Project Tango: Building a team, laying ground rules and managing communications with stakeholders

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-101
Author(s):  
Farkhondeh Hassandoust ◽  
Antonio Díaz Andrade
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Telecommunication Network ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Mobile Telecommunication ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Teaching Case

Project management is a mix of both science and art. It is a science because project managers need to estimate and manage time and cost. It is an art because they should ensure that all team members are in sync, while stakeholders are efficiently projecting the point across without communication gaps. It has been long recognised that developing nontechnical (i.e. ‘soft’) skills of project managers and team members plays a critical role in the success of any project regardless of industry. Such skills reflect the leadership skills of project managers, which typically fall under the knowledge areas of project resource management, project communications management and project stakeholder management. Even though there are many strategies for improving soft skills in a project team, the challenges in implementing these strategies are not often discussed. Recognition of the significance of these aspects is not novel, yet most project management studies are focused on the technical (i.e. ‘hard’) skills of project management. This teaching case aims to bridge this gap by inviting students to reflect on how soft skills can make a difference throughout the project lifecycle. The case is about a mobile telecommunication network upgrade project in New Zealand. Despite being completed on time, on budget and at the agreed scope, the project was never implemented due to the acquisition of the client by a larger telecommunications company, which had other strategic priorities. The focus of the teaching case is on leadership skills and communication management in projects.

scholarly journals TRAINING METHODS FOR DEVELOPING PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 01-12
Author(s):  
Majid G. Al-Nabae ◽  
Dania Sammani
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Project Performance ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Hard Skills ◽  
Case Study Methods

There are many factors determining the success or failure of the projects. Skills and competencies play a critical role in project management and shortage of skilled project managers and workers has become worldwide issue and a crucial risk that hindering the projects in achieving their objectives and increase the opportunities of project successful. There are two types of training methods used to provide soft and hard skills for project managers and team members. The aim of this paper is to specify the training methods that have roles in project teamwork training to enhance project performance. This paper uses a literature survey of the content of the research papers in project management training and training methods, to identify what extent training methods are related to project performance. This paper emphases the significance of the training process to enhance the project performance and reveals that on-the-job training, lectures and case study methods are most commonly used in project management training. This paper contributes to increasing awareness of the importance of training methods in project management as a feasible strategy to improve the performance of the projects and amply highlights the importance of skills in project management.

scholarly journals What does a Project Manager Need to Know about Soft Skills?

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinzhao Tian
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Teams ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Face ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

In the face of ever-increasing globalisation, the question of how to manage project teams efficiently andsuccessfully was never likely to be settled easily. It has been shown that 92% of project team members believe that softskiils are needed in their teamwork, 60% think that soft skill impacts project management, and 83% hold the view thatsoft skill is relevant to the performance of project teams. The research aims to help overseas project managers to obtaingreater insight into the impact of soft skill on project teams and so manage them more effectively. The introduction contextpresents the general concepts of soft skills and project management. Through a wide range of cases and examples ofproject teams, the impact of those skills on project teams will be explored.

scholarly journals Artificial intelligence applications for project management

Connectivity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 146 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
O. V. Polonevych ◽  
◽  
I. M. Sribna ◽  
V. R. Mykolaychuk ◽  
O. M. Tkalenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Project Management ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Software Products ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Complex Projects ◽  
Opening Up

