Project Management Certification Program

Integrated Assignment #7

March 22, 2003

Memorandum

To: Student - PM Certificate On-Campus Program 2002-2003

From: James Joiner

Subject: People Skill Impact on Project Execution and Management

The six predominant modules covered in the month of March were:

  1. Individual Behavior-Perception (measurement of behavior and the perception of others)
  2. Negotiation and Conflict Management (managing conflict and negotiating solutions)
  3. Interpersonal Communication (communication across all stakeholder groups, including written, verbal, facilitation and presentation)
  4. Project Plan Execution and Control (executing and controlling the project)
  5. People Performance Management (maximizing performance through competency modeling, behavioral interviewing, giving and receiving feedback, etc.)
  6. Risk Analysis/Risk Identification

Launching projects effectively is critical to the success of the team, organization and stakeholders. Sustaining the momentum is the path to that success and is primarily focused on the effective management of people. It is critical to fully understand the culture of the organization before beginning a large-scale project.

The modules above show that a comprehensive understanding of the team members behavioral strengths, the ability to negotiate effective solutions to conflict, possessing honed skills in platform communication, a reasonable grasp of the various motivation elements of organizational behavior and a solid approach to managing the performance of people is critical to the ultimate success of the project.

For this Assignment, we would like you to focus on three categories:

1. Objectively evaluate your personal behavioral strengths in both favorable and adverse (stressful) conditions (while in the project team mindset) and provide comprehensive conclusions on how other people, both on your project team and others, perceive your demonstrated behavioral characteristics. This should be accomplished using the behavioral instrument LIFO as the basis for the report.

In addition, you are requested to draw the link between the team’s behavioral characteristics and how effectively they will be used to negotiate solutions to conflict within the team.

2. As you execute the project plan, link the following elements to how they will affect the control and success of the project:

·  Elevator speech (verbally communicating the need for the project)

·  Interpersonal, facilitation and presentation skills

·  Motivation comprehension, using David McClelland’s theory of Achievement, Affiliation and Influence

·  Having effective people performance management systems and structures in place, such as competency modeling, so each member of the team (and organization) fully comprehends what is required and where they stand relative to those key competencies.

3. Define the process of how a project manager would effectively identify, categorize and manage risks, both in terms of schedule, cost and scope.

·  Provide an example of an effective risk assessment that includes the three critical areas, identification, categorization (cost, scope, schedule) and management.

1. Evaluation of Personal and Team Behavioral Strengths (6-8 pages)

·  LIFO. Evaluate your own behavioral strengths under both favorable and adverse conditions, followed by an analysis of the key lessons learned as a result of soliciting input from other project team members and additional people from your place of employment (from the exercise outlined in the Motivation Module). Develop a table that identifies personal perception, others’ perception, the lessons learned and the potential impact to your project as a result. Discuss your findings, exploring the linkages among the various elements of behavior, and describe how this exercise can affect the project. Does the behavioral strength understanding (particularly as it relates to carrying it to excess) strongly support your project management capabilities, or does it represent a barrier?

·  Negotiating Conflict. Describe how the improved understanding of behavioral strengths of yourself and others on the project team helps in the effective negotiation of managing conflict within and external to the project team. Is the conflict management process effective in aligning team members and stakeholders with project goals and objectives? What type of conflict will be best addressed by this improved understanding of behavioral strengths?

2. Executing an Effective Project (4-6 pages)

Critical Competencies: Develop the top ten critical competencies of the Project Manager position in your organization. Explain how effective use of this tool could impact both the project management and the rest of the organization’s performance. What methods of measurement of these critical competencies would you employ to effectively manage performance? Use the Competency Modeling section of People Performance Management as your source of information.

Briefly describe a current project in your work environment. Identify the execution or implementation plan, along with key controls while linking the impact of people-management tools such as those studied during December, (conflict, performance, motivation, communication, etc.) to the plan.

If you were in a position to do so, what changes would you propose to make in the launching of projects after learning these tools? How would these changes affect the performance outcome of the project?

3. Developing an Effective Risk Management Plan (2-3pages)

Risk Identification and Risk Analysis: Provide an example of an effective risk assessment plan that includes the three critical areas, identification, categorization (cost, scope, schedule) and management. This plan should be representative of a large-scale project in your organization that would benefit from this tool.

Please ensure that we receive your complete report no later than April 25, midnight.

Jim Joiner

972-883-2652