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Managing Project Teams (Lin & Huang, 2020) …………...………….…….
A Project Team is an organized group of people who are involved in
performing shared/individual tasks of the project as well as achieving
shared/individual goals and objectives for the purpose of accomplishing the
project and producing its results. The team consists of the full-time and part-
time human resources supposed to collaboratively work on producing the
deliverables and moving the project towards successful completion. The
construction process of the project team is generally divided into four
phases:
• Formation Phase: It is the early phase of the organization. The
team members from all directions come to the team with different
kinds of ideas, some emotional, some too impatient to wait, some
hesitate. It is necessary for a project manager to organize the team
as soon as possible under such a psychological diversification and
encourage everyone to be settled down in mentality as soon as
possible.
• Puzzle Phase: When the team is set up, and the work is arranged,
the emotions of the team members will be confused, and some may
complain about the new work being inconsistent with their
expectations, some may cause a fluctuation of their mind because
of the promotion is unsuccessful. In all the situations, the project
manager needs to coordinate the various conflicts within the team
and properly figure out how to solve the problem properly.
• Normal Phase: When the puzzle phase is diverted, the team may
enter its normal phase. At this point, every member of the team has
defined their own tasks and responsibilities, understood the
resources that each one has at its disposal. During the normal
phase, the interrelationship among members of the team has been
improved. The entire team is in a normal working condition under
the encouragement and guidance of the project manager.
• Efficiency Phase: The whole team is in the phase of being able to
exert maximum efficiency. The team members are work together to
achieve mutual cooperation, mutual trust, and mutual
understanding.
The Role of the Project Manager………………………………………………
The Project Manager plays a primary role in the project and is responsible
for its successful completion. The manager’s job is to ensure that the project
proceeds within the specified time frame and under the established budget
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while achieving its objectives. Project managers make sure that projects are
given sufficient resources while managing relationships with contributors
and stakeholders. The characteristics that a project manager is should have
typically include:
• Activity and Resource Planning: A project manager is
responsible for formulating a plan to meet the objectives of the
project while adhering to an approved budget and timeline. This
blueprint will guide the entire project from ideation to fruition and will
include the scope of the project, resources necessary to complete
it, anticipated time and financial requirements, strategy for
communication among relevant stakeholders, plan for execution
and documentation, and proposal for follow-up and maintenance. If
the project has not yet gained approval, this plan will serve as a
critical part of the pitch to key decision-makers.
• Leading: An essential part of any project manager’s role is to
assemble and lead the project team. This requires excellent
communication, people, and leadership skills, as well as a keen eye
for others’ strengths and weaknesses. Once the team has been
created, the project manager assigns tasks, sets deadlines ,
provides necessary resources, and meets regularly with the
members. An ability to speak openly and frequently with all
stakeholders is critical. The project manager should be able to
inspire his team members to devote themselves fully to the project
work.
• Communication Skills: The project manager should be a capable
person to coordinate work and communicate with each other, and
he/she must be able to effectively contact all the stakeholders and
organizations involved in the project. The project manager must
keep abreast of the actual progress of the project and communicate
and report to the owners and superiors timely and regularly. The
project manager must pay special attention to the views of the
owner and the superior for adjusting the implementation of the
project according to these opinions timely.
• Execution: The project manager will participate in and supervis e
the successful execution of each stage of the project. Again, this
requires frequent, open communication with the project team
members and stakeholders.
• Time Management: Staying on schedule is crucial to the
successful completion of any project. Time management is,
therefore, one of the key responsibilities of a project manager.
When derailments arise, project managers are responsible for
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resolving them and communicating effectively with team members
and other stakeholders to ensure the project gets back on track.
Project managers should be experts at risk management and
contingency planning so they can continue moving forward even
when roadblocks occur.
• Budget Handling: Good project managers know how to keep a
project within its set budget. Project managers are tasked with
devising a budget for a project and then sticking to it as closely as
possible. If certain pieces of the project end up costing more than
anticipated, project managers will be responsible for moderating the
expenses and re-allocating funds when necessary.
• Ability to Work under Pressure: When the progress of the project
is lagging, and the cost is exceeded, or the project does not meet
the expectation of the owners, the project manager should have the
ability to bear and successfully relieve the pressure. The ability to
deal with changes in circumstances during the implementation of
the project takes the initiative to take responsibility in the event of
negligence during the implementation of the project so as not to hurt
their subordinates in the event. The project manager should be a
positive optimist, mentally healthy, and full of a sense of humor.
• Problem Solving: Project managers should also have a strong
ability to solve problems. They should be able to find out the
problems in advance rather than passively in a later encounter
because solving problems later often requires more time and effort .
Project managers should be able to deal with problems on time-
based on the use of communication channels and encourage team
members to work on their own schedule, reporting and asking the
project manager for assistance only on those key issues.
