Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Human Resource Management

Human Resource Management







Definition


Human resource Management is a groups of processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with the project.


Processes


The Project Human Resource Management processes include the following:



  • Human Resource Planning

  • Acquire Project Team

  • Develop Project Team

  • Manage Project Team




Human Resource Planning


Planning, identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships to individuals or groups.



  • Individuals and groups may be part of the organization performing the project or may be external to it.


  • Internal groups are often associated with a specific functional department, such as engineering, marketing, or accounting.



Human Resource Planning process is a part of "Project Planning Phase".




(1) Human Resource Planning - Inputs



(1.1) Enterprise Environmental Factors:The definition of project roles and responsibilities is developed with an understanding of the ways that existing organizations will be involved and how the technical disciplines and people currently interact with one another.


(1.2) Organizational Process Assets : Templates and checklists reduce the amount of planning time needed at the beginning of a project and reduce the likelihood of missing important responsibilities.


(1.3)Project Management Plan: The project management plan includes the activity resource requirements, plus descriptions of project management activities, such as quality assurance, risk management, and procurement, that will help the project management team identify all of the required roles and responsibilities.







(2) Human Resource Planning - Tools & Techniques



(2.1) Organization Charts and Position Descriptions : Various formats exist to document team member roles and responsibilities. Most of the formats fall into one of three types



  • Hierarchical-type charts: The traditional organization chart structure can be used to show positions and relationships in a graphic, top-down format.


  • Matrix-based charts: A responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) is used to illustrate the connections between work that needs to be done and project team members. RACI is an example of RAM.


  • Text-oriented formats: Team member responsibilities that require detailed descriptions can be specified in text-oriented formats.



(2.2) Networking: Human resources networking activities include proactive correspondence, luncheon meetings, informal conversations, and trade conferences


(2.3) Organizational theory : Body of literature describing how an organization can, and should be structured.







(3) Human Resource Planning - Output



(3.1) Role and responsibilities : The following items should be addressed addressed when listing the roles and responsibilities needed to complete the project:



  • Role: The label describing the portion of a project for which a person is accountable.


  • Authority: The right to apply project resources, make decisions, and sign approvals.


  • Responsibility: The work that a project team member is expected to perform in order to complete the project.s activities.


  • Competency: The skill and capacity required to complete project activities.



(3.2) Organization Chart : A project organization chart is a graphic display of project team members and their reporting relationships.


(3.3) Staffing Management Plan: The staffing management plan, a subset of the project management plan describes when and how human resource requirements will be met.





Acquire Project Team


Acquire Project Team is the process of obtaining the human resources needed to complete the project.


Staff Acquisition process is a part of "Project Execution Phase".




(1) Acquire Project Team - Input



(1.1) Enterprise Environmental Factors: Project team members are drawn from all available sources, both internal and external. When the project management team is able to influence or direct staff assignments, characteristics to consider include:



  • Availability: Who is available and when are they available?


  • Ability: What competencies do people possess?


  • Experience: Have the people done similar or related work? Have they done it well?


  • Interests: Are the people interested in working on this project?


  • Cost: How much will each team member be paid, particularly if they are contracted from outside the organization?



(1.2) Organizational Process Assets : One or more of the organizations involved in the project may have policies, guidelines, or procedures governing staff assignments


(1.3) Roles and Responsibilities : Roles and responsibilities define the positions, skills, and competencies that the project demands.


(1.4) Project Organization Charts: Project organization charts provide an overview regarding the number of people needed for the project

(1.5) Staffing Management Plan: The staffing management plan, along with the project schedule, identifies the time periods each project team member will be needed and other information important to acquiring the project team.






(2) Acquire Project Team - Tools & Technology



(2.1) Pre-Assignment: Staff have been assigned because they were promised in the proposal or were defined in the project charter (e.g. internal projects).


(2.2) Negotiations : With Functional Managers or other project management teams; to ensure receiving needed resources when required.


(2.3) Acquisition : When the performing organization lacks the in-house staff needed to complete the project, the required services can be acquired from outside sources.


(2.4) 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.







(3) Acquire Project Team - Outputs



(3.1) Project Staff Assignments: Appropriate people have been assigned to work on the project full-time, part-time, or variably, based on project needs.


(3.2) Resource Availability : Resource availability documents the time periods each project team member can work on the project.


