Information

Technology Project
Management

CHAPTER 4
The Human Side of Project
Management

Learning Objectives
Describe the three major types of formal
organizational structures: functional, pure project
and matrix.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of
the functional, pure project and matrix
organizational structures.
Describe the informal organization.
Develop a stakeholder analysis.
Describe the difference between a work group
and a team.
Describe and apply the concept of learning
cycles and lessons learned as a basis for
knowledge management.

Organization and Project Planning

Organizational Structure

Organization and Project Planning

The Formal Organization
The Functional Organization
Advantages
Increased flexibility
Breadth and depth
of knowledge and
experience
Less duplication

Disadvantages
Determining
responsibility
Poor response time
Poor integration

The Functional Organization

Organization and Project Planning

The Formal Organization
The Project Organization
Advantages
Clear authority
and responsibility
Improved
communication
High level of
integration

Disadvantages
Project isolation
Duplication of
effort
Projectitis

The Project
Organization

Organization and Project Planning

The Formal Organization
The Matrix Organization
Forms
Balanced matrix
Functional matrix
Project matrix

Advantages
High level of integration
Improved communication
Increased project focus

Disadvantages
Higher potential for conflict
Poorer response time

The Matrix Organization

Which Organizational
Structure Is Best?
While the formal organizational
structure tells us how individuals
or groups within an organization
should relate to one another, it
does not tell us how they actually
relate to one another.

The Informal Organization

Bypasses formal lines of communication &
authority.
Power is determined by how well one is
connected in the informal network.

Organization and Project Planning

The Informal Organization
Stakeholders Individuals,groups or
organizations with a stake/claim in projects
outcome
Stakeholder Analysis
Develop list of stakeholders with an interest in the
project
Identify their interest in project
Gauge their influence over project
Define a role for each stakeholder
Identify an objective for each stakeholder
Identify strategies for each stakeholder

Stakeholder Analysis Chart

The Project Team

The Roles of the Project Manager
Managerial role
Leadership role

Attributes of a successful project manager

ability to communicate with people
ability to deal with people
ability to create and sustain relationships
ability to organize

The Project Team

Team Selection and Acquisition
Skills desired in team members
technology skills
business/organization skills
interpersonal skills

Size of team
Source of team members

The Project Team

Team Performance
Work Groups
Members interact to share information, best
practices, or ideas
No shared performance goals (individual
performance)
No joint work-products
No mutual accountability
Viable in many situations

The Project Team

Team Performance
Real Teams
Team basics
Small number of people
Complementary skills
Commitment to a common purpose and performance
goals
Commitment to a common approach
Mutual accountability

Teams vs. Groups

A team is not just a group of people
working together.
A team is not a team because someone
says theyre a team.
Teamwork is about values not about team
performance.

The Project Team

Real Teams
Common sense findings:
Teams flourish on a demanding performance
challenge
Team basics are often overlooked
Most organizations prefer individual accountability to
team accountability

Uncommon sense findings

Strong performance goals spawn more real teams

High performance teams are rare
Real teams provide basis of performance
Teams naturally integrate performance and learning

Radical Teams
John Redding, 2000
Based on a study of 20 teams
A fundamentally new and different form of
team work
Team work is based on learning
Provides the basis for knowledge
management.

Project Teams and Knowledge

Management
Traditional teams
Accept background information at face value
Approach projects in a linear fashion
Provide run-of-the-mill solutions

Radical teams
Get to the root of the matter
Do not accept information at face value
Question and challenge the framing of the
original problem

Learning Cycles
Derived from educator/philosopher John
Dewey (1938)
Used to describe how people learn (Kolb,
1984; Honey & Mumford, 1994)
Can be applied to project teams (Jeris,
1997; Redding, 2000).

A Learning Cycle

Learning Cycles and Lessons

Learned
Phases of learning cycles
Understand and frame problem

Create a shared understanding

What is the problem (or opportunity)?
What are we trying to do?
How are we going to do it?
Starts out being general but becomes more
defined as the project proceeds

Learning Cycles and Lessons

Learned
Phases of learning cycles
Plan
Teams plan actions to produce learning by
answering
What dont we know that we need to know?
What actions can we take between now & our next
meeting to find out what we need to know?
How can we verify that what we are assuming is
actually true?

Team Learning Record

Learning Cycles and Lessons

Learned
Phases of learning cycles
Act
Key to learning is action!
What teams do outside of meetings is just as important as
what they do during meetings

Test assumptions
Experiment
Gather new information
Try out hunches

Only by acting do teams have the opportunity to learn

Action Plan for Team Learning

Learning Cycles and Lessons

Learned
Phases of learning cycles
Reflect and Learn
Focus of team meetings
Really when team learning occurs
Teams need to slow down, reflect on what has
happened and capture lessons learned
Must occur
In a spirit of openness
Not in a climate of self-protection or criticism

Assessing team learning

Speed

Depth

Breadth

Assessing Team Learning

Speed
Number of learning cycles completed
The more cycles completed, the more learning that
takes place

Depth
Degree to which teams reframe their understanding
of the original problem

Breadth (Impact)
The impact of the results produced by the team
Degree to which other projects, functional areas, or
the organization as a whole is influenced

Team Learning Cycles over the

Project Life Cycle

The Project Environment

A place to call home

Technology support
Office supplies
Culture

Project Team Charter