** I will be using this page as a place to post my weekly reflections for my Project Management graduate course.
Contingency Planning – March 23, 2015
Although I have never created a contingency plan, I do have some ideas based on the PowerPoint presentation provided to the class. While reading the PDF, I noticed an example about human resource risks. As usual, I feel like since this is my first time learning about Project Management, I do not realize that I am doing aspects of Project Management daily until I see an example.
With 13 locations and 300+ employees, our HR department is going through risk management for staffing on a daily basis. We have a lot of entry level employees making minimum wage that are job seeking for a higher pay, and we have a lot of tenured professionals looking to make their next career moves. From experience, we have found that it is extremely difficult to get a new employee hired and through the onboarding process in a two week time span (so the typical 2 week resignation period is still not long enough). Because of this, we like to create sort of an employee “pipeline.” We always have other candidates in mind for positions for if and when a position opens up (either due to resignation or termination). I feel as though employees do not realize when they give a 2 week notice they are essentially doing a disservice to the company – the turnaround process can essentially take upwards of even a month (recruitment, interviewing, onboarding). I truly appreciate employees who plan ahead and keep the employer “in the loop” regarding their job seeking.
Project Charter – March 16, 2015
First and foremost, I have no experience using a project charter. I have never even heard of such thing until taking this Project Management course. From my perspective, the project charter looks like a very detailed version of the project plan. According to some looking around on the internet, the project charter should include a statement of needs and a summary of the history leading up to the needs. Most importantly, the charter should include the main purpose of the project. Why is it being planned? What are the risks? Who is involved? What are the benefits?
It sounds as though the project charter forms a “contract” with the stakeholders in regards to various terms and deadlines. In terms of this course, I am interested to see how my project charter will play out when dealing with my event planning.
Change Management – March 2, 2015
Studies have shown that change is especially hard in large organizations. Employees are likely to oppose change because initiatives may disrupt power structures and typical ways of getting projects done. Unfortunately, viewing resistance as a threat can lead to poor management practices.
Resistance should be looked at as a resource. Good managers should view resistance as a sort of feedback and a way to learn more about the change initiative. According to the article by Jeffrey Ford and Laurie Ford, resistance can be used in five ways to help change become more productive:
- Boost awareness
- Return to purpose
- Change the change
- Build participation and engagement
- Complete the past
Somewhat unrelated, but this article explains how Zappos uses the 80/20 rule (based on class discussions and past research, Zappos appears to be on par with Apple’s core business practices). I think the 80/20 rule is a great way to deal with employees that are resistant to change:
http://www.zapposinsights.com/blog/item/the-8020-rule-and-how-it-can-help-your-business
Creating a Project Plan – February 23, 2015
This week I learned how to create a project plan. I was intimidated at first, having no background experience in Project Management. I saw that a lot of my colleagues are familiar with MS Project and other software that enables them to create very detailed project plans. I have never used MS Project, so I was left to put something together in Excel.
It turns out I have been “project planning” all along. After viewing a few project plan examples, I was able to construct a simple project plan template in Excel. I inputted my data and expected start/end dates. I was able to take all of my event planning dates and transfer them onto this spreadsheet. Although I thought I didn’t need to use this project plan for my actual project, and that it was simply just an assignment, I feel that it will be helpful to have all of the start/end dates out in front of me in spreadsheet form.
Stakeholder Engagement and High Performing Work Teams – February 16, 2015
As I have mentioned before, my background and undergraduate degree is in Psychology. Although I am pursuing a Masters Degree in Human Resources Management, I feel that my knowledge in Psychology is extremely helpful when dealing with teams. Many Psychology classes I have taken discussed how to use Emotional Intelligence to be a successful leader or manager. However, EI is rarely discussed in depth at a group level.
