CHAPTER 3
Project People Metrics
Project team members are the backbone and skeletal structure upon which projects are successfully implemented. The premise is that people make a project happen. Therefore, project management is (or should be) primarily about people and how they work together in support of a project’s objectives and ultimately in support of the organization’s goals. Team support of the organization occurs directly in the area of managing project things and indirectly in handling enterprise issues such as infrastructure support and upper management endorsement.
A motivated team can successfully discharge continuous improvement duties in areas including client satisfaction, flexibility, and productivity (Lynch and Cross 1995). Thus, it is somewhat surprising that many organizations do not include people factors in defining project metrics. The purpose of performance metrics within the context of people issues is to identify opportunities for motivating desired behaviors in team members. By definition, organizations with higher levels of maturity will have metrics that are dedicated to people-related issues at both the project and organization levels.
PEOPLE AS INTELLECTUAL RESOURCES
Organizations must use the sum total of all their resources to sustain success. Traditionally, physical resources, such as buildings and machinery, have been considered part of the resource pool. Ideally, people resources of the organization should be regarded as intellectual resources.
Intellectual resources relate to the knowledge, experience, and behavior of employees. Therefore, many of the organization’s most important resources are somewhat intangible, such as organizational learning, market knowledge, and staff morale. These seemingly intangible resources provide the organization opportunities for continuous growth and development toward the more global objective of maintaining—or enhancing—its competitive edge.
Intellectual resources are critical success factors and, because they have far-reaching and subtle strategic importance, their value should be measured (Drucker 2000). Naturally, the overall organizational resource structure also should include the organization’s infrastructure that supports employees’ efforts.
Skandia was one of the first companies to explicitly recognize organizational intellectual capital and use it as a foundation for measuring key performance indicators (Edvinsson and Malone 1997). Such measurement, coupled with the use of a balanced reporting approach, represented a significant milestone in how people were viewed within organizations. It also signaled a shift from the industrial era to a knowledge economy by using a more systematic description of the company’s potential ability to transform intellectual capital into financial capital.
Skandia’s intellectual capital model, called the Skandia Intellectual Navigator, focuses on five areas: financial, client, process, renewal, and human. The latter four areas collectively constitute the company’s intellectual capital. The literature suggests that attention to people issues, such as coaching, mentoring, and training, has positive effects on the bottom line. People-oriented work practices have contributed to reported market value increases of as much as $18,000, sales increases of up to $27,000, and profit increases of as much as $3,000 per employee (Geaney and Engel 1996).
The People Capital for Project Management instrument adapts the concepts advanced by Skandia. (Instrument 3-A) It can assist an organization in recognizing the intellectual capital that people bring to projects and ultimately to organizations. Notably, this instrument also addresses enterprise issues, as it examines the interaction between people capital and organizational success.
WHAT ARE PEOPLE METRICS?
People metrics, which characterize and quantify the behavioral attributes of people, do not lend themselves to easy quantification. Consequently, there are fewer project people metrics than project things metrics.
Project people metrics can include indicators of procedures for conflict management, communication, collaboration, teamwork, and technical competency. People metrics also can deal with the features of the enterprise environment that promote leadership, integrity, and professional responsibility. Regardless, project people metrics are intended primarily to assess, directly or indirectly, whether team members are executing their tasks well. Generally, project people metrics can be viewed as metrics that measure the friendliness of the organization toward the project team and the friendliness of team members toward one another.
By assessing the management style of the organization, it is possible to evaluate environmental friendliness toward the team. Douglas McGregor (1960) stated that people can be categorized as either disliking work (Theory X) or enjoying work and seeking opportunities to do their best (Theory Y). The Organizational Management Style Inventory adapts this behavioral theory to the project management environment. (Instrument 3-B)
A team charter also can be an effective means of setting the stage for a team environment that is conducive to team members being mutually supportive and accountable for the missions of the project. (Instrument 3-C) By definition, organizations with higher levels of maturity have metrics that are dedicated to people-related issues at both the project and organization levels. According to Edvinsson and Malone (1997), these must be well-reasoned, well-designed metrics; moreover, they must be teleological, or with a special purpose in showing where the company is and where it should be. The mere fact that some organizations will select certain metrics over others points to their biases in the area of human resources.
Not surprisingly, there are other barriers to selecting and using people metrics. Miller and Wurzburg (1995) suggest that barriers include the lack of transparency in the cost of labor and the difficulty of measuring the productive capacity of the knowledge, skills, and abilities that people acquire through expertise and education. Further, organizations cannot easily capitalize training costs or the benefits of increased knowledge and learning. Therefore, the added benefits of having competent people support the organization’s projects do not clearly move into the balance sheet of financial reports. Thus, without a sophisticated method to measure and value people resources, there is a risk of misallocating resources within an organization.
People are simultaneously participants in the metrics program and sources of its data. People metrics cannot have the desired benefits unless their development recognizes this basic fact. Project people must be involved in planning and executing the metrics system if tools are to be successful. Thus, each project participant must clearly understand the objectives of the project metrics and the ways in which these metrics, directly or indirectly, affect the organization’s objectives.
Finally, project teams must be empowered to define metrics that they believe are of value. Likewise, they should be permitted to recommend starting or stopping the use of certain metrics as they deem appropriate. Naturally, such empowerment would be counterproductive in organizations that have not achieved higher levels of project management maturity.
MOTIVATION
Literature on human behavior contains several models and theories that can be adapted and applied within the project management environment. Although generally called “motivation theories,” they are best described as “primary personality attributes” when used in the project management environment.
One especially relevant motivation theory addresses the need for achievement, affiliation, and power as part of performing project management activities (McClelland 1961; Boyatzis 1982). The need for achievement is characterized by a desire to seek attainable but challenging goals and a strong desire for positive feedback on performance. The need for affiliation is characterized by a desire to be part of a group with friendly relationships and to have roles that involve human interaction.
