Team Development and Management

Once the project has been carefully analysed and planned the project, only then you will be able to start the project implementation phase, which is the third phase of the project management life cycle. The main objective of the project implementation phase involves putting the project plan into action. Under the project implementation phase the project manager coordinates and directs the resources of the project to meet the objectives of the project plan such that the project manager manages each activity, at every step of the path.

The project implementation phase requires the project team to accomplish the project tasks and produce the desired deliverables where the project deliverables includes all of the products/services performed for the client, customer, or sponsor, and including all the compiled project management documents. Therefore every project has their own prescribed set of deliverables such that each deliverable will vary depending on the type of project undertaken, and therefore cannot be described specifically.

Let’s take an example – A project focused on engineering and telecommunications will have its focus on using equipment, resources, and materials to construct each project deliverable, where on the other hand computer software projects may require the development and implementation of software code routines to produce each project deliverable. In both the project scenarios the activities required to build each deliverable will be clearly specified within the project requirements document and project plan.

As a project manager you would not only be required to direct the work of your team, but you would also be needed to do more than just deliver the results. The project manager is also required to keep track of how well your team performs. The project implementation phase keeps the project plan on track involving careful monitoring and control processes so as to ensure that the final deliverable match the acceptance criteria which has been established by the customer. This implementation phase typically involves implementing approved changes.

These changes are identified by analyzing the performance and quality control data. Note, there should be regular evaluation of the rroutine performance and quality control measurements throughout the implementation phase. Therefore it is important to gather reports based on these measurements that will help to determine the source of the problem and suggest recommended changes to fix the problem.

Change Control

We can define ‘Change control’ as a set of activities and procedures that assists to make the required changes in an organized manner.

So when we find a problem, we can’t just go ahead and make a change, as making the change may be either too expensive or may take too long to complete. So firstly it is important to analyse how the change affects the triple constraint (i.e., time, cost, and scope) and if it improves the quality of the project. As a project manager you are required to figure out if it is worth making the change. In case you see that there won’t be any impact on the triple constraints, then it would be suggested to make the change without going through the process of change control.

Process of implementing Change Control

Start with putting a change request whenever you are required to make a change to the project The change request document must furnish all the required information by the project incharge
Nest step involves documenting the change needed in the project so that there is clarity of the tasks that needs to be done, by when, and by whom.
After the change request is documented, it is then submitted to a change control board.
The change request is then sent to the change control board which has a group of people who consider changes for approval. This change request could also be sent to the project sponsor or management for review and approval.
Note, not all the documented changes are approved, so the changes that are approved, you need to send them back to the team to put them in place.

The cost is usually highest during the implementation phase as it uses the most of the project time and resources. In this phase the project managers experience the greatest conflicts over schedules. So while monitoring the project it is observed that the actual time taken to schedule the work is longer than the amount of time planned.

Therefore when it is mandatory to meet the project completion date and you are running behind, in that case you have to look for solution to perform activities more quickly by adding more resources to critical path tasks. This process is known as crashing. Here, crashing the schedule refers to adding or moving resources around to bring the project back into line with the prescribed schedule. But note, crashing always costs more and does not always work. There is no way to crash a schedule without raising the overall cost of the project..

At times you may have two or more activities planned to occur in sequence, which can actually be done at the same time. This process called fast tracking the project. For instance in a software testing project, you might be required to perform both user acceptance testing (UAT) and functional testing at the same time. After performing the testing there are chances that you might be required to redo some of the work that have been done concurrently. Note, Crashing and fast tracking are schedule compression tools. The process of managing a schedule change involves keeping all of your schedule documents up to date, this requires comparing the outcome to the expected outcome.

Once all the deliverables have been physically established and accepted by the clients and the customer, a phase review is conducted to determine the final completion of the project and if ready for closure.

We must remember that a team is a group of people but every group is not a team. We say that a group is a team only being small in size which prevails for relatively long period of time till the objective for which it is formed is accomplished. Generally a team consist of members who possess varied skills in order to effectively manage tasks and handle situations.