• Quick Reaction Ability: The project environment is full of
uncertainty, of which the only certainty is its uncertainty. The project
manager must have prompt response capability, and make
corresponding decisions promptly in case of complex project
changes, so as to reduce losses of the project and guide the project
smoothly out of the crisis. So, the project manager must be familiar
with every detail of the project so that the right decision can be
made instantaneously as the project environment changes.
• Documentation: A project manager must come up with effect ive
ways to measure and analyze the progress of the project to ensure
it is developing as planned. Some common strategies for
documenting a project include data collection and verbal and written
status reports. Further, it is a project manager’s job to make sure
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that all relevant actions are approved and signed off on and that
these documents are archived for future reference.
• Maintenance: Just because a project has been completed doesn’t
mean the work ends. There needs to be a plan for ongoing
maintenance and troubleshooting. That’s where a project manager
comes in: He or she will devise methods for properly supporting the
final deliverable going forward, even if he or she is not directly
overseeing the day-to-day operations of the initiative.
• Ensuring Customer Satisfaction: In the end, a project is only a
success if the customer is happy. One of the key responsibilities of
every project manager is to minimize uncertainty, avoid any
unwanted surprises, and involve their clients in the project as much
as is reasonably possible. Good project managers know how to
maintain effective communication and keep the company’s clients
up-to-date.
Project Management Process Groups (Schwalbe, 2019) …………………
The guidance in applying applicable project management knowledge and
skills to the project is done using the project management processes, that
consist of five (5) process groups:
• Initiating Process: The process of initiating helps to set the vision
of what is to be accomplished. This is where the project is formally
authorized by the sponsor, initial scope defined, and stakeholders
identified. Stakeholder identification is crucial here because correct
identification of stakeholders can literally make or break the project.
This process group is performed so that projects and programs are
not only sanctioned by a sponsoring entity but also so that projects
are aligned with the strategic objectives of the organization.
• Planning Process: After initiating, the project is planned to an
appropriate level of detail. A crucial element of planning is
establishing the total scope of the project. The main purpose is to
plan time, cost, and resources adequately to estimate the work
needed and to manage risk effectively during project execution. A
significant concept in planning is that the team is able to think the
whole project through in advance. So, they not only create a variet y
of plans but also consider all the things that might go wrong (risks)
and how they might respond to them. Outputs of the planning
process group include completing the project scope statement, the
work breakdown structure (WBS), the project schedule, and many
other items.
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• Executing Process: Naturally, the next thing to do after planning Project manager role (n.d.). Citing sources. Retrieved on February 2021 from
https://www.wrike.com/
is to execute, to do the work. The executing process group takes Project team (2021). Citing sources. Retrieved on February 16, 2021 from
the actions necessary to complete the work described in the https://mymanagementguide.com/
planning activities. The main outcome of this process group is Schw albe, K., (2019). Information technology project management (5th ed.). Cengage
delivering the actual work of the project. For example, if an IT Learning Asia Pte Ltd
project involves providing new hardware, software, and training, the
executing processes would include leading the project team and
other stakeholders to purchase the hardware, develop and test the
software, and deliver and participate in the training.
• Monitoring and Controlling Process: This is where you get back
on track, where you compare a plan to an actual action, measure
variance, and take corrective action. Monitoring and controlling
processes measure progress toward the project objectives, monitor
deviation from the plan, and take corrective action to match
progress with the plan. The ideal outcome of the monitoring and
controlling process group is to complete a project successfully by
delivering the agreed-upon project scope within time, cost, and
quality constraints. Monitoring and controlling processes overlap all
of the other project management process groups because changes
can occur at any time.
• Closing Process: From its name, it should be pretty obvious what
happens here. Not only do you formally close the project, but you
also get sign-off and acceptance from the customer. During the
closing processes, the project team works to gain acceptance of the
end products, services, or results and bring the phase or project to
an orderly end. Key outcomes of this process group are formal
acceptance of the work and the creation of closing documents, such
as a final project report and lessons-learned report.
___________________________________________________________
References:

Ensuring customer satisfaction (n.d.). Citing sources. Retrieved on February 16, 2021 from
https://activecollab.com/
Lin, S., & Huang, D. (2020). Project management under the internet era: How to respond to
challenging changes in the digital era. Springer.
Process groups. (n.d.). Citing sources. Retrieved on February 16, 2021 from
https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/
Project management institute. (2017). A guide to project management body of knowledge
(6th ed.). Project Management Institute, Inc.