What is Emotional Intelligence? EI considers the ability to control and evaluate one’s own emotions. It also involves understanding and responding to the emotions of others. While some researchers believe EI is a learned trait, others believe it is something we are born with. A Humanistic model of EI includes the following: perceiving emotions, reasoning with emotions, understanding emotions, and managing emotions.
One of the assigned articles states that in order for groups to be effective, there must be participation, cooperation, and collaboration among group members. However, in order to achieve those goals, there must first be three basic conditions present. There must be trust among members, a sense of group identity, and a sense of group efficacy. By these guidelines, group EI is more complicated than dealing with individual EI. Group members not only need to be self-aware and regulating, but aware of the other group members. High group Emotional Intelligence ultimately leads to better decision-making, more creative solutions, and higher productivity/efficiency.
How do you build Emotional Intelligence among teams? First you must allow the teams to create an awareness of emotions. This includes interpersonal understanding getting to know each other), examining team effectiveness (self-evaluation), and seeking feedback from stakeholders. Once aware of the individual emotions, the group needs to take steps towards emotional regulation. This includes setting ground rules, pointing out erratic behavior, volunteering to help when needed, respecting differences, making time to discuss difficult issues, focusing on “problem solving, not blaming,” and asking about the needs of others.
http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/a/emotionalintell.htm
http://www.shrm.org/publications/hrmagazine/editorialcontent/2012/1012/pages/1012legal.aspx
Teamwork and Communications – February 9, 2015
I feel like it goes without saying, but communication is critical when building and assessing teams. It is important regardless of team size, whether you have a team of 2 people or a team of 30 people.
When I used to be an Operations Supervisor, I managed an overall team of approximately 50 people. It was my job to split this large group into smaller crews to work at each individual work site. Communication was key when determining what groups of people would work best together. I found myself having to actively listen and respond to each crew to ensure they were all able to perform at their maximum capacity.
I came across this article while looking through LinkedIn. It discusses Emotional Intelligence and how to apply it to management. I thought it was very fitting for discussions about teamwork and communication. Some major takeaways for individual Emotional Intelligence include:
– understand your strengths and how you communicate best
– understand your audience and speak to what they value
– make a personal connection with the person you address
– remember, the only way to be authentic is to be yourself
– stay focused on your message when distracting emotions bubble to the surface
– use inclusive language to create common ground
– be polite and respectful with questions and answers
Future of the PMO – February 2, 2015
Similar to a few of my classmates, I do not see myself in a PMO role in the future. While I don’t mind the occasional project here and there, I would not want to be responsible for a company’s projects consistently. I do not enjoy working continuously based off of starts and deadlines. I would rather be in a role that I can influence the ongoing work environment.
Based on the materials this week, I feel that a lot of companies do not have the materials necessary for a project manager to be successful. I also feel that many medium and smaller sized companies do not have a designated Project Manager- rather they have people responsible for individual projects without the “title.” For example, I don’t foresee my company as ever hiring someone as a designated Project Manager. Although the company is a decent size, each individual department head is more than capable of handling individual projects. I can see that project managers would be useful in jobs heavily based around IT.
One major takeaway from the materials is that I think it is necessary for companies to train employees (particularly department heads if lacking a designated Project Manager) on the basics and fundamentals of project management. All managers could benefit from the general guidelines about planning and prioritizing the several steps in a project.
Organizational Commitment, Project Cycle – January 26, 2015
Chapter 4 of the textbook got me thinking a lot about the Project Environment. Often working in Human Resources, I think about the work environment in terms of how it affects employees (behavior, morale, etc). Not only does the environment play a role in these aspects, but also for projects themselves. The text states that in order for a project to be successful, the Project Environment must have the following:
– stable environment
– minimum conflict among employees
– clear organization
– ambitious employees
– responsibility matched with authority
– maximum creative freedom
In the same way an environment can affect employees’ morale and general happiness at work, the environment can affect the overall success of individual projects. As a take away, making the connection to Human Resources, I think that an environment is important to make people successful, which in turn makes projects successful.
