Scholarly Library for the University of Bedfordshire: Project Management

Introduction

As part of the presentation the group worked on planning the project of constructing a new scholarly library for the University of Bedfordshire. During the planning of the project, all the key principles of project management were observed and the main stages of the project implementation were described. In particular, various activities were planned in accordance with the life cycle of the project, their time frames were determined, the roles of the project team members were distributed, and a resource allocation plan was developed. The greatest focus in the group work was placed on the distribution of project roles and the participation of the project manager in the success of the project.

This report describes individual experiences related to the principles of building and managing project teams, as well as choosing an approach to team management, obtained during the work on a group project. The report presents the project’s network diagram, activity list, a sample of completeness, and resource acquisition management plan. Further, the role of the project manager and project roles is critically discussed, the approach to building and managing a team, and an assessment is made of the lessons learned during the work on the project.

Project Time Management

Tab. 1: Activity list with each activity allocated to an individual project team member

Tab. 2: Samples of completeness

Discussion on Project Roles and the Role of Project Manager

Successful completion of the project requires the active collaboration of all members of the project management team under the control of the project manager. This project involves the participation of the project manager, stakeholders, team leads, team members, quality assurance specialists, and finance controller. Each of the members involved in the execution of the project must fulfil its role in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to them. The project manager “is the project boss that ensures that the objectives of the project are achieved within a given schedule, budget, and scope” (George, 2018, p. 189). Thus, one of the primary tasks of the project manager is the effective management of the human resources of the project to achieve its goals. Gasemagha and Kowang (2021) underline that depending on the nature of the project being performed, the role of the project manager may also vary. In addition to achieving the three core values ​​(time, quality, and cost), the project manager must also adhere to project task standards and strive to meet stakeholder expectations.

The project manager has a direct influence on the success or failure of the project, which requires certain skills and competencies. Darkazanli (2021) presents a list of six key responsibilities of a project manager, including planning, organizing, leading, monitoring, communicating, and managing risks. These competencies allow the project manager to effectively distribute tasks within the project team to achieve the project goals in the allotted time. It is also important that the tasks of the project manager include leading, which implies the coordination of activities, interpersonal communication, and decision-making. As part of monitoring, these skills allow the project manager to effectively track progress, identify emerging obstacles, and make necessary adjustments. Darkazanli (2021) also notes that the main activity of a project manager within the framework of project execution is communication with project team members and stakeholders. Thus, the main role of the project manager is the distribution of resources for the execution of the project, ensuring their interaction to achieve the task. The coordination and support of the members are part of human resource management, which is one of the most significant components for the successful completion of a project.

The project manager is the centre of the project team, which links all the elements necessary to complete the project. George (2018) also notes that the priorities of the project manager also include minimizing costs and improving the quality of the project through effective management. The researcher notes that in order to work on a project successfully, a manager must have technical, administrative, leadership stress management, communication skills, as well as sensitivity (George, 2018). With regard to the coordination of human resources, the manager needs to be aware of the relationship between team members, as well as the attitude of team members to certain tasks. Communication and sensitivity are the basis of the project manager’s activity, which requires the distribution of tasks not only in accordance with the tasks and necessary skills but also by taking into account the opinion of the team members.

With regard to other project roles, it is important to note that the coordination provided by the project manager is essential for the successful achievement of the project objectives. In particular, the members of the various teams also need a team leader who is the go-between from the team members to the project manager. This position allows reducing the number of activities required for the project manager to perform and leaves direct communication with team members to another specialist. The distribution of leadership, as well as providing individual teams with greater decision-making opportunities, allows for better project performance (Wu and Cormican, 2021). Shared leadership is also associated with increased team viability, which is “the potential of teams to retain its members and to keep the good team functioning over time” (Wu and Cormican, 2021, p. 9). The presence of a team leader allows team members to avoid conflict situations and experience greater satisfaction due to increased autonomy.

