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SD Times
December 2021
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tify strengths and weaknesses, instill trust, and eventually coalesce into a team. The purpose of team building exercises is to shorten the time it takes to turn a crowd into a team. A good team building exercise can start, if not achieve, that in as little as an afternoon. Team building exercises can be complex, requiring a large indoor space, considerable props, and overseen by outside behavioral experts; or as simple as an hour or two spent in a conference room with an HR trainer. In both cases, the participants are asked to work with others on small and ideally amusing tasks that demonstrate the benefits of working together. In addition, the hopefully fun nature of the exercise, will generate a sense of camaraderie and familiarity among the participants. Team building exercises have successfully built team esprit de corps or group spirit through simple shared experiences. Formal team building exercises work well at the beginning of the project. Mid-project pizza parties, softball games, laser tag, and Friday night “programmer meetings” at a local pub, can contribute to a well-oiled team. 3. Challenging individual tasks. Each team member should be assigned unique challenging tasks. One of the project manager’s most important jobs is staffing — assigning team members to project tasks. For many project managers staffing consists of two components: (1) examining the task to be performed and (2) finding someone who can do the job. Sort of plugging work holes with people. But there is more to staffing than that. Project managers also need to (3) be aware of the individual’s personality and work history (too heavy, too many boring tasks, not in the team members skill set, etc.) and assign work based on team member personal dynamics as well as skills. And don’t forget development needs. Some tasks should be dead set in the individual’s strike zone — what they do best. But other tasks should stretch the individual, to learn new skills or expand existing ones. Every project has boring and workaday tasks that need to be completed.
Managers should ensure that these less popular tasks are evenly distributed among team members. No one should be assigned only boring tasks or only the more popular or challenging ones. 4. Measure, evaluate, and communicate each team member’s performance. The performance of every team member should be objectively assessed and feedback provided to the team member. In these modern times, project managers are very familiar with HR. There was a time when the personnel department was only involved in hiring and benefits. Now there are a whole range of HR activities that involve the project manager. Have a problem worker? Well HR will require that you document the poor behavior or work. Detailed documentation is necessary before formally chastising or firing a worker. But the good worker? Well HR’s folder on him or her is much smaller. The fact is we spend far more time on the problem child than on the good one. This is a grave disservice to the good worker. Every team member should know exactly what his or her team leader and project manager thinks of their work. This evaluation should be objective and conveyed to the team member in a timely manner. It is of little use if their only assessment is at the end of the project. The team member should have sufficient time to correct deficiencies and improve performance before the project ends. 5. Recognize individual work. IT loves praising work. We have done our share to keep the tee-shirt, coffee mug, and mousepad industry in business. Every milestone — project kickoff, first
system test, starting beta etc. — involves another tchotchke. However, users and IT management praise usually stops at the team level. Individual praise is less common. No one is suggesting that you praise mediocre performance. This is not summer camp where everyone wins a trophy. However, there is a lot of good work going on between star performer and deadbeat. The yeomen on the team should be recognized for their individual contributions and given a little pat on the back for their achievements. You don’t need to award a tee-shirt, but you should recognize individual contributions. Praise is good but can be overdone. The operative word is more recognition than praise. Individual team members should feel that project management knows who they are, what they do, and their contribution to the project.
Fungibility: The reality of the situation First, fungibility and its associated concepts of person-month and full time equivalent, are useful when estimating the work required to complete a project. However, their value diminishes significantly once the project starts. Actual team members and actual team size are not fungible. Keeping the fungibility notion alive after project planning can be a costly mistake. Second, recognizing the causes of the fungible fallacy can help the project manager mitigate them, even if they cannot be eliminated. When to use fungible concepts, attention to team structure and size, and the proper treatment of staff can go a long way to minimizing the fungible fallacy. z
