Project Management Monday ~ PM Soft Skills

April 26, 2010

Your First Stop for PM Information

PPMO Internal Pages:

https://www.cmu.edu/computing/ppmo/

Initiating Your Projects

Managing Your Projects

Project Lifecycle
Initiate Plan Execute & Control
Track & Control Project Request In TD Detailed Project Plan Project Introduction Meeting Regular Project Reviews Regular Status Reporting Project Closing: Lessons Learned

Close

Communications (Internal & External) Stakeholder Management Risk & Issue Management

Definition of PM Soft Skills*

More like an art Focuses on communications, teamwork, negotiation, and conflict management Working with and managing people on a project (as opposed to the science of PM Hard Skills using processes, tools, and techniques)

* Accommodating Soft Skills in Software Project Management by Sukhoo, Barnard, Eloff, Van der Poll, and Motah
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Delegating Work to People I Dont Manage

How do I delegate project work to someone who doesnt report to me?

Communications
90% of a project managers job Explain your needs; listen to response Negotiate versus dictate

Flexibility and Creativity

1:1 conversation before project team kickoff Adapt to individual personality differences
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Handling Schedule Changes

Whats the best way to communicate schedule changes to the project team?
(Project) Change Management
Set expectation for change from the start Define project change process at kickoff Be ready to deal with resistance

Stress Management
Provide as early notice of changes as possible Help team set priorities using triple constraints
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Asking for Time from a Resources Boss

Who tells the boss that I need more time on my project from her staff?
Conflict Management
Project lead has the responsibility; ask for help from sponsor if needed Try to prevent irreconcilable situations that could prohibit future working relationships

Time Management
Easier to re-negotiate resources and schedule if you have an existing project plan
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Project Team Communications

Why doesnt this project team member respond to my email?

Team Building
Clarity of roles and responsibilities at kickoff Nothing replaces face-to-face in 1:1 and meetings

Organizational Effectiveness
Define communication methods from the start Shared understanding of project team culture
risk taking response turn-around
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Expectations of the Project Team

What am I doing wrong? The project team doesnt know what I expect!
Leadership
Motivate the team by clarifying your expectations Self-awareness of your own leadership style Use adaptive style to address variety of situations

Trustworthiness
This is an impeccable quality for project manager Encourage project team to be open and honest
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Using Soft Skills in TeamDynamix

Status Comments
Monthly status update by project lead Viewable in TeamDynamix beyond project team

Announcements
Messages to project team Try using humor! Project lead indicates team members to receive in email Whole project team can view in TeamDynamix

Issues Log (5/10/10 PM Monday topic!)

Track problems, assign owners, resolve issues Project lead indicates team members to receive in email Whole project team can view in TeamDynamix
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We can help!

PPMO team resources available for:

General questions and advice
Facilitation of planning, kickoff, reviews, lessons learned sessions PM Mentoring and Consulting Team Dynamix technical support:

team-dynamix@andrew.cmu.edu

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