Planning phase. Scope definition: designing the project into details

Forming the project team

Planning or design stage

See also

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. The Project Manager, then, must be a leader, communicator, negotiator, influencer, and problem solver! The level of skills and competencies to successfully fill these roles helps distinguish good Project Managers from great ones. To maximize the successful performance of the Project Team, the Project Manager must do the following:

Execute the Training Plan During Project Planning, the Project Manager evaluated the skills of each team member to determine whether he/she met the current and future needs of the project. For each team member requiring training, the Project Manager established a Training Plan. The Training Plan includes the method by which each team member will be trained, and the corresponding training schedule. During Project Execution, the Project Manager must review the contents of the Training Plan to be sure they are still applicable to the project. If additional training is necessary, it should be added to the plan. If it is determined that planned training is no longer necessary, it must be removed from the plan. If new team members have joined the project since the Training Plan was established, the Project Manager must evaluate the skill level of the new members to determine if additional training is needed. In all cases, training tasks must be added to or removed from both the Training Plan and the Project Schedule, since they will affect the end date of the project. As training takes place during Project Execution, the Project Manager should update the Training Plan with the names of the trainees and actual training completion dates. This information will be used to measure the success of the Training Plan, and enable the Project Manager to provide input for evaluating team members and preparing staff performance appraisals. In addition, the Project Manager should mark the corresponding Project Schedule tasks as complete.

The project team should also be clearly identified, along with specific roles and responsibilities. This ensures that all work is “owned” by someone, that redundant work is minimized, and that role conflicts are reduced. Everyone who performs work for the project should be included on the project team, though of course, some people will perform considerably more work than others. The primary responsibilities of the project team include:

Understanding project management processes and tools.
Helping to create the project plan.
Being committed to project success.
Performing project tasks.
Reporting on project progress, risks, issues, and problems.
Making effective adjustments to project changes.

A Project Team Roster should be completed for each project. This powerful tool identifies team members and their roles and responsibilities. It is also a convenient and efficient way to keep logistical information about the team, such as telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. Typically, when a team roster is first completed, the team is surprised by how many different people and roles are involved in a project, how many redundancies there are between people, and how some key responsibilities have been overlooked. Completing a roster forces members to be more comprehensive in defining their team. It should be done for every project.

Project Team Roster

Name & Title	Role(s)	Phone & Fax	E-Mail	Address

Allocate Work Properly and Ensure Accountability A basic responsibility of the Project Manager is to assign work to the Project Team and ensure that the work is completed according to the Project Schedule. The Project Manager (or Team Leaders if the project is large) is responsible for allocating tasks to appropriate team members at the appropriate times. A good Project Manager establishes and maintains a Project Schedule that minimizes team member down time. Along with the Team Leaders, the Project Manager must continuously communicate to each member of the team what is required and by when, and then manage the performance of each team member in meeting the requirements. Since the Project Manager is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of a project, he/she must direct Project Team endeavours and encourage team members to be accountable for their work. Accountability should be formally documented and measured through the use of team member Progress Reports. (See Figure 4-4, the New York State Progress Report.) But the Project Manager must also be willing to communicate face-toface with the Project Team. Regular personal communication is one of the most effective ways to gather input on the status of project activities, discuss issues and concerns, recognize good work, encourage and provide support to team members who are struggling, and build relationships. It is also one of the primary ways to discover and take action to resolve team member performance issues.

Establish a Team Environment Project Team members must learn to work together to achieve project goals. They must recognize that there is more to teamwork than simply having team members feel good about each other. High-performing Project Teams are disciplined. Team members participate in all required meetings, are willing to suppress their egos for the good of the group, take their assigned tasks seriously, and continuously strive to improve their skills. High-performing Project Teams are either empowered to make decisions or are included in decision-making processes. This is the essence of project ownership. Project Managers must develop sufficient management competencies to be able to create an environment that encourages team members to excel.

The Project Manager may consider implementing some of the following: _

Team-Building Activities – these are actions taken specifically to improve the performance of the entire team. Activities can range from short items on a meeting agenda to extended, off-site professionally facilitated sessions. However implemented, team-building activities provide opportunities for team members to improve their interpersonal and working relationships. _

Team Recognition and Rewards – these are actions intended to promote, encourage, and reinforce desired behavior or exceptional performance. Frequently they are initiated by individuals at management level, but they are also very effective when initiated by an individual’s peer. In all cases, recognition programs must be documented clearly enough so team members understand what level of performance warrants an award. The primary objective for establishing an appropriate team environment is to improve overall project performance. When team members are encouraged to do their best and are motivated about a project, they are more likely to do whatever is necessary to improve their individual skills so they are more efficient and effective in performing their assigned activities. And when team members understand the importance of interacting with each other, they are more willing to identify and proactively deal with conflict. Resolving issues early leaves team members more time for producing actual project work. Don’t underestimate the power of a box of donuts or a celebratory cake when the team reaches a major milestone!

Don’t underestimate the power of a box of donuts or a celebratory cake when the team reaches a major milestone!

Manage Personnel Changes

All organizations change. Personnel may transfer to different assignments or leave their employers, new individuals may be added to a Project Team or Customer organization, or the nature of the project may change, forcing a change in project responsibilities or reporting structure. A successful Project Manager has a plan in place to minimize the effect these types of changes may have on the outcome of the project or the morale of the Project Team. At a minimum, this plan should describe what to do when there are changes to the Project Team, but it should also discuss the actions to take if the Customers change. The process may be formal or very informal, depending on the size and needs of the project. In all cases, changes to the Project Team or Customer will most likely require updates to the Project Schedule.

Guidelines:

Template: project team training plan