the communications all contribute toward an effective and efficient
communications process, the focus is to ensure that the choice of the communication model is
appropriate for the project that is undertaken and that any barriers (noise) are identified and
managed.

Communication Methods
The choice of communication methods is an important consideration in this process. As there
can be many potential barriers and challenges during this process, the focus is to ensure that
the information that has been created and distributed has been received and understood to
enable response and feedback.

Information Management Systems

Project information is managed and distributed using a variety of tools, including:
• Hard-copy document management: letters, memos, reports, and press releases;
• Electronic communications management: e-mail, fax, voice mail, telephone, video and web
conferencing, websites, and web publishing; and
• Electronic project management tools: web interfaces to scheduling and project management
software, meeting and virtual office support software, portals, and collaborative work
management tools.

Performance Reporting
Performance reporting is the act of collecting and distributing performance information,
including status reports, progress measurements, and forecasts. Performance reporting involves
the periodic collection and analysis of baseline versus actual data to understand and
communicate the project progress and performance as well as to forecast the project results.
Performance reporting needs to provide information at an appropriate level for each audience.
The format may range from a simple status report to more elaborate reports and may be
prepared regularly or on an exception basis. A simple status report might show performance
information, such as percent complete or status dashboards for each area (i.e., scope, schedule,
cost, and quality). More elaborate reports may include:
• Analysis of past performance,
• Analysis of project forecasts (including time and cost),
• Current status of risks and issues,
• Work completed during the period,
• Work to be completed in the next period,
• Summary of changes approved in the period, and
• Other relevant information, which is reviewed and discussed.

8.3.3 Manage Communications: Outputs

Project Communications
The Manage Communications process involves the activities that are required for information
to be created, distributed, received, acknowledged, and understood. Project communications
may include but are not limited to: performance reports, deliverables status, schedule progress,
and cost incurred. Project communications can vary significantly and are influenced by factors
such as, but not limited to, the urgency and impact of the message, its method of delivery, and
level of confidentiality.

Project Management Plan Updates

The project management plan provides information on project baselines, communications
management, and stakeholder management. Each of these areas may require updates based
upon the current performance of the project against the performance measurement baseline
(PMB). The performance measurement baseline is an approved plan for the project work to
which the project execution is compared, and deviations are measured for management control.
The performance measurement baseline typically integrates scope, schedule, and cost
parameters of a project, but may also include technical and quality parameters.

Project Documents Updates

Project documents that may be updated include, but are not limited to:
• Issue log,
• Project schedule, and
• Project funding requirements.

Organizational Process Assets Updates

The organizational process assets, which may be updated include, but are not limited to:
• Stakeholder notifications. Information may be provided to stakeholders about resolved
issues, approved changes, and general project status.
• Project reports. Formal and informal project reports describe project status and include
lessons learned, issue logs, project closure reports, and outputs from other Knowledge Areas
• Project presentations. The project team provides information formally or informally to any
or all of the project stakeholders. The information and presentation method should be relevant
to the needs of the audience.
• Project records. Project records may include correspondence, memos, meeting minutes, and
other documents describing the project. This information should, to the extent possible and
appropriate, be maintained in an organized manner. Project team members can also maintain
records in a project notebook or register, which could be physical or electronic.
• Feedback from stakeholders. Information received from stakeholders concerning project
operations is distributed and used to modify or improve future performance of the project.
• Lessons learned documentation. Documentation includes the causes of issues, reasoning
behind the corrective action chosen, and other types of lessons learned about communications
management.
Lessons learned need to be documented and distributed so that it becomes part of the historical
database for both the project and the performing organization.

8.4 Control Communications

Control Communications is the process of monitoring and controlling communications
throughout the entire project life cycle to ensure the information needs of the project
stakeholders are met. The key benefit of this process is that it ensures an optimal information
flow among all communication participants, at any moment in time. The inputs, tools and
techniques, and outputs of this process are depicted in Figure 8.7. Figure 8.8 depicts the data
flow diagram of the Control Communications process.
Inputs Tools & Techniques Outputs

Figure: 8.7 Control Communication Inputs, tools and Outputs

Figure 8.8 Control Communications Data Flow Diagram

The Control Communications process can trigger an iteration of the Plan Communications
Management and/or Manage Communications processes. This iteration illustrates the
continuous nature of the Project Communications Management processes. Specific
communication elements, such as issues or key performance indicators (e.g., actual vs.
planned schedule, cost, and quality), may trigger an immediate revision, while others may
not. The impact and repercussions of project communications should be carefully evaluated
and controlled to ensure that the right message is delivered to the right audience at the right
time.
8.4.1 Control Communications: Inputs

Project Management Plan

The project management plan describes how the project will be executed, monitored,
controlled, and closed. It provides valuable information for the Control Communications
process such as, but not limited to:
• Stakeholder communication requirements,
• Reason for the distribution of the information,
• Timeframe and frequency for the distribution of required information,
• Individual or group responsible for communication of the information, and
• Individual or group receiving the information.

