Project Management Essay
This Module's Case is about how to develop a successful project team. The core of the case is a description of an actual team development situation:
Poole, C. (2003, March 26). Three week project turnaround. Retrieved from http://www(dot)charliepoole(dot)org/article.php?p=turnaround
Russ Finney's article on "Winning Project Teams" talks about some of the principles Poole reports having implemented:
Finney, R. (2005). Winning project teams,OpenDebug.com, Retrieved from http://www(dot)opendebug(dot)com/article/402919
XProgramming.com. (2011). What is extreme programming? Retrieved from http://xprogramming(dot)com/xpmag/whatisxp
Flynn, A., & Mangione, T. (2011). Five steps to a winning project team. Retrieved from http://www(dot)projectsmart(dot)co(dot)uk/five-steps-to-a-winning-project-team.html
And then there are pieces of "practice wisdom" on the team development process, such as:
Sherrer, A. (2011, May 31). Six characteristic stages of team development. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www(dot)pmhut(dot)com/six-characteristic-stages-of-team-development.
Webster, M.. (2011, June 13). Six 5 tips to motivate your project team. The Project Management Hut. Retrieved from http://www(dot)pmhut(dot)com/5-tips-to-motivate-your-project-team.
Overall, it seems as though we know a lot about how to create and deploy successful project teams. So why is there such frustration and so many reported failures?
As noted earlier, you should also consult material from the Background Information or related other materials you find yourself (be sure to reference properly whatever specific sources you draw on). You may want to do some further searching in the project management support websites.
Case Assignment
When you've read through the articles and related material, scanned the websites, and thought about it carefully, please prepare a short (4-5 page) paper discussing the question:
"Discuss how IT manager could create and maintain a successful and winning project team"
You should probably be prepared to address issues such as the definition of "success", costs and benefits involved, and who either receives or pays them, sources of pressure on the team and its management, and responsibilities incurred by the various participants.
Case Assignment Expectations
Your paper should be short (4-6 pages, not including cover sheet and references) and to the point. It is to be structured in the following manner.
You are expected to:
- Begin this paper by stating your position on this question of managerial practices, clearly and concisely
- Citing appropriate sources, present the reasons why you take this position. Be sure to make the most effective case you can. Use the Poole case fol illustrations where possible.
- Then present the best evidence you can, again citing appropriate sources, against your position -- that is, establish what counterarguments can be made to your original position.
- Finally, review your original position in light of the counterarguments, showing how they are inadequate to rebut your original statement.
By the end of your paper, you should be able to unequivocally re-affirm your original position.
You will be particularly assessed on:
- Your ability to see what the module is all about and to structure your paper accordingly.
- Your informed commentary and analysis -- simply repeating what your sources say does not constitute an adequate paper.
- Your ability to apply the professional language and terminology of communications and information systems correctly and in context; you are expected to be familiar with this language and use it appropriately.
- Your effective and appropriate use of in-text citations to the assigned readings and other source material to support your arguments. Refer to the Purdue University APA formatting and style guide (see required readings) for the proper formats.
Project Management
Name
Institution
Projects always require management, planning, and control in order to achieve the desired outcomes. From the erection of Egyptian pyramids, to the implementation of modern information technology systems, project management has always been and will be an integral part of successful project completion. This is a responsibility of project managers. What is the definition of success? The term success could be elucidated as the desired or correct outcome of an attempt. Kendrick (2012) asserts that the success of a project is defined by how it satisfies stakeholders’ expectations. Therefore, project success could be elucidated as a desired outcome after attempting to satisfy stakeholders’ expectations. It is critical that managerial practices define the success of a project because they affect the progress of the project. The main managerial practices that affect the progress of a project include goal setting, empowerment, resource allocation, communication, and creativity. This paper discusses how information technology managers can create and maintain a successful and winning project team.
To begin with, goal setting is a crucial factor in creating and maintaining a successful project team. This owes to the reality that a clear goal enables the team players to be motivated into completing a task. Furthermore, team goals act as roadmaps that outline the desired results and the necessary steps for completing the project. Considering the following fact, it is clear that goal setting is a rudimentary element in creating an effective team. Lacking a goal could discredit the motivated and collaborative nature of the team. In fact, it may result in team members working to achieve different results. However, a project leader cannot set goals without considering steps that help in the creation of effective goals. It follows that a project manager should consider the acronym SMART (i.e. they should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based) when setting goals. Indeed, goal setting is an important element in creating a project team (Kendrick, 2012).
Another important skill that can help project managers create successful project teams is empowerment. According to Kendrick (2012), project teams are built for individuals with multiple talents and competencies. Thus, it is sensible to include team players in decision-making by empowering them with responsibilities to act as project leads. Thus, some of the team members should have the power to make decisions without consulting the project manager. In order to empower the team members effectively, the project manager should have the capacity to identify team members’ strengths and weaknesses. Some team members may be highly skilled, but could be weak at managing responsibilities. Others could have the knack to influence, but be poor at managing time. Therefore, the project manager should empower team members based on their abilities. Simply put, the project manager should embrace the idea of delegating duties to team members in order to complete a project successfully.
Meredith and Mantel (2011) assert that the ability of project managers to allocate resources effectively is an important element that determines the successful completion of a project. The term resource is used to identify the appropriate human resource, finances, and natural resources. First, the project manager should identify a team of people with the right skil...