Project Management: Functions, Subsystems, and High-Performance Teams

Project Manager Functions

• Define objectives
• Organize resources
• Conduct planning
• Establish budgets
• Coordinate implementation
• Check the results with respect to the proposed objectives

Subsystems of a Project Management System

• Planning:
  • Target identification
  • Making plans and timing of achievement
  • Identification of resources available within the organization and externally
• Organization: Define the type of project organization to be used
• Control: Select the measurement standards and reference checkpoints for budget programming and technical quality of work
• Information:
  • Formal information channels through reports
  • Informal information channels through meetings
• Technology: Specific features of the project and knowledge of components and systems to develop
• Corporate Culture:
  • Formal relations
  • Informal relations

Task Force vs. Team

Task Force: A group of people who cooperate but who are not a team. The task force requires a higher level of personal commitment.

Team: More than a group of people working together. It is a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a purpose with performance targets and common approaches in which all are accountable to all.

• Project Team: High-performance team (full-time)
• Joint Team or Matrix Team: (timeshare)

Characteristics of a High-Performance Project Team

• Shared goals
• A sense of team identity
• A structure headed by results
• Competent team members
• A commitment to the team
• Mutual trust
• Interdependence between team members
• Effective communication
• A sense of autonomy
• A sense of enrichment
• Small team size
• A high level of enjoyment

Leading a High-Performance Project Team

• Establish project scope and determine project objectives
• Establish checkpoints, activities, relationships, and time estimates. If necessary, make a change in scope
• Lead the project team as a team to take responsibility for the actions
• Delegate tasks to the project team in a clear, stimulating, and helpful manner
• Let the project team determine the details of how to perform tasks, including the assignment of individual responsibilities
• Reinforce the sense of moral responsibility and the project group
• Keep all the team members informed
• Revitalize the team members by building consensus
• Mobilize the power for themselves and other items of equipment
• Encourage risk-taking and creativity

Advantages of a High-Performance Project Team

• Increased productivity
• Lower initial costs
• Lower risk of problems with staff
• Reduced staff turnover
• Reduced inactivity