I have worked for companies that have focused very little or a lot on culture. As you could probably guess, the company with little focus on culture was (and still is) not very successful. The company has a huge employee turnover rate, and a declining customer satisfaction rating. The decline in customer satisfaction leaves a very little budget each year for the company to make improvements. I feel like this puts them in a circle of continuous financial downfall.
However, the company I work for currently definitely embraces culture. As the book states, it is important to build a project culture starting at the top, and to keep faith in the vision and staying focused in the long-term. I feel like ESL did this extremely well, along with the company I currently work for. The owner of the company strives for a positive and productive culture, and her overall demeanor is contagious throughout the company. It is a great place to work, and it certainly shows in customer ratings as well as employee surveys. She also is a very good overall Project Manager as she is often successful at organizing and putting together teams for individual projects.
Project Management Overview, Methodologies – January 19, 2015
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is the leading certification and defines project management as “the application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet project requirements.” Project Management is the process of planning and applying the controlled use of funds, personnel, and resources to achieve a result. Systems Engineering is the process of managing requirements such as stakeholder requirements, architecture development, risk management, etc. Requirements Management blends both Project Management and Systems Engineering to include project business, budget, and technical baselines.
Agile Project Management welcomes changing requirements and responsiveness. Requirements are not negotiated up front and require a constant collaboration between the customer and development team. Agile Project Management utilizes change in requirements to benefit the customer. This type of Project Management places focus on the customer instead of following a direct plan for an end result.
After reading the text, I started thinking about the costs of Agile PM. It would seem as though traditional PM would not necessarily be more cost effective, but more predictable. Typically a project budget is broken down into chunks, often on a timeline. It may be easier for the development team to give the customer a general estimate of the final cost. Agile PM, however, is constantly changing based on the customer’s needs. So does this mean it is more difficult for the development team to come up with a budget estimate? I’ve realized that an ongoing theme in Project Management is that there are no clear answers to some of these questions.
I read a few articles that discuss Agile PM and budgets. The writers all specifically state to come up with a budget and not an estimate, even though that may be the easier option for some managers. I also read that Agile PM could potentially be cheaper than traditional PM methods if a team becomes successful. Technology is being upgraded so frequently that errors and mistakes throughout the Agile PM process are less costly.
https://hbr.org/2014/12/your-agile-project-needs-a-budget-not-an-estimate
Introduction to Project Management – January 12, 2015
First and foremost, I am surprised by how much I did not know about Project Management. It is something I have been doing in my previous jobs and did not even realize it. However, I am not at all surprised by the text’s use of cognitive tools for Project Management. My background is in Psychology and these approaches were often discussed heavily throughout my undergraduate career. I believe the most efficient method for Project Management is the Systems Approach to see the big picture and develop projects. I would like to use knowledge I learn about Project Management to integrate a Systems Approach into my HR knowledge. I can see many benefits of seeing “the whole picture” in terms of the employee lifecycle.
Visual models help us to see the big picture. It is a way of linking right brain activity with the logic and systematic approaches of the left-brain. With my Psychology background, I am not at all surprised that the text starts off discussing cognitive tools. It is clear that a strong model or visual process of the project can help to avoid costly errors and mistakes. I see myself utilizing these models and processes as I lead projects to become more efficient. These models may help me to decrease time and cost of projects.
As the text states, without Systems Thinking, the best we can do is “adapt or react.” Systems Thinking involves seeing the whole picture and focusing on preventative and long-term strategies as well as solutions. In an article by Suzanne Simpson, she states that a new Systems Approach is necessary for positive outcomes in Human Resources. I agree with her argument that many parts of Human Resources are often not systematically linked together. This does not benefit the company. The individual functions of HR should be integrated together to increase profit and productivity of the company. In terms of the employee lifecycle, the entire approach should be looked at as a whole (i.e., recruitment, hiring, training/development, review).
Miranda Mucci 