(3.3) Staffing Management Plan updates: As specific people fill the project roles and responsibilities, changes in the staffing management plan may be needed because people seldom fit the exact staffing requirements that are planned.





Develop Project Team


Team Development involves



  • Enhancing the ability of stakeholders to contribute as individuals.


  • Enhancing the ability of the team to function as a team.



Team Development process is a part of "Project Execution Phase".




(1)Develop Project Team - Input



(1.1) Project Staff Assignments: Team development starts with a list of the project team members. Project staff assignment documents identify the people who are on the team.


(1.2) Staffing Management Plan : The staffing management plan identifies training strategies and plans for developing the project team.


(1.3) Resource Availability: Resource availability information identifies times that project team members can participate in team development activities.






(2) Develop Project Team - Tools & Techniques



(2.1) Team-building activities : Actions taken to improve team performance. (e.g. Outward bound)


(2.1) General Management Skills: Interpersonal skills sometimes known as .soft skills,. are particularly important to team development


(2.2) 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.


(2.3) Team-Building Activities: Team-building activities can vary from a five-minute agenda item in a status review meeting to an off-site, professionally facilitated experience designed to improve interpersonal relationships.


(2.4) Ground Rules: Ground rules establish clear expectations regarding acceptable behavior by project team members.


(2.5) Co-Location: Co-location 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.


(2.6) Reward and recognition systems : Formal management actions that promote or reinforce desired behavior. Clear, explicit and achievable.






(3) Develop Project Team - Outputs



(3.1) Team Performance Assessment: As development efforts such as training, team building, and co-location are implemented, the project management team makes informal or formal assessments of the project team.s effectiveness. The evaluation of a team.s effectiveness can include indicators such as



  • Improvements in individual skills


  • Improvements in team behaviors


  • Improvements in either individual skills or team capabilities






Manage Project Team


Manage Project Team involves tracking team member performance, providing feedback, resolving issues, and coordinating changes to enhance project performance.




(1) Manage Project Team - Inputs



(1.1) Organizational Process Assets: The project management team should utilize an organization.s policies, procedures,
and systems for rewarding employees during the course of a project.


(1.2) Project Staff Assignments: Project staff assignments provide a list of the project team members to be evaluated during this monitoring and controlling process.


(1.3) Roles and Responsibilities: A list of the staff.s roles and responsibilities is used to monitor and evaluate
performance.


(1.4) Project Organization Charts: Project organization charts provide a picture of the reporting relationships among
project team members.


(1.5) Staffing Management Plan: The staffing management plan lists the time periods that team members are expected to work on the project, along with information such as training plans, certification requirements, and compliance issues.


(1.6) Team Performance Assessment: The project management team makes ongoing formal or informal assessments of the project team.s performance.


(1.7) Work Performance Information: As part of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process, the project management team directly observes team member performance as it occurs.


(1.8) Performance Reports: Performance reports provide documentation about performance against the project management plan.







(2) Manage Project Team - Tools & Techniques



(2.1) Observation and Conversation: Observation and conversation are used to stay in touch with the work and attitudes of project team members.


(2.2) Project Performance Appraisals: The need for formal or informal project performance appraisals depends on the length of the project, complexity of the project, organizational policy, labor contract requirements, and the amount and quality of regular communication.


(2.3) Conflict Management: Successful conflict management results in greater productivity and positive working relationships.


(2.4) Issue Log: As issues arise in the course of managing the project team, a written log can document persons responsible for resolving specific issues by a target date.


(2.5) Staffing Management Plan: The staffing management plan lists the time periods that team members are expected to work on the project, along with information such as training plans, certification requirements, and compliance issues.


(2.6) Team Performance Assessment: The project management team makes ongoing formal or informal assessments of the project team.s performance.


(1.7) Work Performance Information: As part of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process, the project management team directly observes team member performance as it occurs.


(1.8) Performance Reports: Performance reports provide documentation about performance against the project management .







(3) Manage Project Team - Outputs



(3.1) Requested Changes: Staffing changes, whether by choice or by uncontrollable events, can affect the rest of the project plan.


(3.2) Recommended Corrective Actions : Corrective action for human resource management includes items such as staffing changes, additional training, and disciplinary actions.