Finally, the need for power is characterized by a desire to have an impact and to be viewed as influential and effective. For example, if assignments with measurable objectives are given to two team members with achievement and power motivations, the achievement-oriented member is likely to produce successful results, whereas the power-motivated person is likely not to, at least not until he or she negotiates to craft the assignment to his or her standards. (Instrument 3-D)
Figure 3-1 is a stylized depiction of the personal preference style attributes of a team of four. With this information, the project manager should be able to match the duties of team members to their strong points and inclinations. Alternatively, such knowledge should allow the project manager to predict the behavior of a certain team member in a future situation. The following anecdotal illustration highlights the major differences in the three motivation styles in the development and management of a team charter.
The achievement-oriented individual, who is interested in team goal setting, will be the one who initially develops the team charter. However, once the project is under way, the power-oriented individual, who is interested in being a leader, will call frequent meetings to modify the objectives and content of the charter to ensure that they continue to relate to the organization’s strategic vision and mission. The affiliation-oriented person, who is interested in providing an amicable working environment, will try to moderate the efforts of these two individuals, facilitate meetings, and mentor individuals as they join the team so they understand the team’s operating protocols as delineated in the team charter (Rad and Levin 2003).
Figure 3-1
Predominant Personality Attributes
PERFORMANCE
The primary focus of the project team is, or should be, the project’s final deliverable. However, the team focuses on the deliverable in light of the processes that ensure delivery of the desired product in the most cost-effective and efficient manner, while maintaining harmony and teamwork within the team.
The mission of the project team is to plan the delivery of the desired product through adoption of best practices and consistent procedures. The team is expected to implement those plans in a dynamic environment and to manage all the emerging issues that influence team performance in delivering the desired product.
Most appraisal systems have been developed with individual performers in mind. In projects where the team is the unit of performance, it is often difficult to determine the line of demarcation between team performance and individual activities. Team performance indicators should include indices that measure performance features that are under the team’s control and at the same time lead to the organization’s success. Further, performance metrics must be compatible with the maturity ranking of the team and/or the organization.
Many personnel appraisal systems have features that could potentially impact the performance of project personnel negatively. Such negative impact could be significant if these appraisal standards interfere with improvements in employee performance, fail to address organizational improvements, are poorly designed, and are not friendly toward team spirit. The ideal performance measurement system reflects the organization’s culture, fosters continuous improvement, and promotes career development.
Project success depends on effective team performance. In turn, the collective performance of the team depends on the individual performance and behavioral traits of each team member. Accordingly, each team member must understand the overall team objectives, as well as his or her own individual objectives.
Each team member’s roles and responsibilities must be defined in terms of the nature of the individual results needed to support the team’s work processes. To that end, a formalized people metrics system provides a logical basis for responses to questions such as:
• What attributes of work are considered quantitative, and what attributes are considered qualitative?
• If a qualitative approach is followed for metrics, how can performance be monitored to ensure it meets or exceeds expectations?
• Are different types of metrics systems required for co-located teams and virtual teams?
• How can appraisal systems become team friendly?
• What combination of metrics is required for organizational success?
• How can an appraisal system become team oriented, rather than individual oriented?
Using instruments that address these issues, a team member can obtain a more detailed appreciation of his or her technical performance and general behavior. In addition, such information can help team members understand how other team members react to everyday project situations.
The intent is not to acquire a tool to change people’s behavior, although sometimes that can happen as part of the self-assessment process. Rather, the goal is to obtain a clearer picture of the behavioral attributes of team members, knowing that personal challenges and characteristics of a team environment can become sources of frustration and stress that can impact team performance. A set of metrics, and its accompanying guidelines, can teach team members how to cope with these different behaviors and use the inevitable team conflicts innovatively and progressively.
A multiple feedback approach facilitates the process of aligning individual team member behavior with the collective behavior of the project team. This approach is variously known as a 360° evaluation, multi-rater, full-circle, or multi-level feedback system. It refers to a general process of gathering observations concerning performance from many different individuals. In a 360° evaluation, the project manager, functional manager, team members, client, and others, as appropriate, conduct separate appraisals of the same person. (Rad and Levin 2003)
As team members and stakeholders have unique perspectives on one another’s performance, a 360° evaluation typically provides a much more realistic, comprehensive evaluation (see Figure 3-2). Two approaches to such an evaluation are provided. (Instruments 3-E and 3-F)
To support project teamwork, each team member should have the opportunity to evaluate other team members using either of the two instruments. The two primary focuses of a 360° evaluation are (1) to improve the work performance of the project team, and (2) to mitigate the negative effects of personal challenges and issues. The results of a 360° evaluation exercise enable team members to improve working relationships within the team. Further, they elucidate the developmental needs of team members and indicate what new tools and techniques would support team effectiveness.
Ideally, the performance-related items to be evaluated should be collectively determined by the team members during the project kickoff meeting. Team members could either design an entirely new system or tailor an existing organizational rating system.
Figure 3-2
360° Evaluation
If team members have a direct involvement in the design or customization of the evaluation instrument, they are far more likely to value the resulting data and subsequent recommendations. If the entire team is involved in determining the specific rating items at the beginning of the project, then the biases of individual team members will be averaged out. In addition, the team, as a unit, should develop a procedure governing use of the rating process.
Team input, as compiled through this type of instrument, can be particularly useful for recognition and awards. Further, periodic ratings allow the team to determine whether changes are necessary in project processes or in the behavior of individual team members. Naturally, the frequency of the ratings depends on the length of the project and the preferences of the project team.
Sometimes it is desirable to conduct the rating process anonymously. For example, on a newly formed team, it is often useful to keep the identities of each team member confidential so that feedback is honest. However, on mature teams, particularly ones with a culture of open communication, there should be enough trust and emotional comfort among team members to identify the raters. Open evaluations provide the foundation for direct feedback, mentoring opportunities, and continuous improvement.
Each team member can use the 360° instrument for a self-assessment with minor tailoring. The results obtained allow an individual to see how others perceive him or her. Then, the team member can compare those views with his or her own self-assessment and ultimately identify his or her strengths and weaknesses.
Alternatively, the assessment focus can be solely on ways to improve overall team performance, without identifying specific individuals. Using this approach, each team member rates other team members anonymously. Then, a neutral third party analyzes the anonymous ratings and presents the summarized results to the entire team.