Process management process groups. (2017). Citing sources. Retrieved on February 16,
2021 from https://projectmanagementacademy.net/
Project manager (2021). Citing sources. Retrieved on February 2021 from
https://www.villanovau.com/

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Project Communications Management (Schwalbe, 2019)
Project Communications Management includes the processes necessary
to ensure that the information needs of the project and its stakeholders are
met through the development of artifacts and implementation of activities
designed to achieve effective information exchange. Project
communications management consists of two parts: the first part is
developing a strategy to ensure communication is effective for stakeholders;
the second part is carrying out the activities necessary to implement the
communication strategy. (Project Management Institute, 2017)
The goal of project communications management is to ensure timely and
appropriate generation, collection, dissemination, storage, and disposition
of project information. There are three main processes in project
communications management:
• Planning Communications Management – It involves
determining the information and communications needs of the
stakeholders. It is the process of developing an appropriate
approach and plan for project communications activities based on
the information needs of each stakeholder or group, available
organizational assets, and the needs of the project. The key benefit
of this process is a documented approach to effectively and
efficiently engage stakeholders by presenting relevant information
in a timely manner. The outputs of this process include a
communications management plan, project management plan
updates, and project document updates.
• Managing Communications – It is the process of ensuring timely
and appropriate collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval,
management, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project
information. The key benefit of this process is that it enables an
efficient and effective information flow between the project team
and the stakeholders. The main outputs of this process are project
communications, project management plan updates, project
documents updates, and organizational process assets updates.
• Monitoring Communications – It is the process of ensuring the
information needs of the project and its stakeholders are met. The
key benefit of this process is the optimal information flow and the
stakeholder engagement plan. It determines if the planned
communications artifacts and activities have had the desired effect
of increasing or maintaining stakeholders’ support for the project’s
deliverables and expected outcomes. The main goal of monitoring
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communications is to ensure the optimal flow of information
throughout the entire project life cycle. The main outputs of
monitoring communications are work performance information,
change requests, project management plan updates, and project
document updates.
Enhancing Team Communication (Schwalbe, 2019)
There are various methods for improving project communications:
• Developing Better Communication Skills: Some people seem to
be born with great communication skills. Others seem to have a
knack for picking up technical skills. It is rare to find someone with
a natural ability for both. Both types of skills, however, can be
developed. Communication skills training usually includes role-
playing activities in which participants learn concepts such as
building rapport. Training sessions also give participants a chance
to develop specific skills in small groups. Sessions that focus on
presentation skills typically use video to record the participants’
presentations. Most people are surprised to see some of their
mannerisms and enjoy the challenge of improving their skills. A
minimal investment in communication and presentation training can
have a tremendous payback to individuals, their projects, and their
organizations.
• Running Effective Meetings: A well-run meeting can be a vehicle
for fostering team building and reinforcing expectations, roles,
relationships, and commitment to the project. Many people
complain about the time they waste in unnecessary or poorly
planned and poorly executed meetings. The following guidelines
can help improve time spent at meetings:
o Determine if the meeting can be avoided: Do not have a
meeting if there is a better way to achieve the objective at
hand. Instead, an e-mail or phone call describing the
situation and justifying the request is a faster, more
effective approach than having a meeting.
o Define the purpose and intended outcome of the
meeting: Be specific about what should happen as a result
of the meeting. Make the purpose of a meeting very clear
to all meeting planners and participants.
o Determine who should attend the meeting: Many
meetings are most effective with the minimum number of
participants possible, especially if decisions must be made.
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Other meetings require many attendees. It is important to
determine who should attend a meeting based on its
purpose and intended outcome.
o Provide an agenda to participants before the meeting:
Meetings are most effective when the participants come
prepared. Insisting on an agenda forces meeting
organizers to plan the meeting and gives potential
participants the chance to decide whether they need to
attend.
o Prepare handouts and visual aids ahead of time: By
creating handouts and visual aids, you must organize
thoughts and ideas. This usually helps the entire meeting
run more effectively.
o Run the meeting professionally: Introduce people,
restate the purpose of the meeting, and state any ground
rules that attendees should follow. Have someone facilitate
the meeting to make sure that important items are
discussed, watch the time, encourage participation,
summarize key issues, and clarify decisions and action
items.
o Set the ground rules for the meeting: State upfront how
the meeting will be run. Don’t assume that all meetings are
run in the same way. Do what works best in each specific
case.
o Build relationships: Depending on the culture of the
organization and project, it may help to build relationships
by making meetings fun experiences.