According to statistics, most projects (especially in the field of IT) are completed late, with budget overruns, or not completed at all. That is why new methods are being developed and the possibilities of applying new technologies for project management are being considered. The most promising in this regard is the use of artificial intelligence. The concepts and algorithms of artificial intelligence are widely discussed in terms of their potential for automation in business, industry and society. At first glance, project management seems less suitable for automation due to the inherent uniqueness of projects by definition. However, artificial intelligence is also opening up new possibilities for project management applications. This article will provide an overview and assessment of how artificial intelligence can be used in project management and how it can help project managers in their day to day work. A list of the main software products for project management, in which artificial intelligence technologies are integrated, with an indication of their functionality is given. It’s safe to say that with the advent of artificial intelligence, project managers will be able to optimize their efforts to accelerate the success of their product. At this point, the evolution of project management using artificial intelligence and bots is just beginning, but soon it will really change the way we manage projects. The analysis shows that the use of artificial intelligence technologies for project management will be especially effective in cases of complex projects that involve processing and analyzing large amounts of data for decision making. Obviously, using artificial intelligence will automate mundane, simple tasks like estimating an hour, scheduling a project, assigning the most effective team members, distributing risky information on a project, etc. But in terms of team management, conflict management, stakeholder management, artificial intelligence is not will replace the human qualities of the project manager.

scholarly journals Insights of project managers into the problems in project management

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Vincent Livesey
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Delphi Study ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Delphi Panel ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Team Management ◽  
Management Skills ◽  
Hard Skills ◽  
Importance Index

A Delphi study using project managers who had managed projects in excess of $500 million was used to confirm the significance and frequency of problems resulting from the nature of projects. Using the results obtained from the Delphi study a ranking of the problems experienced in these projects was obtained by calculating a Relative Importance Index. Additionally, the Delphi panel members were asked their views concerning the need for traditional project management skills (hard skills) and team management skills (soft skills) as project size increased from below $50 million to over $500 million. A substantial increase in the need for both skills was indicated with the increase in the need for soft skills being the most significant.

Knowledge Sharing in Project Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Zinga Novais ◽  
Jorge Vareda Gomes ◽  
Mário José Batista Romão
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Team ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Business Operations ◽  
Successful Execution ◽  
Management Project ◽  
A Company

Projects have been increasingly used in the implementation of organizations' business operations. Knowledge sharing has been considered essential in project environment; therefore, the integration of knowledge management within project management becomes crucial for project success. The objective of this research is to study how knowledge sharing is integrated within the context of a project, and what is the perception of project team members about it. A case study was carried out in a company within the financial sector, focused on a project team of the entity. The results revealed that project managers, other professionals in project management, and the organization itself are very much aware of the importance of knowledge sharing. The results also emphasized that, regardless of the lack of incentives by top management, project team members consider that knowledge sharing highly contributes for a successful execution of projects.

‘Smart' Project Management

2016 ◽  
pp. 179-192
Author(s):  
Céline M. Silvius ◽  
Gilbert Silvius
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Manager ◽  
Team Collaboration ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Explorative Study ◽  
Management Processes ◽  
Share Information

Mobile devices and applications are changing the way individuals gather, process and share information. A development which also applies to project management. This chapter reports an explorative study on the functionality of 50 project management apps. The apps were analyzed on the variables: type of functionality, project management processes supported, methodology/standard supported, topics covered, website support, languages supported, project roles supported, number of team members supported and number of projects supported. Our analysis showed that the functionality of project management apps today is mainly focused on two application areas: (A) Supporting the role of the project manager individually in the planning/organizing processes of the project and (B) Supporting team communication and team collaboration. Lacking in functionality seems to be the communication/collaboration with project sponsor and other stakeholders. Based on our study we recommend project managers to be selective when starting to use project management apps.

Cultural Sensitivity

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 23-46
Author(s):  
Rameez Khalid ◽  
Shahid Raza Mir ◽  
Kanza Sohail ◽  
Salman Tawfik
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Team Behavior ◽  
Team Members

This study maps Pakistani project management (PM) teams on the Lewis model in different PM lifecycle phases and determines the traits of different subcultures within Pakistan in PM phases. Qualitative data was collected through 56 questionnaires and 15 interviews of Pakistani project managers. Findings suggest that, cumulatively, the team members show more linear-active traits as compared to the Lewis's classification of Pakistan. Also, at subcultural level, team behavior varied in different PM phases. Moreover, Pakistani project managers were found to prefer their teams to show linear-active traits in all PM phases except ‘initiating,' where reactive traits are preferred.