Project Communications
The Control Communications process involves the activities that are required for information
and communications to be monitored, acted upon, and released to stakeholders. Project
communications come from multiple sources and may vary significantly in their format, level
of detail, degree of formality and confidentiality. Project communications may include but
are not limited to:
• Deliverables status,
• Schedule progress, and
• Costs incurred.

Issue Log
An issue log is used to document and monitor the resolution of issues. It may be used to
facilitate communication and ensure a common understanding of issues. A written log
documents and helps to monitor who is responsible for resolving specific issues by a target
date. Issue resolution addresses obstacles that can block the team from achieving its goals.
This information is important to the Control Communications process as it provides both a
repository for what has already happened in the project and a platform for subsequent
communications to be delivered.

Work Performance Data

Work performance data organizes and summarizes the information gathered, and presents the
results of comparative analysis to the performance measurement baseline.

Organizational Process Assets

The organizational process assets that may influence the Control Communications process
include, but are not limited to:
• Report templates;
• Policies, standards, and procedures that define communications;
• Specific communication technologies available;
• Allowed communication media;
• Record retention policies; and
• Security requirements.

8.4.2 Control Communications: Tools and Techniques

Information Management Systems

An information management system provides a set of standard tools for the project manager
to capture, store, and distribute information to stakeholders about the project’s costs, schedule
progress, and performance. Some software packages allow the project manager to consolidate
reports from several systems and facilitate report distribution to the project stakeholders.
Examples of distribution formats may include table reporting, spreadsheet analysis, and
presentations. Graphic capabilities can be used to create visual representations of project
performance information.

Expert Judgment
Expert judgment is often relied upon by the project team to assess the impact of the project
communications, need for action or intervention, actions that should be taken, responsibility
for taking such actions, and the timeframe for taking action. Expert judgment may need to be
applied to technical and/or management details and may be provided by any group or
individual with specialized knowledge or training, such as:
• Other units within the organization,
• Consultants,
• Stakeholders, including customers or sponsors,
• Professional and technical associations,
• Industry groups,
• Subject matter experts, and
• Project management office (PMO).
The project manager, in collaboration with the project team, then determines the actions
required to ensure that the right message is communicated to the right audience at the right
time.

Meetings
The Control Communications process requires discussion and dialogue with the project team
to determine the most appropriate way to update and communicate project performance, and
to respond to requests from stakeholders for information. These discussions and dialogues are
commonly facilitated through meetings, which may be conducted face to face or online and
in different locations, such as the project site or the client’s site. Project meetings also include
discussions and dialog with suppliers, vendors, and other project stakeholders.

8.4.3 Control Communications: Outputs

Work Performance Information

Work performance information organizes and summarizes the performance data gathered.
This performance data typically provides status and progress information on the project at the
level of detail required by the various stakeholders. This information is then communicated to
the appropriate stakeholders.

Change Requests
The Control Communications process often results in the need for adjustment, action, and
intervention. As a result, change requests will be generated as an output. These change
requests are processed through the Perform Integrated Change Control process and may result
in:
• New or revised cost estimates, activity sequences, schedule dates, resource requirements,
and analysis of risk response alternatives;
• Adjustments to the project management plan and documents;
• Recommendations of corrective actions that may bring the expected future performance of
the project back in line with the project management plan; and
• Recommendations of preventive actions that may reduce the probability of incurring future
negative project performance.

Project Management Plan Updates

Control Communications process may trigger updates to the communications management
plan as well as other components of the project management plan (e.g. stakeholders and
human resource management plans).

Project Documents Updates

Project documents may be updated as a result of the Control Communications process. These
updates may include, but are not limited to:
• Forecasts,
• Performance reports, and
• Issue log.

Organizational Process Assets Updates

The organizational process assets that may be updated include, but are not limited to, report
formats and lessons learned documentation. This documentation may become part of the
historical database for both this project and the performing organization and may include the
causes of issues, reasons behind the corrective action chosen, and other types of lessons
learned during the project.