TEAMWORK
Teamwork is that elusive concept that allows all team members to focus collectively on project success. Through the movement toward management-by-projects and greater use of virtual teams, project work is becoming more people-centric rather than location-centric. Therefore, team-related issues, such as team building, teamwork, team organization, team turnover, and team experience, are now far more critical to successful project performance (Sanvido, Grobler, Parfitt, and Guvenis 1992). Efficiency and quality can be maximized through optimal allocation of people resources that have the right attitude, mindset, and motivation for that specific environment.
To promote teamwork, it is necessary to understand the behavioral traits that contribute to teamwork, team spirit, and team harmony (Rad and Levin 2003). A Collaborative Leadership instrument facilitates this understanding by highlighting the behavioral attributes of team members, particularly as these attributes relate to teamwork and proper team interaction. (Instrument 3-G) The Teamwork Attributes instrument, which characterizes a team member’s behavior across ten different personality attributes, complements it. (Instrument 3-F)
Different team members will have unique strengths and weaknesses across each attribute. However, by being aware of the differences, team members should relate to each other better, and hopefully, collaborate more efficiently.
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT
Successful conduct of a project requires the transfer of voluminous amounts of information among multiple stakeholders. Consequently, communications play a major role in project success, and proper communications planning significantly influences all performance attributes of a project (Alarcon and Ashley 1992).
Metrics comprise a significant component of the project communications management processes, and communication-related tasks are estimated to comprise over 90% of a project manager’s job. Therefore, it is essential to assess the effectiveness of project communications management activities.
A project Communications Management Plan should be developed that lists the reports that will be routinely prepared and disseminated. By extension, data should be collected to determine whether clients or executive managers have requested additional information beyond the standard reports, or whether the existing reports are useful and timely. In addition, the timeliness and frequency of project review meetings, the ease of access to reports, the ability to tailor reports in response to stakeholder requirements, and the number of requests for ad hoc reports should be assessed. (Instrument 3-H)
Each organization has a unique collection of communications tools and techniques, ranging from text files, to spreadsheets, to advanced project management scheduling software programs, to complex organizational databases and portals. Project personnel might need training in advanced features of software tools in order to exploit these communications tools to their fullest. Then, the project team should regularly analyze the magnitude of schedule and cost variances and the number of schedule and budget revisions.
On a regular basis, the team should evaluate the effectiveness of the cost/schedule management plans using the information provided by the metrics suite. Moreover, the usefulness of the reporting tools should be evaluated by determining if additional reports are necessary for a clear and complete look at the project.
COMPETENCY
In any project, there are major variations in the ability of project participants to do their jobs. When deemed competent, it means the project manager or team member is operating at an acceptable level of performance.
Competence does not mean that the project professional possesses perfect knowledge of all areas. Competence also involves knowing what you do not know, having the courage to express concerns about these potential deficiencies, and obtaining assistance when needed. Thus, competence involves the ability to assess personal strengths and then to sharpen skills in areas needing improvement. (Instrument 3-I) Organizations should foster a positive attitude toward improvement such that employees believe that competent people are capable people possessing a goal of superior performance in all areas, although they might not have yet attained that goal yet.
Competency can be regarded as both a people issue and a project issue. It is a people issue because it relates to how well a team member is prepared to perform assigned tasks. On the other hand, competency can be regarded as a project issue because, when the competencies of all project personnel are summed, an average competency can be achieved, which represents the competency of the team for the project. Then, summing the competency of all teams provides an indicator of the organization’s ability to deliver useful and innovative products in an effective manner.
Clearly, measuring individual competency, as well as organizational competency, provides the road map toward improvement. As organizations become more knowledge-intensive, and as continuous improvement becomes a prerequisite for success, the importance of knowledge and skills takes on greater significance.
Organizational project management success depends on the active involvement of personnel at various levels of the organization, at the right time, with the appropriate competency, and with high vigor (see Figures 3-3 and 3-4). From the goal-oriented vantage point of the project, competency can be categorized in four separate areas: sophistication in handling the technical content of the project, the project things issues, the project people issues, and the enterprise issues
Figure 3-3
Project Management Competency
Figure 3-4
Areas of Project Management Competency
Examples of technical skills are those necessary to understand the intricacies of dealing with areas such as Web technology, construction equipment, or fiber optics design. Competency in things skills involves state-of-the-art knowledge of management of project facets such as quality, schedule, risk, and scope. Competency in people skills can be demonstrated in graceful handling of communications, conflict management, and team-building issues. Team members must additionally possess, or develop, leadership attributes such as trustworthiness, charisma, loyalty, and openness.
The attributes dealing with the management of enterprise issues involve political savvy, knowledge of organizational culture, and skill in building networks with project stakeholders (see Figure 3-5). Generally speaking, a successful team member must have competencies in dealing effectively with the parent organization. Finally, the people associated with a project must be able to interact with, be committed to, and support the enterprise’s strategic visions, goals, and objectives.
The appropriateness and sophistication of the project team’s practice are at the heart of any successful project. Accordingly, repeated success occurs when project teams start with good processes and continue to learn and improve their personal practices. As an example, the Siemens Corporation estimated that its project success rate increased by 30% after project management training (Ward 2002).
To work toward a competency improvement program in project management, the first step is to establish a baseline of knowledge, skills, and competencies for each project management function. This baseline then serves as the framework for a personal improvement program, allowing individuals to measure specific improvements in their professional profile (Levin 1999).
Figure 3-5
Team Member Performance
A common technique is to identify successful project managers in the organization and assess their skills as a first approximation for the competency model. To the extent possible and practicable, attempts should be made to determine which critical skills facilitated the success of these particular managers, and how these exceptional project managers acquired these skills (see Figure 3-6).
Care should be taken not to identify those project managers who simply appear to be successful because they are charismatic leaders, but rather to identify those who have managed projects that have been deemed successful based on specific project indices. Therefore, clear and specific criteria to measure the success of project managers, and the success of the project team, are required.
One important additional feature of this exercise involves determining what further skills would have been necessary to produce an even higher level of success for a project. This information highlights the project management skills that future successful project mangers need to possess. It is highly useful to prioritize these skills in relation to the organization’s objectives and goals. Then, using subsets of these skills, organizational standards for junior, intermediate, and senior levels of project managers can be established. (Instrument 3-J)
Figure 3-6
Organizational Competency in Project Management
Another way to determine desired project management competencies is to develop a prioritized list of between seven and ten activities that occupy a project manager’s time. Then, this list is reconciled with another list of between seven and ten tasks that are, or should be, the responsibility of a project manager. This exercise can be performed by a focus group of experienced project managers, just as the 3M Company did (Storeygard 1995). Figure 3-7 presents the ten critical success factors this focus group developed for project managers.