IT Project Managers' Perceptions and Use of Virtual Team Technologies

2011 ◽  
pp. 25-43
Author(s):  
Catherine M. Beise ◽  
Fred Niederman ◽  
Herb Mattord
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Fortune 500 ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Team Members ◽  
It Project ◽  
Information And Communication

This chapter presents the results of a case study pertaining to the use of information and communication media to support a range of project management tasks. A variety of electronic communication tools have evolved to support collaborative work and virtual teams. Few of these tools have focused specifically on the needs of project managers. In an effort to learn how practicing IT project managers employ these tools, data were collected at a North American Fortune 500 industrial company via interviews with IT project managers regarding their use and perceptions of electronic media within the context of their work on project teams. In this study, “virtual” describes the extent to which communication is electronic rather than the extent to which team members are geographically separated. Although the number of respondents was limited, the richness of the data collected leads to the conclusion that successful project managers and teams become skilled at adapting a variety of existing communication technologies to match the project task or process, the receiver, their own role as sender, and the content of the message. Groupware designers and developers need to better understand project management methods and best practices in order to provide better tools for practitioners, particularly as organizations expand globally and increasingly outsource various functions of their IT development and operations.

Recruiting a Project Manager

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neelov Kar ◽  
Subhro Mitra
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Project Manager ◽  
Management Project ◽  
Management Principle ◽  
Project Deliverables ◽  
The Right ◽  
Client Program ◽  
Tools And Methods

Project management is a practice based profession. Just knowing the project management principles does not make a person a successful project manager. It is more important to assess how the candidate applies the project management principle in practice than merely knowing the theoretical aspects of project management. Project Managers play a critical role in the organization. They are responsible for maintaining the revenue stream by ensuring steady flow of project deliverables, be it an internal initiative or a client program. As a Hiring Manager one has to use the right tools and methods to select the right candidate for the position of Project Manager. In this article some of the basic qualities of a Project Manager and the interview techniques adopted to select a Project Manager are discussed. The paper ends with discussion on new competency areas of Project Managers and new roles played by Project Managers in those areas.

Factors affecting the ERP implementation in Indian retail sector

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 1315-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Poonam Garg ◽  
Ajay Chauhan
Keyword(s):  
Project Management ◽  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Retail Sector ◽  
Affecting Factors ◽  
Erp Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Members

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to make an effort in identifying and exploring the factors which may affect the success of ERP implementation in Indian retail sector. This paper also analyses the between the factors and their impact on the successful implementation of ERP using the structured equation modeling (SEM) approach. “Organizational,” “Technological,” “People” and “Project Management” are the examined factors. Design/methodology/approach – A theoretical model is created that explains the factors which may affect the success of ERP implementation. Hypotheses were also developed to evaluate the interrelationship between affecting factors and success of ERP implementation. Empirical data is collected through survey questionnaire from practitioner like project sponsors, project managers, implementation consultants and team members who are involved in ERP implementation in retail sector to test the theoretical model. Findings – Using SEM, it is found that 62.7 percent of the variations of ERP implementation success can be explained with the help of the model suggested in the research study. The finding also confirms that there is significant positive interrelationship between “Organizational,” “Technological,” “People,” “Project Management” and success of ERP implementation in Indian retail sector. Research limitations/implications – The research is subject to the normal limitations of survey research. The study is using perceptual data provided by project sponsors, project managers, implementation consultants and team members who are involved in ERP implementation in retail sector, which may not provide clear measures of performance. However, this can be overcome using multiple methods to collect data in future studies. Practical implications – Findings from this paper can provide greater understanding in the area of ERP implementation. This study will provide valuable insights to researchers, practicing managers and those who are planning to implement ERP in retail sector. Originality/value – The study integrates the affecting factor with success of ERP implementation, i.e. “Organizational,” “Technological,” “People” and “Project Management” are the key drivers for the effectiveness and success of ERP implementation in Indian retail sector. Very few studies have been performed to investigate and understand this issue. Therefore, the research can make a useful contribution.

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