The project teams become a crucial component of a system, working toward the common goal of quality and process improvement. There are different types of teams that exist in the professional set-up such as project teams/task forces or ad hoc teams, virtual teams, six Sigma teams, cross-functional teams, and self-directed teams etc. Every organization needs to use one form of team or another. The sole objective of forming a team is to improve the internal and external efficiencies of the company.

Types of teams and constraints

There can be various types of teams which can take several specific forms even though there might be overlap between types, such that each type of team types has its own applicability.

In case of project management the project teams or ad hoc, teams are primarily formed for specific projects, that are built with a specific objective and focus. These project teams can be either narrow or broad range of team members, or they can be interdepartmental or cross-functional.

The types of team to be formed depends on several dimensions, such as based on function, purpose, time duration, and leadership. Note, the six Sigma and project teams are either self-directed or cross-functional.

Features of Self-directed teams

Members must be proficient and have sufficient training, experience, and cooperative skills.
Members are required to operate without constant direction from management.
Members can be assigned objectives or develop their own objectives.
In this type of team, the team leads are required to give guidance, rather than direction,
Some teams also allows members to rotate jobs and managerial responsibilities.
Objective behind forming self directed teams is to empower employees and reduce company bureaucracy

Features of Cross functional-teams

Member promote the acceptance of change throughout the organization
Formation of such teams is useful only when knowledgeable people from various departments and different areas of expertise are required to address projects, policies, practices, or operations.
Such teams are considered effective while generating creative solutions to problems.

Features of Virtual teams

These teams are typically project or ad hoc teams
Formation of such teams is necessary when members are geographically dispersed.
Different communication technologies are used to conduct team work.
Such teams allow companies to hire and retain the best people irrespective of the

Classification of Teams

Teams can generally be classified as formal teams or informal teams

Formal team

Formal teams are formed with an objective to accomplish a particular task or a set of objectives. The purpose of team formation is referred as ‘mission’ or ‘statement of purpose’. The mission statement may consist of a charter, list of team members, letter of authorization and support from the management.

Informal team

Informal team does not have any documentation that a formal team holds. The key feature of an informal team is that it consists of versatile membership since the members can be changed as per the requirements of the task on hand.

Roles of a Team Member

It is said that any team is bound to performs optimally well only when all the members of the team are assigned their roles and responsibilities appropriately such that they have an understanding of their roles in terms of the overall functioning of the team. A team needs to be balanced for better functioning. Formation of a team involves key functional roles to be assigned to the team members, such that each is associated with their respective duties.

Major team roles and responsibilities

Team leader – Team leaders are responsible to guides and helps the team to stay focused and motivated. Primarily, the role of the team leader is to manage and conduct team meetings and supervising the performance of the team members. Team leader are also responsible for documenting and administering team activities and thereby divide the work among members.
Sponsor – Sponsors are responsible for defining the scope and goals of the project and thereby provide the resources essential to achieve the desired They also monitors and the controls the team and its activities.
Facilitator – Facilitators are people who provide an opportunity to the team members to express their ideas and if required head the team meetings. Facilitators also help the team leaders in keeping the team focused and also assist the team in the process of decision making on matters of high importance. Facilitators aids the team to overcome sub-standard performance. They also help in resolving conflicts between team members.
Coach – Coach is the person who coordinates with the team leader and the facilitator smooth functioning of the team. Coach also helps the team members to furnish their responsibility by providing required resources.
Team member – Team members are people assigned with certain roles and responsibilities in a team set with a certain objective. They participate and share their views in the team meetings and use their experience to furnish the task assigned to them. The sole objective of the team member is to carry out the tasks as per the desired

Selection of Team Members

The selection of a team in a project is done on the basis of the broad goals to be achieved with members who hold expertise in the critical spheres of the project.

Factors influencing the selection of team members

Team must consist of members with suitable combination of required skills to attain the desired goal
During the process of team selection apart from varied behavioral styles, the presence of different personalities or behavioral styles is also a factor that should be considered.
An ideal team must consist of optimal number of members generally five to eight members.
All the team members are required to have at least elementary teamwork training.
Members are required to possess behavioral flexibility.
Team members must be able to dedicate the required time and energy that the project requires.