MATURITY OF TEAMS AND ORGANIZATIONS
Since the performance of the team is the sum total of the performance of its individual members, the sophistication and maturity of a team can be inferred, or calculated, from indices used at the individual level. Figure 3-8 depicts the relationship between a project’s success and the maturity of the hosting environment.
Given that project management maturity can be regarded as both an organizational attribute and a people attribute, it is important to consider the context when developing or using maturity metrics. If these metrics are used for people purposes, the spirit of measurement is how much they improve the progress of a given person or a given project. By comparison, the organizational vantage point requires measurement of the effectiveness of these functions toward collective organizational goals. (Instruments 3-K and 3-L) The project management maturity of an organization is directly and predictably related to the success of the collective projects of that organization, which in turn is related to the success of individuals.
At the lower end of the maturity scale is an organization that has no procedures for its teams, no historical data, and no history of meeting cost, schedule, and quality targets on projects. This organization ranks somewhere between 0 and 1 (see Figure 3-9). Most maturity models overlook this stage, hoping that such an organization does not exist. At the upper end of the maturity spectrum is the mature organization that consistently completes its projects ahead of time and under budget. Such an organization can boast about its cadre of motivated, competent people who are the primary reason for its project success.
Figure 3-7
Critical Success Factors for Project Managers
An anecdotal example of an organization making its way from immature to mature is the one in which, despite a lack of proper procedures and competent people, projects miraculously do meet their targets. While these events should be celebrated, it would be unwise to expect them to be repeated with any regularity. The only predictable way for an organization to have successful projects is for that organization to possess procedures that all team members follow (see Figure 3-10).
VIRTUAL TEAMS
As the number of companies with offices and plants around the world grows, multi-location virtual teams are becoming more popular. Such project teams might be cross-disciplinary, or they might comprise two separate departments such as production and research. Regardless, the key fact is that organizations can and must redefine themselves to optimize strategies and resources in response to competitive business pressures across borders.
Figure 3-9
Success and Maturity for Projects Teams
Figure 3-10
Success and Maturity for the Organization and Projects
Virtual teams are different from traditional teams. Thus, it stands to reason that importing traditional procedures to a virtual team will minimize that team’s effectiveness in handling project issues. Sometimes the mismatch is not immediately evident because efficiencies in the conduct of individual work remain the same regardless of project team texture (see Figures 3-11 and 3-12). However, a unique set of metrics is necessary to handle the special issues that virtual teams face (Rad and Levin 2003). This set can contain traditional procedures modified for the virtual environment; procedures so modified will yield efficiencies equal to those obtained by streamlined traditional teams.
People metrics quantify the performance and behavioral attributes of project people. The premise behind their use is that success in the delivery of things is an indirect manifestation of success in handling the people issues of the project. The more team members know about each other’s attributes, the smoother the team will function. This mutual knowledge will fuel continuous improvement in relationships and ultimately in performance.
Figure 3-11
Stylized Comparison of Virtual and Traditional Teams: Undernourished Virtual Team
Figure 3-12
Stylized Comparison of Virtual and Traditional Teams: Reasonably Nourished Virtual Team
INSTRUMENT 3-A
People Capital for Project Management
Use this instrument to determine the extent to which an organization regards its people as valuable assets and necessary capital for maintaining competitiveness.
Determine the score for each area and then sum all scores to get a total score.
1— Not at all
2— Once in a while
3— On occasion
4— Often
5— Always
INSTRUMENT 3-B
Organizational Management Style Inventory
Use to assess the friendliness of the organization’s management style toward project management. Projects thrive and succeed in friendly environments but fail in hostile ones.
Use the numbers to indicate the proximity of your organizational attitude to either of the two extremes that are indicated by each statement. The total summary of the scores is not nearly as significant as the amount of change and direction of change between two successive assessments.
INSTRUMENT 3-C
Team Charter
INSTRUMENT 3-D
Personal Orientation and Preferences Style
Three choices follow each scenario. Select the one that most closely approximates your approach.
1. Assume you are working on a project. You must meet with the Project Manager to obtain feedback on your work thus far. Ideally, you would prefer that this feedback reflect how
a. Cooperative or helpful you are
b. Your work contributed to project success
c. Your performance on assigned tasks was received in terms of its quality
2. On a project, you have a
a. Tendency to take risks, believing that risks typically are opportunities
b. Moderate tolerance for risk, taking only calculated risks
c. Low tolerance for risk, avoiding risks if possible
3. Assume you are working on a project and have a conflict with another team member over a technical issue. In this situation, you typically would resolve the conflict through a
a. Competing or win-lose type of approach
b. Collaborating or win-win type of approach
c. Compromising or giving in for the short-term type of approach
4. You prefer to work on a project performing roles that involve
a. Interdependent tasks in which you work often with other team members
b. Tasks in which you are primarily responsible for their outcome, from beginning to end
c. Interactions with stakeholders both internal and external to the project
5. Assume you are in a meeting with the project team and a decision must be made. In this situation, you tend to
a. Take the lead and strive to bring the issue to closure
b. Provide technical input to the decision but do not feel you should be responsible for making the final decision
c. Work to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to contribute their ideas and concerns
6. Generally, there are many ways to receive approval for work done on projects. On your work, you prefer to receive approval from
a. Subject-matter experts
b. Project sponsors and external stakeholders
c. Team members
7. Assume you are working on a project, and several tasks have been assigned as your primary responsibility. In response, you would
a. Try to show people, regardless if they are peers or superiors, a better way to complete the work
b. Help team members complete their work, if requested to do so, even if this might delay completion of your own assigned tasks
c. Tend to think about how to accomplish something significant and difficult even if it is outside your own assigned tasks and responsibilities
8. During the kick-off meeting for your project, the team prepares a team charter and sets team norms as to how work is to be done and how conflicts are to be resolved. You would tend to
a. Follow the group norms explicitly
b. Experiment with new approaches and then inform the team of a better way to get things done
c. Follow your own approach to complete your assigned tasks, even if it differs from the group’s norms
9. In setting goals, you tend to
a. Favor goals that are attainable (i.e., neither too high nor too low)
b. Set challenging, but attainable, personal goals
c. Clarify the team’s goals in such a manner that they represent your own goals and then persuade others to work toward these goals