Team members are the main resource for project success, as they provide key resources in the form of skills and competencies. Additionally, Oh and Choi (2020) note that the intellectual resources of pre-project teams have a significant impact on effective project funding and resource allocation. Oh and Choi (2020) also emphasizes that the competencies and skills of the team members play a key role in the successful completion of the project. Shared leadership allows teams to more actively use their intellectual resources by coordinating with the project manager in critical situations, which allows for improving the quality of the project. Thus, the successful completion of the project requires the collaboration of team members, communication within it and with its leader, as well as effective interaction with the project manager.

Approaches to Team Building and Team Management

The project life cycle includes four essential stages of project development, which allow you to break down the overall goals of the project into a number of achievable tasks. The life cycle stages of a project include:

1. Initiation comprises the conceptualization of the project idea after identifying a business need, problem, or opportunity. This is typically done in the form of a proposal or a business case. This is then evaluated to decide whether it is feasible to proceed or not. If the project is approved, there is the assignment of the project manager and teams, which take the project to its next phase.
2. Planning, which breaks the project deliverables into smaller tasks, including project plans, schedules, budgets, etc.
3. Execution is the longest phase of the project, which involves the action of following processes that aid in achieving project deliverables, managing teams, monitoring time frame and budgets, managing quality, and ensuring proper communication to all appropriate channels.
4. Closure happens when all project deliverables have been completed, and all the smaller goals are achieved. The remaining tasks in this phase involve completing final deliverables, cancelling supplier contracts, releasing staff and equipment, documenting project performance and lessons learned and informing stakeholders of project closure.

The most logistical way to build a team is by creating an organizational structure taking into consideration the project phases. These would include specific roles such as project manager, project teams, financial stakeholders, procurement officers, quality management experts, and human resource managers. Team role personalities are the concept that is equally important in terms of project management as team roles. In the current project, Belbin’s Team Role theory is used, which determines that nine specific behavioural attributes are most effective when facilitating team progress (Belbin, 1981). This approach is chosen as teams filled with similar types of personalities can be limiting and unbalanced in regards to personal and professional strengths and weaknesses. Belbin’s theory allows building a team using Belbin’s Personality Tests to determine and assign the most qualified applicants.

Belbin’s Team Role theory suggests nine role behaviours:

1. Resource investigator, who is an enthusiastic extrovert with a talent for networking. These can help to bring new business opportunities as well as stakeholders from customers to financers.
2. A team worker is skilful at getting a team to function well together through adaptability, problem-solving skills, and general overall support.
3. The coordinator aids a team in accomplishing objectives through identifying special talents and strengths and delegating them effectively.
4. Plant supports the team in creativity and innovation in a way that brings growth and progress.
5. Monitor or Evaluator aids the team in more rational and factual thinking, which results in strategic planning.
6. Specialists are team members with their specific speciality, such as quality control specialists, and are vital for the provision of technical knowledge.
7. Shaper aids teams in overcoming challenges by enhancing motivation and productivity.
8. The implementer supports the team in being organized and extremely structured.
9. Completer or Finisher aids the team in performing quality assurance and precision of tasks.

Team building should be based on the presence of representatives of all nine roles in the project team. It is also necessary to form working groups based on the skills and competencies of team members that could complement each other. For example, specialists must be supported by shapers, planters, implementers, and coordinators in order to be able to use their specific knowledge and skills within the project.

Team management is the next stage after team building, which allows you to organize the work of the formed teams on the project. Research has shown the importance of Human Resource (HR) Strategies in team management (Snell, Shadur & Wright, 2000). These are strategies that improve organizational culture, relationships, employee satisfaction, productivity, and overall competitive advantage, which allows for better project outcomes.

In the current project, the following HR strategies are utilized:

1. Employee process orientation ensures a clear understanding of roles, which is beneficial for team efficiency.
2. Employee onboarding helps in achieving higher employee engagement, retention, satisfaction, and talent awareness.
3. Employee performance evaluations for improvement allow the manager to identify problems in the performance of teams and individual members to adjust their responsibilities or develop additional competencies.
4. Seminars for improvement such as communication, cultural awareness, and sensitivity help in providing better interpersonal interaction within and between teams.