Team Stages

Bruce W. Tuckman first identified the four development stages which most of teams go through before they finally become productive such as – forming, storming, norming, and performing.

Forming – This is the first stage which any team has to go through, where the expectations of the team are unclear. Initially, when a team is formed, its members typically start by investigating the boundaries of acceptable group behavior. The Black Belts in this case are expected to relieve the team members from any kind of inhibitions/fears and thereby provide structure and direction to achieve their goals. They are also responsible for developing harmony in the team and providing the impetus for team members to know each other. Forming stage involves sharing information with regards to the project’s mission and goals by the black belts, and thereby setting the rules for functioning as a team. Such establishment of rules helps to assure the team members gets the opportunity of equal participation in decision making, describing their management style and thereby encouraging open discussion.
Storming – The second stage of storming, consists handling of conflict and resistance to the groups task and structure. In any team conflicts are bound to So it becomes equally important to deal with such conflicts patiently such that these hurdles gets turned into performance boosters in the later stage. This is one of the most difficult and crucial stages that a team goes through. The Black Belts are required to coach the team members to establish peace. Black Belts are therefore responsible to encourage the team members to putforth their disagreement honestly and clarify goals, tasks, roles, and responsibilities with team members. This stage involves establishing a problem-solving process which pays emphasis on collaboration so as to clear any kid of content and process issues with the team members.
Norming – Third stage encounters the development of a sense of group unity. The team members are required to pay emphasis on data collection and analysis in order to test theories and therefore identify the root causes of the problem. In this stage the team develops a routine and behaves like a more focused unit. In this stage the Black Belts begin to delegate the responsibility of decision making to the team according to their extent to handle and provide support with the new responsibilities. Black Belts are required perform team evaluations and provide positive feedback and constructive negative feedback if any, that helps team members to successfully perform their jobs with the help of self-correction.
Performing – This is the last stage which a team member has to go through in which case the team begins to work effectively and cohesively. In this stage the Black Belts are also required to delegate tasks and projects so as to enhance each team member’s potential, so as to foresee new opportunities to increase the team’s scope and thereby give feedback on team members’ contributions to the project.

Further two more stages that a team has to go through are,

Adjourning – Usually at the end of a Six Sigma projects the team splits up. This stage of adjourning is a very common practice for non-six Sigma companies as well with reference to project teams, task forces and ad-hoc teams. The aim of the Black Belts in this stage is to keep team members focused on goals and help the team members to behave practically and also providing emotional support and closure. Black Belts are required to conduct a post-project review meeting and sharing the views as well as appreciation from the top
Recognition and Reward – Rewards and recognition provides recognition for good performance, with an expectation that this performance will be repeated in the future. Here the impact of any kind of reward or recognition is based on the receiver.

Team Motivation

One of the most important component of management is the motivation of the team involved in the project. Now gain the most challenging management responsibility in which case is to sustain and increase internal motivation in the work group. Effective leaders display trust in their subordinates to perform better which further helps in boosting their overall morale.

Popular Theories of Motivation

Abraham Maslow Theory states that individuals are motivated to fulfill their lower-order needs till the time they are relatively satisfied, after which they switch to the higher-order needs which must be met to sustain satisfaction. Some of the needs of an individual are categorized below,
- Self-actualization needs which means achievement for self-fulfillment
- Esteem needs which includes Respect, prestige, recognition, personal mastery
- Social needs such as Love, affection, relationships
- Safety needs includes Security, protection, and stability
- Physiological needs entail to Basic human needs such food, water, housing

Douglas McGregor introduced new theories that is, Theory X and Theory Y. McGregor stated in his theory that the traditional management practices are based on certain basic negative assumptions about people ( also known as Theory X)
- Generally, people are lazy, work as little as possible
- They try to avoid responsibility, lack integrity
- They are not very bright, are indifferent to organizational needs
- They like to be directed by others
- They refrain from making decisions, and are not interested in achievement

Now, Theory Y states according to the new management style states that-