Check your Progress

Multiple choice Single Response;

Q: 1. You’re managing a construction project. Suddenly the customer asks for some major
changes to the blueprints. You need to talk to him about this. What’s the BEST form of
communication to use?
1. Informal written
2. Informal verbal
3. Formal written
4. Formal verbal

Q: 2. Kyle is the project manager of a project that has teams distributed in many different
places. In order to make sure that they all get the right message, he needs to make sure that
his project plan is translated into Spanish, Hindi, French, and German. What is Kyle doing
when he has his communications translated?
1. Encoding
2. Decoding
3. Active listening
4. Effective listening

Q: 3. There are 15 people on a project (including the project manager). How many lines of
communication are there?
1. 105
2. 112
3. 113
4. 52

Q: 4. Which communication process is in the Monitoring and Controlling process group?

1. Manage Communications
2. None of the communications processes
3. Plan Communications Management
4. Control Communications

Q: 5. You’re working at a major conglomerate. You have a 24-person team working for you
on a project with 5 major sponsors. The company announces layoffs, and your team is
reduced to half its size. How many lines of communication are on your new, smaller team?
1. 66
2. 153
3. 276
4. 406

Q: 6. You’ve consulted your earned value calculations to find out the EAC and ETC of your
project. Which of the following is the BEST place to put that information?
1. Work performance information
2. Forecasts
3. Quality control measurements
4. Lessons learned

Q: 7. Which of the following is an example of noise?

1. An email that’s sent to the wrong person
2. A project manager who doesn’t notice an important clause in a contract
3. Garbled text and smudges that make a fax of a photocopy hard to read
4. When the team is not paying attention during a status meeting

Q.8 Ann, John, Jack, Suna and Hassan are project team members with Khalid as the PM.
Zubair joins the Project team as new member. How many new channels of communication
will be added due his joining?
a. 10
b. 11
c. 12
d. None of above

Summary
 Project Communications Management includes the processes that are required to
ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage,
retrieval, management, control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project
information.
 Plan Communications Management is the process of developing an appropriate
approach and plan for project communications based on stakeholder’s information
needs and requirements, and available organizational assets.
 Manage Communications is the process of creating, collecting, distributing, storing,
retrieving, and the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance to the
communications management plan.
 Control Communications is the process of monitoring and controlling
communications throughout the entire project life cycle to ensure the information
needs of the project stakeholders are met.

Keywords:

 Work Performance Reports: Work performance reports are a collection of project

performance and status information that may be used to facilitate discussion and to
create communications.
 Project reports: Formal and informal project reports describe project status and
include lessons learned, issue logs, project closure reports, and outputs from other
Knowledge Areas
 Lessons learned documentation: Documentation includes the causes of issues,
reasoning behind the corrective action chosen, and other types of lessons learned about
communications management.

Self-Assessment Questions:
1. Explain in detail Project communication Management Process.
2. What are the inputs, tools and techniques and output of ‘Plan Communication
Management’?
3. What are the inputs, tools and techniques and output of ‘Manage Communication’?
4. Explain the Inputs, Tools and Techniques and Output of ‘Control Communication’?
5. Write a short note on ‘Expert Judgement’
Answers to check your progress
1. Answer: 3
NOTE
Any time you see anything about a formal document in communication with a client, it’s
formal written. Any time you are communicating with the customer about the scope of your
project, it’s a good idea to use formal written communication.

2. Answer: 1
He has to encode his message so that others will understand it.

3. Answer: 1
(15 x 14) ÷ 2 = 105. This one is just asking if you know the formula n x (n–1) ÷ 2.

4. Answer: 4
Control Communications is the only Monitoring and Controlling process in Communications
Management.

5. Answer: 2
There are now 12 team members, 5 sponsors, and a project manager. That gives you 18
people. Use the formula: n x (n – 1) ÷ 2 to calculate this: 18 x 17 ÷ 2 = 153.
NOTE
Did you get one of the other answers? Make sure you included the five sponsors and the
project manager!

6. Answer: 2
The idea behind forecasts is that you are using the earned value calculations that forecast the
completion of the project to set everyone’s expectations. That’s why you use EAC (which
helps you estimate your project’s total cost) and ETC (which gives you a good idea of how
much more money you think you’ll spend between now and when it ends).

7. Answer: 3
There are plenty of ways that communication can go wrong. When you send email to the
wrong person, your communication had trouble—but that’s not noise. Noise is the specific
thing that interferes with the communication. In this case, the garbled text is a great example
of noise.

8. Answer 4. None of above

N(N-1) /2 6(6-1)/2: 6 X 5/2: 15
7(7-1)/2 7 X 6/2 : 21
How many added 21-15 :6 Not included in given choices except none above

Suggested Readings
 PMBOK
 Project Management by S. Choudhury, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing Company
Limited
 Project Management for Business, Engineering and Technology principles and
practices by John M. Nicholas and Herman Steyn