Special Topics - Project Management

MUBASHIR MIRZAWAQAS ALI SYED

AHSAN RAFISAAD BUTT

Special TopicsProject Management

Group Presentation – MBA (Eve)

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Introduction – Special Topics

Chapter # 8, Special TopicsProject Management – A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling (9 th Edition) by Harold Kerzner End

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Performance Measurement

Many good projects as well as project management structures have failed because of the inability of the system to evaluate properly the functional employee’s performance.

In a project management structure, there are basically six ways that a functional employee can be evaluated on a project;

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1. The project manager prepares a written, confidential evaluation and gives it to the functional manager

2. The project manager prepares a non-confidential evaluation and gives it to the functional manager

3. The project manager provides the functional manager with an oral evaluation of the employee’s performance

4. The functional manager makes the entire evaluation without any input from the project manager

5. The project manager makes the entire evaluation for the functional manager

6. All project and functional managers jointly evaluate all project functional employees at the same time.

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Evaluation forms can be filled out either when the employee is up for evaluation or after the project is completed. Those employees who work in project-driven functional departments will be evaluated directly and indirectly, but based on formal procedures.

Specimen: Employee Job Evaluation Form

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The design of the employee’s evaluation form depends on what evaluation method or procedure is being used. Generally speaking, there are nine methods available for evaluating personnel:

i. Essay appraisalii. Graphic rating

scaleiii. Field reviewiv. Forced-choice

reviewv. Critical incident

appraisal

vi. Management by objectives

vii.Work standards approach

viii.Ranking methods

ix. Assessment center

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Compensation and Rewards

Proper financial compensation and rewards are important to the morale and motivation of people in any organization.

However, there are several issues that often make it necessary to treat compensation practices of project personnel separately from the rest of the organization.

Job classification and job descriptions for project personnel are usually not compatible with those existing for other professional jobs.Dual accountability of project personnel raise the question of who should assess performance and control the rewardsBases for financial rewards The criteria for “doing a good job” are difficult to quantifySpecial compensations for overtime, extensive travel, or living away from home should be considered in addition to bonus pay for pre-established results

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Following are some specific guidelines to help managers establish compensation systems for their project organizations. The foundations of these compensation practices are based on four systems:

Job classification Base pay Performance appraisals Merit increases

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Job description Overall responsibilities, Specific duties, Qualifications

Base-Pay Classifications & Incentives Working out compensation schemes as a team of senior

managers and personnel specialists Applying criteria of responsibility and business/profit

accountability to setting pay scales for project personnel in accord with other jobs in their organization

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Compensation and Rewards Performance Appraisals

Assess the employee’s work performance, preferably against pre-established objectives

Provide a justification for salary actions Establish new goals and objectives for the next review period Identify and deal with work-related problems Serve as a basis for career discussions

Merit Increases and Bonuses It is usually very difficult to credit project success or failure to a

single individual or a small group. Therefore, a properly designed and executed performance

appraisal that includes input from all accountable management elements, and the basic agreement of the employee with the conclusions, is a sound basis for future salary reviews.

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Small Projects

The definition of a small project could be: Total duration is usually three to twelve months. Total dollar value is $5,000 to $1.5 million (upper limit is

usually capital equipment projects). There is continuous communication between team members,

and no more than three or four cost centers are involved. Manual rather than computerized cost control may be

acceptable. Project managers work closely with functional personnel and

managers on a daily basis, so time-consuming detail reporting is not necessary.

The work breakdown structure does not go beyond level three.

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Small Projects

Managing Projects in Small Companies In small companies, the project manager has to wear

multiple hats and may have to act as a project manager and line manager at the same time.

In a small company, the project manager handles multiple projects, perhaps each with a different priority.

In a small company, the project manager has limited resources.

In a small company, project managers must generally have a better understanding of interpersonal skills than in a larger company.

In the smaller company, the project manager generally has shorter lines of communications.

Small companies do not have a project office.

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Small Projects In a small company, there may be a much

greater risk to the total company with the failure of as little as one project.

In a small company, there might be tighter monetary controls but with less sophisticated control techniques.

In a small company, there is usually more upper-level management interference.

Evaluation procedures for individuals are usually easier in a smaller company.

In a smaller company, project estimating is usually more precise and based on either history or standards.

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Mega Projects

Mega projects may have a different set of rules and guidelines from those of smaller projects. For example, in large projects:

Vast numbers of people may be required, often for short or intense periods of time.

Continuous organizational restructuring may be necessary as each project goes through a different life-cycle phase.

The matrix and project organizational form may be used interchangeably.

The following elements are critical for success.• Training in project management• Rules and procedures clearly defined• Communications at all levels• Quality front-end planning

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Mega Projects

The difficulty in managing mega projects stems mainly from resource restraints;

Lack of available on-site workers (or local labor forces) Lack of skilled workers Lack of properly trained on-site supervision Lack of raw materials

Mega projects are not always as glorious as people think they are. Organizational stability, accompanied by a moderate growth rate, may be more important than quantum steps to mega projects.

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Morality, Ethics and Corporate Culture

Companies that promote morality and ethics in business usually have an easier time developing a cooperative culture.

The adversity generated by unethical acts can be either internally or externally driven.

Internal adversities Occurs when employees or managers in your own

company ask you to take action that may be in the best interest of your company but violates your own moral and ethical beliefs

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Instances of internal adversities You are asked to lie to the customer in a proposal in

order to win the contract. You are asked to withhold bad news from your own

management. You are asked to withhold bad news from the

customer. You are instructed to ship a potentially defective unit

to the customer. You are ordered to violate ethical accounting

practices. You are asked to violate the confidence of a private

personal decision by a team member.