• Using Various Technologies Effectively: Even if people do know
when to use e-mail or other tools for project communications, they
also need to know how to use the tools. The following guidelines
can help you use e-mail as a more effective communication tool:
o Be sure to send e-mail to the right people: Do not
automatically “reply to all” on an e-mail, for example, if it is
not necessary.
o Use meaningful subject lines in e-mails: It is to make
sure readers can quickly see what information the message
contains. If the entire message can fit in the subject line,
put it there. Also, do not continue replying to an e-mail
thread when the subject has changed without changing the
subject line.
o The body of the e-mail should be as clear and concise
as possible: Use as few words as possible while
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maintaining a clear and friendly tone. If three questions
need to be answered, number them as questions 1, 2, and
3 and put each on a separate line.
o Limit the number and size of e-mail attachments: If you
can include a link to an online version of a document
instead of attaching a file, do so.
o Delete e-mail that you don’t need to save: Do not even
open an e-mail that you know is not important, such as
spam. Use the e-mail blocking feature of the software, if
available, to block unwanted junk mail.
o Make sure to have virus protection: Be sure that the
virus protection is up to date. Never open e-mail
attachments if you do not trust the source.
o Respond to e-mail quickly: It will take you longer to open
and read the e-mail again later. In addition, if you send an
e-mail that does not require a response, make that clear as
well.
o File message appropriately: Create folders with
meaningful names to file the e-mail messages you want to
keep. File them as soon as possible.
• Using Templates for Project Communications: Many intelligent
people have a hard time writing a performance report or preparing
a 10-minute technical presentation for a customer review. Some
people in these situations are too embarrassed to ask for help. To
make it easier to prepare project communications, project
managers need to provide examples and templates for common
project communications such as project descriptions, project
charters, monthly performance reports, and issue logs. Good
documentation from past projects can be an ample source of
examples. Samples and templates of both written and oral reports
are particularly helpful for people who have never had to write
project documents or give project presentations. Below is a sample
template for a brief project description:
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messages or e-mail. Many students text or tweet their friends to plan social
activities or discuss academic topics.
These same technologies can enhance project communications. Many
project management software products also provide the following tools to
enhance communications:
• Portfolio Management: By providing a centralized and
consolidated view of programs and projects, the user can evaluate
and prioritize activities across the organization. Portfolio
management is the selection, prioritization, and control of an
organization’s programs and projects, in line with its strategic
objectives and capacity to deliver. The goal is to balance the
implementation of change initiatives and the maintenance of
business--as--usual while optimizing return on investment. This
feature makes it possible to maximize productivity, minimize costs,
and keep activities aligned with strategic objectives.
• Resource Management: Maximizing human resources is often the
Figure 1 key to minimizing project costs. Resource management is
acquiring, allocating, and managing the resources, such as
Figure 1 shows a sample template for a brief project description. This form individuals and their skills, finances, technology, materials,
could be used to show a snapshot of an entire project on one page. For machinery, and natural resources required for a project. Resource
example, top managers might require that all project managers provide a management ensures that internal and external resources are used
brief project description as part of a quarterly management review meeting. effectively on time and to budget. This feature enables the user to
A project description should include the project objective, scope, maximize resource use across the organization to help plan and
assumptions, cost information, and schedule information. This template manage the workforce effectively.
suggests including information from the project’s Gantt chart to highlight key • Project Collaboration: Sharing project information is often a
deliverables and other milestones. haphazard endeavor. Project collaboration enables an organization
to share knowledge immediately and consistently to improve
Using Software to Enhance Project Communications (Schwalbe, 2019) communications and decision making, eliminate redundancies, and
take advantage of best practices for project management. Project
Several products are available to assist individual consumers and collaboration is a method by which teams and team leaders plan,
organizations with communications. Many products were developed or coordinate, control, and monitor the project they are working on.
enhanced in recent years to address the issue of providing fast, convenient, This collaborative process works across departmental, corporate
consistent, and up-to-date project information. Many organizations use and national boundaries and helps especially with projects as they
SharePoint or similar products for document management and storage and grow in complexity.
tools like Skype for video conferencing. Screen sharing software like Zoom
can also improve communications. Webcasts are now a common tool for
presenting video, graphics, sound, voice, and participant feedback live over
the Web. Podcasts and YouTube videos have also become popular tools
for providing various types of audio and video information, from exercise
instructions to class lectures. Most working adults and students have cell
phones that they use to take and send pictures or send and receive text

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References:

Lin, S., & Huang, D. (2020). Project management under the internet era: How to respond to
challenging changes in the digital era. Springer.
Portfolio management. (2020). Citing sources. Retrieved on March 8, 2021, from
https://www.apm.org.uk/
Project collaboration. (2021). Citing sources. Retrieved on March 8, 2021, from
https://www.projectmanager.com/
Project management institute. (2017). A guide to project management body of knowledge
(6th ed.). Project Management Institute, Inc.
Resource management. (2020). Citing sources. Retrieved on March 8, 2021, from
https://www.apm.org.uk/
Schwalbe, K., (2019). Information technology project management (5th ed.). Cengage
Learning Asia Pte Ltd

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