Different Types of Evaluation Options
What are the different types of evaluation options for achieving project goals for both team-based and financial analysis?
According to Brown and Hyer (2010), the first evaluation type is process evaluation which is used to select the best project that delivers the best value at individual and project levels, based on the strategic goal and mission of the organization. It helps to determine project attributes such as productivity, organizational reach, degree of certainty, degree of complexity, expected outcomes, changes that need to be introduced and to assess whether project activities are on track (Heerkens, 2002). The second type is the impact or outcome evaluation which measures the extent to which the project is aligned to short-term and long term project goals based on project milestones and project success factors. Success factors include unfailing customer orientation and efficiency (Subramaniam, 2009). The underlying factors include physical and financial outputs, performance measures, time, operational, and cost factors. The third type is the summative evaluation. This option is for evaluating the project as a whole to determine project milestones, areas of success and failure, and whether to proceed with the project or not. It informs the project manager whether the project has made the impact it was intended for, project scope creep, the critical factors to be sustained, and emerging recommendations.
Portfolio Map
How does an organization benefit from having a portfolio map? Explain how this process continues to help the team reach its project goals.
Brown and Hyer (2010) argue that the portfolio map enables project managers to optimize investment decisions, assess, review, and ensure that the project remains on course and complies with the project goals. The PPM provides the project manager with the graphic and charting tools and techniques to identify project risks and to efficiently select and allocate resources to projects aligned to the strategic direction and enables a disciplined project selection process. The PPM framework enables managers to provide effective team governance, communication and helps identify the best approach to align project progress with the corporate strategy (Ciliberti, 2005). The PPM process enables managers to identify and change priorities, and establish the best approach to use to identify areas to introduce changes. PPM enables low-value projects to be easily identified and removed from the portfolio and new and existing projects to be aligned to the project goals. It provides a clear and comprehensive picture of the projects being undertaken, correctly ranks projects, accurate understanding of project progress, and correct identification and assessment of projects. It enables capacity planning, identification of existing opportunities and capacity planning, determination of return on investment, project performance and value assessment, and work scheduling (Ciliberti, 2005).
Teams
What are possible sources of conflict within a project team? What approach can a project manager use to keep the project on track and not be negatively impacted by such conflicts?
According to Brown and Hyer (2010), the sources of conflict include scope creep, communication breakdown, personality clashes, poor time management, lack of agreements on project goals, lack of understanding of project schedules, poor project priorities, and interpersonal issues. Project managers can manage conflicts within teams by identifying the root cause of the conflict to ensure that the conflict does not recur (Subramaniam, 2009). According to Brown and Hyer (2010), recommended conflict resolution methods include soothing, the give and take strategy, and the compromising situations technique, which compels interested parties to keep away from areas of conflict. According to Subramaniam (2009), the best approach to keep track of project progress includes using the principle of consistency to encourage people to debate on different sides of issues to encourage them to give their opinions about an issue that is causing conflicts, encouraging project team members to share different opinions about issues, and encouraging all sides to respect the opinion of others (Stanleigh, n.d). It is also important for the project manager to arbitrate between the parties engaged in a conflict by emphasizing the urgency to resolve the conflict, and the benefits of a conflict-free environment (Holahan & Mooney, 2004).
Motivation
Why is it important to keep the project team motivated? In your experience, what factors have been implemented to keep a team motivated? What benefits did you see as a result of these motivating factors?
Brown and Hyer (2010) argue that it is important to keep the project team members motivated to ensure team synergy, improved creativity and productivity, shared technical expertise, personal learning, and organizational development, and increased motivational energy. A motivated team will learn how to reduce the time required to make corrections, avoid errors, and work efficiently together. Motivated team members seek the best methods to improve processes and procedures and reduce overlapping work. It is possible for a team to generate different ideas that can make positive contributions to the success of a project. Brown and Hyer (2010) argue that motivated teams encourage members to work harder to achieve project goals and objectives by improving the working environment (Lewis, 2006). The factors that motivated team members include clear goals, strong customer orientation, better communication mechanisms, clear roles and responsibilities, satisfactory management support, and effective leadership. A motivated team builds confidence in members which leads to job satisfaction and trust among team members. Research by Lewis (2006) shows that team member who trust the project manager easily commit to the decisions and actions arrived at as a team. Team members should focus on making achievements that reflect collective results (Kerzner, 2009).
References
Brown, K. A., & Hyer, N. L. (2010). Managing projects: A team-based approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Ciliberti, R. (2005). Using project portfolio management to improve business value. Web.
Heerkens, G. (2002). Project Management. New York: McGraw-Hill
Holahan, P., & Mooney, A. (2004). Conflict in project teams: Gaining the benefits, Avoiding the costs. Current Issues in Technology Management, 3 (8), 1-8. Web.
Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. New York: Wiley & Sons.
Lewis, J. (2006). The Project Manager’s Desk Reference. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Stanleigh, M. (n.d). Optimize organizational performance. Dealing with conflict in Project teams. Web.
Subramaniam, A. (2009). Project portfolio management, holistic approach to Manage strategic initiatives. Web.