Managing Problem Teams

Managing a project is complex enough without adding team conflict issues into the mix. Managing a project team can certainly be a difficult undertaking, especially if the team members do not get along. So then how do we as Project Managers accomplish the task of getting the project completed and not having chaos during the execution of the project's key activities?

There are a couple of underlying questions to be addressed here:
1) are the members of the project team direct reports of the project manager or is this a matrixed team, and 2) has the project team been given clearly defined roles and responsibilities.

In the first instance, we must determine how much authority the Project Manager has - not only pertaining to the day-to-day running and managing of the project, but to what extent the Project Manager has the ability to define and enforce basic guidelines of behavior to project team members. If the project team directly reports to the Project manager, the lines of authority are usually more clearly defined. The project team is expected to work to accomplish the goals and objectives set forth by the project management plan as well as to generally abide the directives of the Project Manager. Most Project Managers have had an opportunity to become well acquainted with their direct reports and establish a positive relationship with each team member, as well as foster a cohesive and functioning team. If issues arise between team members, this line of authority is more easily managed in that the Project Manager has a history and strong relationship with the team to usually diffuse and resolve issues that may negatively impact the project.

If the Project Manager has few or no direct reports and the members of the project team are composed of staff from more than one group or division, then the project is a matrixed one. Team members may have prior negative experiences with one another or may develop misunderstandings while engaged on the current project that could lead to disruption on the current project. Without the same direct lines of authority, this situation can be more difficult to manage, but can be mitigated in terms of getting the team to perform in a more cooperative manner. For example, at least once a week, the project team must meet, preferably in person, but by teleconference if necessary. Each team member should be encouraged to provide not only status but to review issues and propose solutions. An "issues board" can be used to track items that are outstanding or new issues as well. each team member has the opportunity to propose ideas. In addition, it is important for the Project Manager to speak to the particular individuals to determine how to best resolve the issue. Sometimes, this may mean removing one or more person from the project or minimizing their role(s). If the team member is critical to the success of the project, it may become necessary to speak with the supervisor/manager of the team member and review the situation so as to alleviate the issues and continue the work.

In the second instance, team members must know what their role on the project is expected to be - any ambiguity may cause confusion and lead to difficulties among the team. A roles and responsibilities chart is often effective as is a list of duties that is to be shared. For example, if two developers are working on similar modules, who is expected to integrate them? How is the testing to be divided and who will perform code reviews? If clearly established policies for these tasks are not already defined, they must be designated and provided to the team at a very early stage so as to avoid confusion later in the project. Another example concerns team "leads" - if a team member is a lead on another project, he may assume he is to be the lead on this project as well or it may simply be taken for granted to be the case. However, this needs to be defined and agreed to by the key stakeholders as well as the designated lead who may already be overwhelmed with duties on many other projects. Include the roles and responsibilities in the project management plan as well as provide it as a separate document to the team.

Additionally, the importance of the project is necessary to be clarified and reiterated to the members of the project team. Management must support the project and continue to give staff a clear message that their contributions are not just necessary but greatly appreciated by the organization. It must be made clear early in the project that the Project Manager is the authority for the project and has been designated the point-person for the successful outcome.

A few suggestions at helping to facilitate (i.e., being a referee) for difficult projects:

• Conduct bi-weekly progress reviews (sometimes called 'sanity checks') to see where the project really is in the minds of the project team. This goes beyond what they write in their status reports but gets to the heart of issues on a regular basis
• Ask one person each week to kick off the meeting but don't let it be the same person each week - that way, the team members do not know who will be called upon each week and will be more likely to come prepared
• If possible, have team-building sessions, or perhaps brown-bag lunches in which key topics are discussed that are relevant to the project
• Monthly, have a short breakfast meeting to thank the team for their efforts and the work completed. As a Project Manager, it is important to keep the team motivated to accomplish the remaining work ahead.
• If the project seems to be headed in any direction that might cause delays, overages, or any inkling of potential failure speak to senior management immediately and voice your concerns.
• Invite a senior manager to attend a weekly status meeting, to speak at a brown-bag lunch, or for offering words of encouragement to the team when necessary.

The importance of the project must remain the focus and finding a way to address and resolve discord is essential to minimizing negative project impacts.

Project Planning

In watching the Inauguration today, I was so very proud and excited at seeing such an amazing historical event. Later, I was reminded at the enormity of all the planning necessary to be able to successfully accomplish this undertaking.

All projects need to consider the planning stage as important as the actual execution phase. This is certainly true for development projects. Many times, it is easy to receive an initial set of requirements and begin developing – the idea being that to get a head start on the project will save time later if issues arise. However, the opposite is often the case as more pieces of the requirements puzzle come to light and additional user needs are discovered that are more complex than originally anticipated.

Why then, is planning so undervalued? Perhaps because customers do not appreciate being charged for evaluations, surveys, feasibility studies, or other pre-development assessment activities. Instead, they’d rather see their investment in action and have a new system underway as quickly as possible. But, if we are to provide them with a truly valuable service, we need to ensure that we take as much into consideration as possible – the unplanned variables of any project are sure to occur, but these can be minimized if we outline important items including not only the scope, but also a project management plan that includes an overview of the proposed timeline, deliverables, staff, risks, and a strategy to be used to communicate throughout the project.

The saying “failing to plan is planning to fail” certainly applies to managing projects. The time invested to planning is wisely spent and will pay off greatly as the project unfolds. Devoting the energy of the project team (and stakeholders) to planning brings about more questions, but having those answered early makes for a much clearer picture of what the project is to look like, hopefully more like a well-orchestrated event as the historical one seen today.

Project Communication

As most project managers will tell you, the essential element of project management is communication. Beyond the schedules, budgets, WBS creation, and finding the best resources for your project, nothing can sink a project like poor communication.

Communication is not simply relevant to the members of the project team, but also critical to the key stakeholders and sponsor too. How often have you noticed that a discussion that was held this morning has morphed into something that was either taken out of context or is based on something that was never actually discussed.

As project managers, it is important to ensure that we act as the point of contact for all formal communication and that we take the initiative to speak to the primary stakeholders, preferably in person or at least via telephone or video on a regular basis - which should be weekly at a minimum.

This means that the PM has on-going meetings with members of the project team and with the stakeholders, and that the PM is the first, rather than the last, to know when an issue arises and has already begun to propose solutions and prepare to reslove the issues.