10. Assume you are meeting fellow team members for the first time. At this point, you typically
a. Trust that because they have been assigned to the project they will complete their assigned tasks on schedule and according to plan
b. Expect others to devote as much time to each task as you do
c. Talk about past projects or tasks in which you were successful and suggest that people follow these approaches
11. Working on a project, you are interested in
a. Participating in as many decisions as possible that affect the project, even if the decisions involve issues that are outside the scope of your assigned tasks
b. Working primarily on the tasks that are your assigned responsibility, as they are the ones over which you have the greatest control
c. Working primarily to encourage teamwork and cooperation among team members
12. Assume that you have had a disagreement with another team member on a technical issue relating to one of your assigned tasks. In this situation, you would
a. Try to resist reacting defensively to your team member’s concerns and keep an open mind
b. Tend to view this team member in a competitive way
c. Typically react positively to the information about your work, even if it is somewhat negative
13. On a project, in terms of rewards and recognition, you
a. Feel rewards are as essential as the accomplishment of the work itself
b. Focus primarily on your own personal achievement rather than the overall rewards of project success
c. Want to be recognized as the person who makes the greatest overall contribution to the project’s success
14. When assigned to a project team, you feel frustrated more by the
a. Tasks that remain to be completed
b. Inability to make friendly, long-lasting relationships with team members
c. Lack of opportunities to meet and interact with internal and external stakeholders
15. In a team meeting, you view your role primarily to be one of
a. Soliciting the thoughts, opinions, feedback, and ideas of other team members
b. Stating complex information, thoughts, and ideas simply, clearly, and concisely
c. Taking the initiative to identify and resolve any work-related problems that need to be solved
16. In order to complete your assigned tasks as efficiently as possible, you
a. Follow the overall project schedule as closely as possible
b. Prepare your own detailed schedule for your assigned tasks, striving to complete your tasks ahead of schedule
c. Focus first on completing work due today or over the near term and then focus on work to be done in the future
17. If you could select a project to work on, you would prefer to work on one that was authorized because of a
a. Technological advance
b. Social need
c. Customer request
18. If you do not believe that you are contributing to the work done by the project team, or if you do not believe that your work is valued, then
a. You find that your productivity tends to decrease overall
b. You spend a lot of time thinking about how you should be doing your assigned tasks in order to improve your results
c. You approach team members and clearly express and request information that will enable you to fulfill your assigned responsibilities
19. If you are making a presentation to a customer, you tend to
a. Express your ideas in a way that persuades others to accept your points of view
b. Explain your work as clearly and succinctly as possible
c. Restate and clarify important points and questions
20. If a team member approaches you and asks for assistance such as mentoring or training, you tend to
a. Drop your own assigned tasks to come to the aid of your team member
b. Be the person the team member contacts immediately since you have already volunteered to help should such a situation arise
c. Explain that you are pleased to help once your own tasks are completed
21. When you are working on a project, your own personal goals are
a. Carefully measured so that they can be accomplished
b. In line with those of the project team
c. In line with the organization’s strategic goals
22. On your current assignment, you cannot seem to master the technical intricacies of the work involved. In such as situation, you
a. Ask team members for assistance
b. Simply try harder
c. Ask to be reassigned to a task in which you are sure you can make a contribution and achieve recognition
23. In receiving feedback, you are most interested in knowing how
a. Well you are doing on your assigned tasks
b. Much your team members like and value your contributions
c. Your work is viewed by the project sponsor and other internal and external stakeholders
24. Assume two team members can only “agree to disagree.” They ask you to help resolve a current conflict. In this situation, you tend to
a. View the conflict in terms of its technical issues and point out why each person’s opinions may not be correct
b. Work with the team members collaboratively and help them resolve the conflict, even if it means that the overall working relationships established by the team may need to be changed
c. Work with the team following a confrontational-type approach to conflict resolution that fosters a forthright discussion of the issues at hand
25. Assume you work for a company that has a Project Management Center of Excellence with a mandatory project management methodology for all company projects. In this situation, you typically are
a. Not very concerned about the methodology, focusing instead on your own assigned tasks
b. Interested in following the methodology, as you feel it is essential to achieve the project’s goals and objectives
c. Interested in the project management methodology only if you believe you can significantly enhance it and be recognized for your contributions in this regard
26. Working on a project team, you experience a sense of frustration if you
a. Cannot take charge
b. Feel that your efforts to help other team members are rebuffed
c. Cannot complete your assigned tasks to your expected level of quality
27. You feel that, in general, team decisions should be based on
a. Consensus among the team members
b. The goals and objectives of the project and the organization
c. The available technical information supporting the decision
28. You are most pleased as a project team member when you perceive that
a. Your ideas and approaches to the task at hand are the correct ones
b. Your leadership in an important situation with project stakeholders has proven to be effective
c. Your efforts to assist others in completing their assigned tasks are viewed as instrumental to their success
29. Typically, in working on a project, you tend to
a. Want to help others, even to the degree that you may get in their way
b. Want to be independent and often rebuff the attempts of others to assist you
c. Direct others and exert your authority over them
30. If you are having a conflict on a technical issue with people on your team whom you respect for their technical expertise, you
a. Work to maintain harmony rather than assert your own point of view
b. Strive to dominate regardless of their opinions and feelings
c. Strive to keep your options open and acknowledge their feedback in a constructive way
31. If something goes wrong on a project, you believe it is primarily due to
a. Lack of dedication and hard work
b. Lack of teamwork
c. The failure of others to acknowledge your approach or point of view
32. Ideally, you feel best about your work on a project team when you
a. Believe your work has resulted in a technical breakthrough or innovation that otherwise would not have occurred
b. Have been able to provide leadership to others on the project and guide them through some difficult moments during the project
c. Have been able to mentor other team members and enable them to complete their work successfully
33. Assume you are working on a project team. At the kickoff meeting, you are more interested in
a. Determining what you need to do to accomplish your assigned tasks
b. Getting to meet and know the other team members
c. Seeing how this project fits in with the organization’s overall strategic goals
34. When your project team might not meet its planned schedule or budget, you tend to work
