Revision Summary – HR Management

General

A project can deliver results by means of people performing work to translate scope into deliverables. The resource need estimated while developing the schedule is fulfilled and managed in the processes of this knowledge area. The human resources have to be organized as a team with specific roles and responsibilities identified. The project manager has to plan methods of acquiring the human resources, how they will be organized into a team and this is done as part of human resource management plan. This plan has to be put into action and the team has to be acquired which is carried out in the next process – acquire team. Once the team members are acquired through different means and assigned to specific roles, they have to be knit together into a team. This is done in the next process – develop team. Once the resources are formed into a team, the teaming has to be maintained through out the project and this is done in the next process – manage team.

Thus, planning the resource acquisition and team organization, acquiring the team, knitting them into a team and managing the team spirit that is built constitutes the crux of human resource management knowledge area.

Important ITTOs

9.1 Plan human resource management

Inputs

Activity resource requirements

Output of 6.4 – Estimate activity resources of time management KA

Tools and Techniques

Organization charts and position descriptions

Various diagrammatic or textual description of team structure indicating distribution of responsibilities among team members. Following are some examples:

  • Hierarchical charts that indicate roles and responsibilities along with reporting structure
  • Matrix based charts, also called Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM) are a grid structure that distribute different aspect of responsibility to specific roles and persons. RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult and Inform) matrix is a type of RAM.
  • Textual description of roles and responsibilities

Networking

Networking is the formal and informal interaction with others in an organization, industry, or professional environment. It is a constructive way to understand political and interpersonal factors that will impact the effectiveness of various staffing management options.

Organizational theory

Organizational theory provides information regarding the way in which people, teams, and organizational units behave.

Output

Human Resource management plan

A document that details out project organizational charts, staffing management plan (how many resources of what type, needed for how long and how they will be acquired). The staffing management plan can also be depicted diagrammatically as a resource histogram.

9.2 Acquire project team

Input

Human resource management plan

Tools and Techniques

Preassignment

When project team members are selected in advance, they are considered pre-assigned.

Negotiation

Staff assignments are negotiated on many projects. For example, the project management team may need to negotiate with Functional managers, to ensure that the project receives appropriately competent staff in the required time frame and that the project team members will be able, willing, and authorized to work on the project until their responsibilities are completed;

Acquisition

When the performing organization is unable to provide the staff needed to complete a project, the required services may be acquired from outside sources. This can involve hiring individual consultants or subcontracting work to another organization.

Virtual teams

Virtual teams can be defined as groups of people with a shared goal who fulfill their roles with little or no time spent meeting face to face.

Multi criteria decision analysis

Selection criteria are often used as a part of acquiring the project team. By use of a multi-criteria decision analysis tool, criteria are developed and used to rate or score potential team members. The criteria are weighted according to the relative importance of the needs within the team.

Output

 

Project staff assignments

The project is staffed when appropriate people have been assigned to the team. The documentation of these assignments can include a project team directory, memos to team members, and names inserted into other parts of the project management plan, such as project organization charts and schedules.

Resrouce calendars

Resource calendars document the time periods that each project team member is available to work on the project.

9.3 Develop project team

Input

Human resource management plan

Project staff assignments

Resource calendars

Tools and Techniques

Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills, sometimes known as “soft skills,” are behavioral competencies that include proficiencies such as communication skills, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, negotiation, influence, team building, and group facilitation. These soft skills are valuable assets when developing the project team.

Training

Training includes all activities designed to enhance the competencies of the project team members. Training can be formal or informal. Examples of training methods include classroom, online, computer-based, on-the-job training from another project team member, mentoring, and coaching.

Team building activities

Team-building activities can vary from a 5-minute agenda item in a status review meeting to an off-site, professionally facilitated experience designed to improve interpersonal relationships. The objective of team-building activities is to help individual team members work together effectively.

One of the models used to describe team development is the Tuckman ladder which includes five stages of development that teams may go through. These five stages are:

  • Forming
  • Storming
  • Norming
  • Performing
  • Adjourning

 

Ground rules

Ground rules establish clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members. Early commitment to clear guidelines decreases misunderstandings and increases productivity.

Colocation

Colocation, also referred to as “tight matrix,” involves placing many or all of the most active project team members in the same physical location to enhance their ability to perform as a team.

Recognition and rewards

Part of the team development process involves recognizing and rewarding desirable behavior. The original plans concerning ways in which to reward people are developed during the Plan Human Resource Management process.

Personnel assessment tools

Personnel assessment tools give the project manager and the project team insight into areas of strength and weakness. Examples include attitudinal surveys (sometimes called 360 degree feedback), specific assessments, structured interviews, ability tests, and focus groups.

Output

Team performance assessments

Team performance assessments can be formal or informal and include measurements on project objectives such as schedule variance, meeting quality levels and so on and on the team’s effectiveness objectives such as reduced attrition, increased motivation levels, improvements in competency and skill levels.

9.4 Manage project team

Input

Human resource management plan

Project staff assignments

Team performance assessments

Tools and Techniques

Observation and conservation

Observation and conversation are used to stay in touch with the work and attitudes of project team members (Informally monitoring team members and making them feel comfortable).

Project performance appraisals

Objectives for conducting performance appraisals during the course of a project can include clarification of roles and responsibilities, constructive feedback to team members, discovery of unknown or unresolved issues, development of individual training plans, and the establishment of specific goals for future time periods.

Conflict management

Resolution of conflict using some of the following styles:

  • Withdrawal / Avoid
  • Smooth / Accommodate
  • Compromise / Reconcile
  • Force / Direct
  • Collaborate / Problem solve

Interpersonal skills

Soft skills such as leadership, influencing and effective decision making that the PM should exhibit in order to manage the team effectively.

Outputs

None.

Summary

Highlights

  • Plan HR management starts after 6.4 – Estimate activity resources
  • The tools and techniques of HR management plan are important to note especially because they have certain abbreviations
    • RAM stands for Responsibility Allocation (Assignment) Matrix and RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult and Inform) is a type of RAM.
    • Roles and responsibilities chart is a main ingredient of HR Plan
    • OBS stands for Organization Breakdown Structure that indicates the departments or divisions within the project
    • RBS stands for Resource Breakdown Structure that specifies the type of resources needed and their numbers
  • Team acquisition can be done through pre-assignment (typically performed in projectized organization units), Virtual teams (globally distributed teams), Negotiation (loaning resources from functional groups / organization units) and acquisition (Recruitment from outside). The resources acquired thus are allocated to roles and project staff assignment is completed at this stage.
  • The assigned resources are then formed into a team and an important tool to be noticed for team formation is the Tuckman ladder.
  • Tuckman ladder defines the phases of the life of a team, which are Form, Storm, Norm, Perform and Adjourn.
  • Once a project manager inculcates a team spirit within the team, it has to be maintained through out the project duration and motivational theories and conflict resolution techniques come in handy at this stage.
  • Motivational theories
    • Maslow’s hierarchy, McGregors X and Y, Expectency, Herzberg’s theory
  • Conflict management styles
    • Withdrawal / Avoid
    • Smooth / Accommodate
    • Compromise / Reconcile
    • Force / Direct
    • Collaborate / Problem solve

Important dependencies

  • Hard
    • 4 (Estimate activity resources) to 9.1 (Plan HR management)
  • Soft
    • 1(HR management plan) to 7.2 (Estimate cost)

Process flows

  • Estimate activity resources (Activity resource estimates, RBS) à Plan HR Management
  • Plan HR Management(HR Management plan) à Estimate costs

 

 

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