Within the framework of this project, it is also necessary to create specialized teams that could provide better planning and monitoring of project activities by the project leader. These would include:

1. Crisis and risk management team.
2. Research team to research similar past projects to review their successes and failures.
3. Research team to monitor and evaluate current events that may affect the project (SWOT analysis etc.).
4. Communication head team to accurately report information.

As a management theory for the project, Taylorism was chosen as the primary approach. Taylorism, also known as Scientific Management, is a process that analyses workflows with the main objectives of improving efficiency and productivity, not by ensuring that employees work as diligently but rather by making the processes and operations as effective as possible (Locke, 1982). This was chosen as it has shown massive benefits such as enhanced and more controlled production, minimization of mistakes and risk, employee relational improvement, and overall best use of resources (Hossain and Uddin, 2015). These aspects are also consistent with Belbin’s Team Role and HR strategies applied in the framework of the project.

Lessons Learnt from the Project

The most significant concepts that were presented within the framework of the project are the practical principles for applying the theoretical concepts of project management. First of all, the project allowed to acquire a broader knowledge about creating a project schedule and allocating tasks to team members. The most important thing in this regard is also to take into account the individual professional characteristics of the team members, as well as their relationships, in order to create an effective workflow. The project manager cannot ignore the principles of human resource management and should pay attention to all related aspects. In particular, in order to form effective teams for working on a project, it is necessary to ensure smooth communication both within teams and between them. This requires the project manager to also work on developing the communication skills of all members of the project team, as well as granting more autonomy.

The most significant factor I learned about working in a group when planning this project was the importance of conflict management and leadership. There should always be a person in the group who acts as a mediator of emerging disagreements, evaluates the positions of the parties, and makes the most effective decision. Without the presence of consolidated conflict management, for example, in the person of a group leader, it is impossible to achieve coordinated work. The leader in this situation must show not only his authority but also evaluate the members of the conflict in the context of the situation that has arisen. This knowledge can also be useful for me as a project manager, as I am aware of how negatively unresolved conflicts can affect the success of a project.

Individual learning during the work on the project mainly allowed to better master the theoretical concepts, consider their practical application, and also develop better communication skills. The use of various project management models working on this project allowed me to master all stages of project planning. Particularly important was the stage of describing team building and team management, as it required me to apply extensive theoretical knowledge. At this step, I managed to structure the available information and better understand how it is possible to apply it in the framework of real projects.

Conclusion

As part of the group work on the construction project of a new scholarly library for the University of Bedfordshire, it was possible to put the theoretical knowledge of the principles of project management into practice. The most important aspects of this project were the consideration of the role of the project and the role of the project manager, as well as approaches to team building and management. The most significant lesson I have learned from working on this project is the need for communication both within and between teams. It is also important that I learned the principles of distribution of roles for effective work on the project, as well as the responsibility that the project manager bears for the successful completion of the project. Group work allowed me to feel like part of a team, which is key when working on large projects. Teamwork and its effective organization is the basis for the successful completion of the project, and the leadership of the project manager is necessary to ensure collaboration and distribution of tasks.

Reference List

Belbin, M. (1981) Management teams. London; Heinemann.

Darkazanli, W. (2021) ‘The project manager role: management or managing?’, PMO for the Urban Development Department, pp. 1-8.

Gasemagha, A. A. and Kowang, T. O. (2021) ‘Project manager role in project management success’, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(3), pp. 1345-1355.

George, C. (2018) ‘Unravelling the critical role of project manager in project management success’, International Journal of Science and Research, 9(3), pp. 189-194.

Hossain, F. and Uddin, N. (2015) ‘Evolution of modern management through Taylorism: an adjustment of Scientific Management comprising behavioural science’, Procedia Computer Science, 62, pp. 578-584.

Locke, E. (1982) ‘The ideas of Frederick W. Taylor: an evaluation’, The Academy of Management Review, 7(1), pp. 14-24.

Oh, M. and Choi, S. (2020) ‘The competence of project team members and success factors with open innovation’, Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(3), pp. 1-16.

Wu, Q. and Cormican, K. (2021) ‘Shared leadership and team effectiveness: an investigation of whether and when an engineering design teams’, Frontiers in Psychology, 11, pp. 1-12.