a. With the team to redefine the project’s goals and objectives
b. With the team to suggest that it meet and mutually agree on better ways to work together
c. Harder to see if you can get the project back on track
35. During a team meeting to discuss project status and upcoming milestones, you tend to primarily
a. Work to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate in the meeting, often drawing out those people who may not speak up
b. Provide information about the technical issues affecting the project
c. Focus the team on the goals and objectives of the project and on what must be done to ensure overall project success
36. Working on a project team, you prefer that your team members perceive that you are the person who
a. Can best provide leadership, especially if it is a self-directed team
b. Will want to support the other team members and provide assistance whenever requested
c. Is respected for technical ability and desire to meet the project’s performance requirements
37. Recognizing that team decisions tend to be more complete than individual team member decisions, you strive during team problem solving and decision making to
a. Provide technical data to assist in the decision-making process
b. Make sure the atmosphere is a cooperative one that values everyone’s participation and contribution
c. Focus the team on the objectives at hand and on the specific issues to be resolved
38. The ideal role for you to assume on a team is one in which you are
a. Perceived as being assertive in helping the team meet project goals and objectives
b. Considered the technical expert who consistently completes all work as assigned
c. The thoughtful person whom other team members contact whenever they are having a personal problem
39. If you have a disagreement with another team member on a technical issue, you tend to
a. Be open-minded throughout the disagreement, working to find an answer that represents a middle ground between the two positions
b. Look objectively at the data the other person presents in order to understand his or her point of view
c. Consider the opposite view but push for your solution to the problem
40. Your project team has established ground rules regarding working relationships among team members. Three team members now feel the approach for ensuring participation at team meetings is not working, as one person tends to dominate the discussions and their ideas and concerns are not being addressed. You do not feel this is a major issue. When asked for your view, you
a. Suggest a quick-fix that ensures that everyone participates
b. State that you do not see it as a problem and try to refocus them on the technical tasks that need to be completed
c. Make a strong case that the group process is working well and is not in need of change at this time
41. If you are in a meeting with a group of project stakeholders and there is a heated discussion regarding a possible scope change to the project, you tend to
a. Organize your thoughts logically and make a strong case for your position
b. Be sensitive to the issues of other project stakeholders and not take a firm stand
c. Try to gain the trust of stakeholders and lead the group toward merging their perspectives
42. Your project has the opportunity to be the first in your company to use a new technology in its work. The alternative is to remain with the current approach, which has been used successfully on many projects in the past. If the new technology is selected, it might be possible to complete the project in half the time. If it does not work, the schedule will slip by at least three months. In this situation, you would
a. Favor using the new technology
b. Use the new technology in parallel with the current approach to ensure it can be used without serious problems
c. Favor using the current approach
43. Working on a project team, you would prefer to
a. Have little external structure, except knowing the general goals and objectives and when tasks need to be completed to keep on schedule
b. Have the opportunity to establish a defined structure for the team’s work and encourage team members to adopt it
c. Work within a defined structure for your work, with someone available for consultation whenever desired
44. You are specifically interested in tasks
a. That reflect high levels of responsibility, with challenging, varied, and integrative work
b. With clearly defined objectives, where you can determine how best to accomplish them
c. That you can succeed in and that provide the opportunity to work with others
45. You prefer to be recognized for your achievements that stress your
a. Specific contributions to the project team and your steady performance
b. Ability to get results
c. Technical contributions in your field of expertise
46. If you are asked to do administrative tasks on a team, you generally feel that
a. They are necessary to perform but not enjoyable or desirable to do
b. You should complete them in a manner that shows you can handle them effectively and efficiently
c. They are necessary tasks, so you approach them positively as a way of showing you are contributing to the overall success of the team
47. If you can select the type of project on which you will work, you tend to pick a project that provides an opportunity to
a. Work closely and interdependently with others
b. Personally contribute to the success of the organization
c. Perform work that you feel is personally challenging
48. You are more concerned with the
a. Intrinsic context of the work
b. Technical content of the work
c. External environment in which the work is done
49. You primarily value approval from
a. Someone who understands and relates to the type of work that you do
b. Your Project Manager or project sponsor
c. Other project team members
50. You tend to identify primarily with
a. The organization and its overall success or failure
b. The other members of the project team
c. Your professional peers
INTERPRETING THE QUESTIONNAIRE
Use the chart below to see where you rank in terms of your preferred motivational approach. To determine a total score, put a checkmark in the appropriate column for each answer and then count the checkmarks that appear in each of the three columns. The overall totals will indicate your motivation profile.
Adapted from Parviz F. Rad and Ginger Levin, Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Boca Raton, FL: J. Ross Publishing). © 2003 by J. Ross Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
INSTRUMENT 3–E
360° Assessment Tool
Use this instrument to assess your collaborative and teamwork behavior. Ask others to rate you using this form. Compare the ratings of different people. Most important, reconcile other people’s view of you with your own view of yourself.
Repeat this process at least annually.
Adapted from Parviz F. Rad and Ginger Levin, Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Boca Raton, FL: J. Ross Publishing). © 2003 by J. Ross Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
INSTRUMENT 3-F
Teamwork Attributes
Use this instrument to assess collaborative and teamwork behavior. Ask others to rate you using this form. Compare the ratings of different people. Most important, reconcile other people’s view of you with your view of yourself.
Rate attributes using the scale below. Repeat this process at least annually.
1— Never
2— Seldom
3— Sometimes
4— Often
5— Always
I. EXEMPLARY OVERALL PROJECT PERFORMANCE
II. CONTRIBUTION TO ORGANIZATION PROFITS
III. EFFECTIVE PLANNING
IV. USEFUL POLICIES, PROCEDURES, AND PROCESSES
V. FOCUS ON PROBLEM SOLVING
VI. DEDICATED PERSONAL COMMITMENT
VII. PROFICIENT TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND COMPETENCIES
VIII. FOCUS ON PROJECT PEOPLE
IX. EMPHASIS ON PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY
X. EFFECTIVE USE OF BOTH POWER AND POLITICS
INSTRUMENT 3-G
Collaborative Leadership Instrument
Use this instrument to determine to what extent collaborative behavior was permitted and/or encouraged within the team. The absolute score is not nearly as important as indications of improvement from one assessment to the next.