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External adversity Occurs when your customers ask you to take action

that may be in the customer’s best interest (and possibly your company’s best interest), but once again violates your personal moral and ethical beliefs.

Instances of External adversities You are asked to hide or destroy information that could be

damaging to the customer during legal action against your customer.

You are asked to lie to consumers to help maintain your customer’s public image.

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You are asked to release unreliable information that would be damaging to one of your customer’s competitors.

The customer’s project manager asks you to lie in your proposal so that he/she will have an easier time in approving contract award.

Moral and ethical conduct by project managers, project sponsors, and line managers can improve the corporate culture. Likewise, poor decisions can destroy a culture, often in much less time than it took for the culture to be developed.

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Professional Responsibilities Professional responsibilities for a project manager

are both broad-based and encompassing.

Five tasks are emphasized under Professional Responsibilities internationally; Ensure Individual Integrity and Professionalism Contribute to the Project Management Knowledge Base Enhance Individual Competence Balance Stakeholder Interests Interact with the Team and Stakeholders in a Professional and

Cooperative Manner

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There are numerous situations that can create problems for project managers in dealing with professional responsibilities expectations;

• Maintaining professional integrity• Adhering to ethical standards• Recognizing diversity• Avoiding/reporting conflicts of interest• Not making project decisions for personal gains• Receiving gifts from customers and vendors

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• Providing gifts to customers and vendors• Truthfully reporting information• Willing to identify violations• Balancing stakeholder needs• Succumbing to stakeholder pressure• Managing your firm’s intellectual property• Managing your customer’s intellectual property• Adhering to security and confidentiality requirements• Abiding by the Code of Professional Conduct

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Some companies even go so far as to develop “standard practice manuals” on how to act in a professional manner. Typical sections of such manuals might be:

Truthful representation of all information Full disclosure of all information Protection of company-proprietary information Responsibility to report violations Full compliance with groups auditing violations Full disclosure, and in a timely manner, of all conflicts of interest Ensure that all of the team members abide by the above items

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Internal and External Partnerships

A partnership is a group of two or more individuals working together to achieve a common objective.

Internal Partnerships In project management, maintaining excellent,

working relations with internal partners is essential. Internally, the critical relationship is between the

project and line manager.

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In the modern concepts, project and line managers view each other as equals and share in the authority, responsibility, and accountability needed to assure project success.

Good project management methodologies emphasize the cooperative working relationship that must exist between the project and line managers.

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External Partnerships Project management methodologies also emphasize the

working relationships with external organizations such as suppliers.

Outsourcing has become a major trend because it allows companies to bring their products and services to the market faster and often at a more competitive price.

Therefore, external partnerships can become beneficial for both the suppliers and the customers.

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There are three categories of suppliers; An External Supplier

These are suppliers that you may or may not have worked with previously.

An Approved SupplierApproved suppliers are part of an approved supplier-bidding list.

A Preferred SupplierThese suppliers usually get the first chance at receiving a contract but may still have to go through the entire competitive bidding process, but with a minimum amount of paperwork.

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A Strategic Partnership SupplierA strong relationship exists between the customer and supplier, and they freely exchange information, especially strategic information. Strategic suppliers often receive sole-source contracts without having to prepare a formal proposal, thus generating cost savings for both companies.

External partnerships, if properly managed, can provide significant long-term benefits to both the customer and supplier.

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Integrated Project Teams

In recent years, there has been an effort to substantially improve the formation and makeup of teams required to develop a new product or implement a new practice.

These teams have membership from across the entire organization and are called Integrated Project/Product teams (IPTs).

The IPT consists of a sponsor, program manager, and the core team.

For the most part, members of the core team are assigned full-time to the team but may not be on the team for the duration of the entire project.

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The skills needed to be a member of the core team include: Self-starter ability Work without supervision Good communication skills Cooperative Technical understanding Willing to learn backup skills Able to perform feasibility studies and cost/benefit analyses Able to perform or assist in market research studies Able to evaluate asset utilization Decision-maker Knowledgeable in risk management Understand the need for continuous validation

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Unlike traditional project teams, the IPT thrives on sharing information across the team and collective decision-making.

IPTs eventually develop their own culture and, as such, can function in either a formal or informal capacity.

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Training and Education

Training and education can accelerate not only the project management maturity process but also the ability to execute the process methodologies.

Actual learning takes place in three areas; On-the-job-experience Education Knowledge transfer

Ideal project management knowledge would be obtained by allowing each employee to be educated on the results of the company’s lessons learned (studies including risk management, benchmarking, and continuous improvement efforts)

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Companies often find themselves in a position of having to provide specialized training to a program team about to embark upon a new long-term effort.

In such cases, specialized training is required, with targeted goals and results that are specifically planned for.

Dilemmas of Project Management Knowledge

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The elements common to training on a key initiative or practice include;

• A front-end analysis of the program team’s needs and training requirements

• Involvement of the program teams in key decisions• Customized training to meet program team’s specific needs• Targeted training for the implementation of specific practices• Improved training outcomes, including better course depth,

timeliness, and reach

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To ensure that the training will address the needs of the program teams, the training organizations (usually outsourced) involve the staff in making important training decisions.

Program staff help decide the amount of training to be provided for certain job descriptions, course objectives, and depth of course coverage.

To sum up, training and education of project personnel is essential for the success of the Project and the company itself.

MUBASHIR MIRZAWAQAS ALI SYED

AHSAN RAFISAAD BUTT

www.themegallery.com

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Special Topics - Project Management