Most decisions on a project do not require a formal meeting to discuss alternatives and determine solutions. Instead decisions are made in real time as part of the daily interaction patterns between project managers, stakeholders, and team members. With that said, I do feel that a formal decision making process should be at the ready,…
Managing Project Reward Systems
Project managers are responsible for managing the reward systems that encourage team performance and extra effort. One advantage they have is that often project work is inherently satisfying, whether it is manifested in an inspiring vision or simple sense of accomplishment. Projects provide participants with a change in scenery, a chance to learn new skills,…
How to create a Project Shared Vision
Unlike project scope statements, which include specific cost, completion dates, and performance requirements, a project shared vision involves the less tangible aspects of project performance. It refers to an image a project team holds in common about how the project will look upon completion, how they will work together, and/or how customers will accept the…
How to Establish a Team Identity
One of the challenges project managers often face in building a team is the lack of full-time involvement of team members. Specialists work on different phases of the project and spend the majority of their time and energy elsewhere. They are often members of multiple teams, each competing for their time and allegiance. And so,…
Conducting Your First Project Team Meeting
Research on team development confirms what we have heard from project managers: The first project team meeting is critical to the early functioning of the project team. According to one veteran project manager: The first team meeting sets the tone for how the team will work together. If it is disorganized, or becomes bogged down…
Building High Performance Teams: Recruiting Team Members
Project managers play a key role in developing high performance teams. They recruit members, conduct meetings, establish a team identity, create a common sense of purpose or a shared vision, manage a reward system that encourages teamwork, orchestrate decision making, resolve conflicts that emerge within the team, and rejuvenate the team when energy wanes. Project…
Factors Affecting Team Development
Experience and research indicate that the following conditions will aid team development and also help start the process of building a high-performance project team: There are 10 or fewer members per team. Members volunteer to serve on the project team. Members serve on the project from beginning to end. Members are…
Change Request Overview
A change request is a document containing a call for an adjustment of a system; it is of great importance in the change management process. A change request is declarative, i.e. it states what needs to be accomplished, but leaves out how the change should be carried out. Important elements of a change request are: An…
Project Team Synergy: How to Deliver High Performance
There is positive and negative project team synergy. The magic and power of project teams is captured in the term “synergy,” which is derived from the Greek word sunergos: “working together.” The difference in productivity between an average project team synergy and a turned-on, high-performing project team is not 10 percent, 20 percent, or 30…
Project Initiation Document
The Project Initiation Document Template aggregates the information which was acquired through the Initiating Stage of a project. Keeping that in mind, the Project Initiation Document, or PID, is a term representing the planning approach in project management. It is assembled from a series of other documents, including: Business case Terms of Reference, Communication Plan,…