Adapted from Parviz F. Rad and Ginger Levin, Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Boca Raton, FL: J. Ross Publishing). © 2003 by J. Ross Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
INSTRUMENT 3-H
Effectiveness of Team Meetings
Adapted from Parviz F. Rad and Ginger Levin, Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Boca Raton, FL: J. Ross Publishing). © 2003 by J. Ross Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
INSTRUMENT 3-I
Project Management Duties
This instrument describes job-specific behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to be successful in project management positions. It describes expectations of employees holding various project management positions at three different levels (entry, proficient, and master). This information can help identify training and career development opportunities. An organization’s executive management can use this information in performance reviews and internal certification to assess each individual’s progress.
A general description of each competency is required.
Each successive level includes the knowledge and skills from the previous levels.
Project Integration Management: Includes the processes and activities needed to identify, define, combine, unify, and coordinate the various processes and project management activities within the Project Management Process Groups (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECT INTEGRATION MANAGEMENT
Project Scope Management: Includes the processes necessary to ensure that the project includes all the work required, and only the work required, to complete the project successfully (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECT SCOPE MANAGEMENT
Project Time Management: Includes the processes required to accomplish timely completion of the project (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECTTIME MANAGEMENT
Project Cost Management: Includes the processes involved in planning, estimating, budgeting, and controlling costs so that the project can be completed within the approved budget (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECT COST MANAGEMENT
Project Quality Management: Includes all the activities of the performing organization that determine quality policies, objectives, and responsibilities so that the project will satisfy the needs for which it was undertaken (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECT QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Project Human Resource Management: Includes the processes that organize and manage the project team (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECT HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Project Communications Management: Includes the processes required to ensure timely and appropriate generation, collection, distribution, storage, retrieval, and ultimate disposition of project information (PMBOK® 2004)
PROJECT COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT
Project Risk Management: Includes the processes concerned with conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and monitoring and control of a project; most of these processes are updated throughout the project (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT
Project Procurement Management: Includes the processes to purchase or acquire the products, services, or results needed from outside the project team to perform the work (PMBOK® 2004).
PROJECT PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT
Adapted from Parviz F. Rad and Ginger Levin, The Advanced Project Management Office (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press). © 2002. Reproduced by permission of Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
INSTRUMENT 3-J
Knowledge and Competency Requirements by Project Position
Adapted from Parviz F. Rad and Ginger Levin, The Advanced Project Management Office (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press). © 2002. Reproduced by permission of Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
INSTRUMENT 3-K
Team Maturity Checklist
The checklist provides no Level 0 entry and no questions for Level 1, with the hope that project teams will aspire to higher levels of maturity.
LEVEL 1—INITIAL
If the team responds in the affirmative to fewer than 75% of the questions listed for Level 2, then the team (and the organization hosting the team) must take immediate, drastic measures to improve the management and success of the projects conducted by formalized teams.
LEVEL 2—DEVELOPED
The project team is operating as a Level 2 team if the response to at least 75% of the following questions is “Yes.”
Level 2: Enterprise Attributes
• Has the organization prepared and issued an organizational policy statement that addresses the use of formalized project teams?
• Have Project Managers received training in team-building activities specific to project management?
• Have project team members received training in the technologies to be used on the project?
• When a team member’s work on a project is complete, or when the project is complete, is the reassignment process a smooth one?
Level 2: People Attributes
• Has the team established a system of regular communication among its members, which includes standards for availability and responsiveness?
• Has the team prepared a procedure to identify issues and escalate them to the next level of management if the issues cannot be resolved within the team?
• If the team members cannot resolve conflicts, have they prepared a procedure that describes how to escalate them to the Project Manager or project sponsor?
• Has the team prepared a procedure that prioritizes information so that communication is facilitated and team members do not have a sense of information overload?
• Do team members suggest ideas for improving the effectiveness of their work on the team on a regular basis?
Level 2: Things Attributes
• Are project team members involved in the overall project planning process?
• Has the team prepared a team charter that describes items such as
- Team purpose?
- Project objectives?
- Any special factors?
- Scope of work?
- Roles and responsibilities?
- Project time frame?
- Project deliverables?
- Operating procedures?
Have team members and the Project Manager signed off on this charter?
• Has the team prepared a Responsibility Assignment Matrix? Does each member of the team have a copy of it?
• Has the Project Manager, with input from the team, prepared a Resource Breakdown Structure? Does each member of the team have a copy?
• Has a project organization chart been prepared?
• Has a project team directory been prepared?
• Does each team member participate in determining the time required for his or her assigned work packages and associated activities?
• Does each team member agree to his or her specific commitments in the assigned work packages in support of the overall project?
• Does the team have a process for making new team members quickly feel like they are part of the team? Can they easily learn processes and procedures to follow?
• Has the team prepared a system for regular status and progress reporting and project reviews?
• Can team members access the team’s information and data in a Web-based “team room” at any time or in a “war room” if the team is co-located?
• Have team members established performance criteria for both individual and overall team performance on the project?
• Do team members periodically review their progress on the project and make any required changes?
• Do team members collect data throughout the project and make these data available for use within the organization, both on current and future projects?
• Do team members routinely document lessons learned?
LEVEL 3—ENHANCED
If the team answers “Yes” to all the preceding questions, then it is a Level 2 team in terms of maturity. Responses to the questions below determine whether the team can be considered to be at Level 3. If the team answers “No,” “Don’t Know,” or “Does Not Apply” to more than 25% of these questions, then these items represent areas for improvement.
Level 3: Enterprise Attributes
• Have team members received training in the practices to follow when they are assigned to work on a project?
• Has the organization officially recognized the desirability of project teams as part of its overall strategy for continued success?
• Do people in the organization volunteer for assignments as Project Managers and team members?
• Are Project Managers of complex, long-term projects assigned on a full-time basis, without responsibility for managing other projects and without functional responsibilities?