(3.3) Recommended Preventive Actions: Preventive actions can include cross-training in order to reduce problems during project team member absences, additional role clarification to ensure all responsibilities are fulfilled, and added personal time in anticipation of extra work that may be needed in the near future to meet project deadlines.


(3.4) Organizational Process Assets updates: Lessons learned documentation and Input to organizational performance appraisals.


(3.5) Project Management Plan updates: Approved change requests and corrective actions can result in updates to the
staffing management plan



Last Moment Revision:



  • Concurrent Engineering: An approach to project staffing that, in its most general form, calls for implementers to be involved in the design phase. (Sometimes confused with fast tracking)


  • Functional Manager: A manager responsible for activities in a specialized department or function. (e.g., engineering, manufacturing, marketing)


  • Functional Organization: An organization structure in which staff are grouped hierarchically by specialty


  • Halo Effect is the assumption that because the person is good at a technology, he will be good as a project manager.


  • Line Manager: The manager of any group that actually makes a product or performs a service. ie. A functional manager.


  • Leadership Styles:



    • Directing: Telling others what to do


    • Facilitating: Coordinating the input of others


    • Coaching: Instructing others


    • Supporting: Providing assistance along the way


    • Autocratic: Making decisions without input


    • Consultative: Inviting ideas from others


    • Consensus: Problem solving in a group with decision-making based on group agreement




  • Matrix Organization: Any organizational structure in which the project manager shares responsibility with the functional managers for assigning priorities and for directing the work of individuals assigned to the project.


  • Organizational Breakdown Structure: A depiction of the project organization arranged so (OBS) as to relate work packages to organizational units.


  • Project Management Team: The members of the project team who are directly involved in project management activities. On some smaller projects, the project management team may include virtually all of the project team members.


  • Project Manager: The individual responsible for managing a project.


  • Project Team Members: The people who report either directly or indirectly to the project manager.


  • Projectized Organization: Any organizational structure in which the project manager has full authority to assign priorities and to direct the work of individuals assigned to the project.


  • Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RAM): defines who does what. The Staffing Management Plan defines when will people get added and removed from the project.


  • Team Conflicts: Conflicts in the team are caused due to the following reasons in decreasing order of occurrences.



    • Schedules


    • Project Priorities


    • Resources


    • Technical Opinions



    So the most common cause of conflicts in projects are issues related to schedules.


  • Problem Solving Techniques: There are standard conflict resolution techniques available to resolve conflicts. These are (from best to worst):



    • Problem Solving or Confrontation: (look at the facts, analyze them and find a solution). This is an example of win-win situation.


    • Compromising: (Find the middle route). This is an example of loose-loose situation.


    • Withdrawal or Avoidance


    • Smoothing (Emphasize the agreements)


    • Forcing :(Do it my way). This is an example of win-loose situation.



  • Project Manager's Power A Project Manager may yield authority over the project team in one of the following ways:



    • Referent - project team knows the PM


    • Formal Power - Power due to Project Managers position


    • Technical Power - Project Manager has strong technical skills in the projects domain.


    • Coercive Power - The project team is afraid of the power the Project Manager holds.



  • Organizational Theories: There are many organizational theories. Some of the main ones are - Expectancy Theory, McGregory Theory, Herzberg Theory, Maslow's Hierarchy of needs.


  • Expectancy Theory : People accept to be rewarded for their efforts. This is a motivation factor. People put in more efforts because they accept to be rewarded for their efforts.


  • McGregory Theory of X and Y : There are two type of employees. Employees of type X need to be always watched. They cannot be trusted and need to be micro managed. Employees of type Y, on the other hand, are self-motivated. They can work independently.


  • Herzberg Theory: Hygiene factors (salary, cleanliness etc.) if not present can destroy motivation. However good hygiene alone does not improve motivation. What motivates people is the work itself. The motivation factors for employees include responsibility, self-actualization, growth, recognition etc.


  • Maslow's Hierarchy of needs: There are various levels of needs for an employee. When a lower level is met, employee attempts to reach the next higher level. The maximum satisfaction is achieved when the employee reaches the highest level of satisfaction - self-fulfillment. These level of needs from the highest to lowest are:



    • Self-fulfillment


    • Esteem


    • Social


    • Safety


    • Physiology



  • War room: is a technique for team building. As part of this the project team meets in one room. It helps to create a project identity.



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