Section 9.4.1 Manage Project Team: Inputs

The project management team should utilize an organization's policies, procedures, and systems for rewarding employees during the course of a project (Section 4.1.1.4). Organizational recognition dinners, certificates of appreciation, newsletters, bulletin boards, Web sites, bonus structures, corporate apparel, and other organizational perquisites should be available to the project management team as part of the project management process.

.2 Project Staff Assignments

Project staff assignments (Section 9.2.3.1) provide a list of the project team members to be evaluated during this monitoring and controlling process.

.3 Roles and Responsibilities

A list of the staff's roles and responsibilities is used to monitor and evaluate performance (Section 9.1.3.1).

.4 Project Organization Charts

Project organization charts provide a picture of the reporting relationships among project team members (Section 9.1.3.2).

.5 Staffing Management Plan

The staffing management plan lists the time periods that team members are expected to work on the project, along with information such as training plans, certification requirements, and compliance issues (Section 9.1.3.3).

.6 Team Performance Assessment

The project management team makes ongoing formal or informal assessments of the project team's performance (Section 9.3.3.1). By continually assessing the project team's performance, actions can be taken to resolve issues, modify communication, address conflict, and improve team interaction.

.7 Work Performance Information

As part of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process (Section 4.4), the project management team directly observes team member performance as it occurs. Observations related to areas such as a team member's meeting participation, follow-up on action items, and communication clarity are considered when managing the project team.

.8 Performance Reports

Performance reports (Section 10.3.3.1) provide documentation about performance against the project management plan. Examples of performance areas that can help with project team management include results from schedule control, cost control, quality control, scope verification, and procurement audits. The information from performance reports and related forecasts assists in determining future human resource requirements, recognition and rewards, and updates to the staffing management plan.

Section 9.4.2 Manage Project Team: Tools and Techniques

Successful conflict management results in greater productivity and positive working relationships. Sources of conflict include scarce resources, scheduling priorities, and personal work styles. Team ground rules, group norms, and solid project management practices, like communication planning and role definition, reduce the amount of conflict. When managed properly, differences of opinion are healthy, and can lead to increased creativity and better decision-making. When the differences become a negative factor, project team members are initially responsible for resolving their own conflicts. If conflict escalates, the project manager should help facilitate a satisfactory resolution. Conflict should be addressed early and usually in private, using a direct, collaborative approach. If disruptive conflict continues, increasingly formal procedures will need to be used, including the possible use of disciplinary actions.

Section 9.4.3 Manage Project Team: Outputs

Staffing changes, whether by choice or by uncontrollable events, can affect the rest of the project plan. When staffing issues are going to disrupt the project plan, such as causing the schedule to be extended or the budget to be exceeded, a change request can be processed through the Integrated Change Control process (Section 4.6).

.2 Recommended Corrective Actions

Corrective action for human resource management includes items such as staffing changes, additional training, and disciplinary actions. Staffing changes can include moving people to different assignments, outsourcing some work, and replacing team members who leave. The project management team also determines how and when to give out recognition and rewards based on the team's performance.

.3 Recommended Preventive Actions

When the project management team identifies potential or emerging human resource issues, preventive action can be developed to reduce the probability and/or impact of problems before they occur. Preventive actions can include cross-training in order to reduce problems during project team member absences, additional role clarification to ensure all responsibilities are fulfilled, and added personal time in anticipation of extra work that may be needed in the near future to meet project deadlines.

.4 Organizational Process Assets (Updates)

• Input to organizational performance appraisals. Project staff generally should be prepared to provide input for regular organizational performance appraisals of any project team member with whom they interact in a significant way.

• Lessons learned documentation. All knowledge learned during the project should be documented so it becomes part of the historical database of the organization. Lessons learned in the area of human resources can include:

  • Project organization charts, position descriptions, and staffing management plans that can be saved as templates

  • Ground rules, conflict management techniques, and recognition events that were particularly useful

  • Procedures for virtual teams, co-location, negotiation, training, and team building that proved to be successful

  • Special skills or competencies by team members that were discovered during the project

  • Issues and solutions documented in the project issue log.

Approved change requests and corrective actions can result in updates to the staffing management plan, a part of the project management plan. Examples of plan update information include new project team member roles, additional training, and reward decisions.