• Is funding available to train project team members on the policies, processes, and procedures to follow in their work on the project?
• Is funding available for project team-building activities?
• Does the organization have a policy that supports open communication in all directions without fear of reprisal?
• Are people available with expertise in managing and working on teams to mentor, coach, and provide consultation, as appropriate?
• Have team members received training in self-management and self-motivation?
• Have team members received training in skills for effective communication and in use of the selected technologies and tools?
Level 3: People Attributes
• Does the team conduct a team orientation session to determine the communication technologies and protocols that will be used on the project?
• Has the team established decision-making processes so it is clear when individual decisions can be made, when coordinated decisions are required, and when a consensus decision among team members is required?
• Have team members established personal goals for the project that complement and support the overall project goals?
• Have team members participated in a self-assessment of their own individual personality styles and motivational approaches to enhance communication and understanding?
• When new members join the team, is it easy for them to feel they are part of the team and its culture?
• Has the team prepared a plan to address any needed training for its members?
• Has the team established a schedule for regular communication among team members?
Level 3: Things Attributes
• Does the organization have a standard template for a team charter, which the team can tailor to meet the unique requirements of the specific project?
• Have team members signed the team charter to indicate their support and commitment to it?
• Does the organization have standard templates specifically designed for areas such as requirements definition, stakeholder identification, stakeholder management, preparation of estimates, preparation of schedules, risk identification and analysis, progress monitoring, and change management?
• Is the team organized so that its members are assigned to the specific tasks in their areas of expertise at the time required in the project life cycle?
• Are common tools in terms of software applications and hardware platforms available?
• Has the team established specific standards for language and nomenclature of project management processes so there is a common understanding of the terms to be used?
• Has the team adopted a 360° performance evaluation system to evaluate team member performance collectively?
• Has each team member prepared an individual development plan?
• Are individual accomplishments and team accomplishments recognized?
• Are individual performance objectives established that complement team performance objectives?
• Does management provide regular feedback on team and individual performance?
• Are metrics of team performance collected and analyzed on a regular basis throughout the project?
• Does the team periodically discuss ways to improve team performance throughout the project, and are the indicated corrective actions taken?
• Does each team member collect data on lessons learned and best practices throughout the project on a systematic basis according to a prescribed procedure?
• Are the organization’s standard templates and processes for work on a team periodically reviewed and enhanced based on lessons learned by team members?
LEVEL 4—ADVANCED
If the team answers “Yes” to all the preceding questions, then it is a Level 3 team in terms of maturity. The questions below assess whether the team can be considered a Level 4 team. If the answers to more than 25% of these questions are “No,” “Don’t Know,” or “Does Not Apply,” then these responses indicate specific areas for improvement.
Level 4: Enterprise Attributes
• Is it evident to people in the organization that teams are the preferred organizational structure for many projects?
• Is the project team considered a key component of organizational strategy?
• Do the organization’s vision and mission officially recognize the use of teams?
• Do Project Managers and team members participate in project selection activities and other long-term organizational planning processes, as appropriate?
• Is there emphasis throughout the organization on recognition for creativity and innovation in project work?
• Is there emphasis on continuous development of teams through overall reviews of organizational policies and processes?
Level 4: People Attributes
• Has a team member been officially designated as a relationship manager to facilitate and encourage team-building activities?
• Do team members collectively determine ways to provide mutual support and modify workload and assignments, as required, so that there is equal participation in project activities in support of the overall project goals and objectives?
• Do team members follow and practice collaborative leadership on a routine basis?
• Do team members work to formally establish mentoring relationships among themselves to model and encourage supportive behavior?
• Are numerous face-to-face meetings considered unnecessary because of the open communication that exists on the team?
• Do team members work to ensure that everyone participates equally in team meetings and discussion forums?
• Do team members openly communicate on ways to enhance both individual and overall team performance?
• Do team members want to sustain the relationships they have built with others on the team after the project is complete?
Level 4: Things Attributes
• Does the Project Manager periodically assess the overall performance of the team from a process perspective to determine areas in which future support is warranted?
• Do team members undertake interdependent tasks?
• Do team members regularly monitor the effectiveness of the procedures that are in use?
• Do team members regularly review processes developed, including task and working relationships, to enhance the quality of their work?
LEVEL 5—LEADER
If the answers to all the previous questions, and the majority of the following questions, are affirmative, then the team has achieved the distinction of being at Level 5.
Level 5: Enterprise Attributes
• Does the organization regularly participate in benchmarking forums and learning communities to identify areas in which teams can be even more successful?
• Is the team recognized as a strategic resource for organizational success?
Level 5: People Attributes
• Do team members collectively acknowledge any similarities and differences and develop a plan in order to take advantage of the different insights and contributions that are possible on the project?
• Does the team discuss and resolve any problems in team dynamics within the project team, avoiding the need for escalation to higher levels of management?
• Is there an emphasis among team members on ensuring the confidentiality of team issues and concerns?
• Is the team atmosphere one in which learning, creativity, innovation, information sharing, and a sense of community are the norm?
• Does the team as an entity and team members as individuals promote professional responsibility in its practices?
• Do team members focus on continuous improvement of methods to develop both personal as well as team competence?
• Does the team seek out opportunities for further work to foster customer collaboration throughout the project?
Level 5: Things Attributes
• Is continuous improvement to the team charter encouraged at all levels in the organization?
• Do team members regularly conduct evaluations of team operating processes and performance in all elements critical to project and team success, from both client and team views?
• Are individual and team accomplishments acknowledged and celebrated throughout the project?
• Are knowledge profiles established and maintained?
• Are team members encouraged to submit suggestions for enhancements or changes to policies and procedures?
• Is feedback regarding the implementation of suggestions provided on a timely basis?
Adapted from Parviz F. Rad and Ginger Levin, Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Boca Raton, FL: J. Ross Publishing). © 2003 by J. Ross Publishing, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
INSTRUMENT 3-L
Team Success Factors
Use this instrument to determine the team’s sophistication and success in handling the various project management knowledge areas, as they impact the successful delivery of the project’s product.
This form helps develop a summary for each knowledge area, as well as for the total project effort. Successive assessments should reflect an increase in at least one of these knowledge areas.
