Developing the Project Team 759

Developing the Project Team

The followi ng exercises are presented here:

Exercise 8.1 : Directing and Managing Project Execution

Exercise 8.2: Acquiring the Projecr Team

Exercise 8.3: Developing the Project Team

Exercise 8.4: Communicating with the Team and Resolving Conflicr

Exercise 8.5: Decid ing on In formation Distribution

Exercise 8.1 : Directing and Managing Project Execution

The objectives for Exercise 8 .1 are as follows:

Describe seven inputs into the Direct and Manage Projecr Execution process.

Describe the Executing processes that are integrated into the Direct and Manage Project Executing process.

Describe the tools and techniques of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process .

Background h 's show time! You planned a flawless project, and you baselined the schedule, the quality plan, and the budget . Now it's time to start working based on the plan you created . This is the beginning of projecr execution. During execution, you will face corrective actions, pre­ventive actions, change requests, and defect repairs . You also have to validate defecr repairs and, finally, administrative closure. \'Vith these inputs (and those you create during execu­tion), you now execute the plan.

The Direct and Manage Project Execution process is part of the Integration Management Knowledge Area . During this process, you will integrate the other Executing processes, such as quality assurance, team development, information distribution, and contract administration.

This phase of the project will exercise all your talents as a project manager. The tools and techniques used in this process are critical to your success. In this exercise, we will cover each of the tools and techniques used to execute the project and bring it to successful completion.

Direct and Manage Project Execution Tools and Techniques

The two tools and techniques used to successfully execute a project are project management methodology and project management information systems.

Project management methodology This all-encompassing term describes the process used by the project management team to execute the project . This methodology covers the following types of items:

Day-to-day management of the tasks that produce the project objectives

Team, training, and resource acquisition management

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Project deliverable verification and validation

Proiect risk management

Baseline change management

Proiect performance data collection and corrective action management

As part of using this tool and technique, you will also hold lessons learned sessions as needed and then document and apply the findings .

Project managemem information systems (PMIS) A PM IS is any manual or software pro­gram that helps the project manager collect, analyze, and integrate information about the project.

Using these tools and techniques facilitates the production of the project's deliverables and enables pro ject managers to deliver the objectives of the project as chartered .

Outputs of Direct and Manage Project Execution

Outputs of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process are the project deliverables. They are, after all, the reason the project was initiated in the firs t place .

Additional outputs are the result of actions taken while managing project execution :

Requested changes Any inquiry intended to expand, reduce, or otherwise change the scope of the project after it has been approved or baselined

Implemented change requests An inquiry that requests a change to the scope of the project and that has been accepted and implemented

Implemented corrective actions Any activity undertaken to get the project back on track if actual results vary from the plan

Implemented preventive action Specific activities that the project team undertakes to reduce the consequences of project risks

Implemented defect repairs Repairs completed to ensure that project product, service, or result meets project quali ty standards

Work performance information Any status information gathered to monitor project execmion

In this exercise, you will test your knowledge about directing and managing the execution of the project as you help the Sensational Advertisement Productions company.

Scenario Pam Rosenbaum of Sensational Advertisement Productions (SAP) contacted you looking for help with managing the cell phone project execution . While using her spreadsheet software to prepare project task assignments, Pam found that some tasks are being worked on out of sequence. She also found that work is being done that is outside the project scope. And, she is having difficulty maintaining project quali ty. The team is ma king the same mista kes over and over again .

Pam is the account manager for a telecommunications dient's important new product: a cell phone that integrates the latest video functions right into the phone. T he new service will be priced competitively with cell phone services that don't include video. The accou nt has a

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project manager for each of the sales campaigns: Michael Harland for print, Judy Arakawa for TV, and Joseph Matumbo for telemarketing. Each of these project managers works one-on-one with marketing managers within the telecommunications company. Their telecommunications counterparts provide direction and approval for the project work. Pam acts as the project man­ager for the account, coordinating the campaigns and tracking the schedule and budget.

You know that Pam faces some real challenges managing project execution because of the way SAP, the telecommunications client, and the project are organized . You also know that project execution tools and techniques are available to hel p Pam successfully lead the project to completion.

Testing Your Knowledge of Directing and Managing Project Execution Use your project management expertise and your knowledge of the cell phone project to answer the following questions and help Pam solve her project execution management problems:

1. What are the seven inputs for Direct and M anage Project Execution?

2. What tool and technique of Direct and Manage Project Execution needs to be put into place to help Pam manage the sequence of project work and control work to keep it within the scope of the project?

3. What general project management term could you use to describe Pam's task assignment software spreadsheet?

4. What aspect of the project management methodology might Pam employ to correct dif­ficulties the team is experiencing with repeating the same mistakes over and over again?

5. What are the seven outputs of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process?

Exercise 8.2: Acquiring the Project Team The objectives for Exercise 8.2 are as follows:

Describe the five inputs of Acquire Project Team.

Describe the four tools and techniques of Acquire Project Team.

Describe the steps of negotiating for project staff.

Background Acquire Project Team is a key process for completing the human resource management pro­cesses. In the Acquire Project Team process, the project manager gathers the following inputs:

Enterprise environmental factors

O rganizational process assets

Roles and responsibilities

Project organization cha rts

Staffing management plan

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The project manager also uses four tools and techniques to put the project staff into place:

Negotiations

Pre-assignment

Virtual teams

Acquisition

You'll examine each of these in this exercise.

Negotiations

Negotiating is one of the skills every successful project manager must ha ve. It is heavily used during the Acquire Project Team process . To get the right people fOf your project, you will need to have a negotiating strategy. Here are four steps you can use to ensure effective staff negotiations :

1. Identify YOUf target team .

If you could have the best people for YOUf project, who would rhey be? Analyze your WBS and examine the staffing requirements outlined in your staffing management plan . Deter­mine the right person fo r each task. Have a fallback plan. Identify one or two people who also could perform the task, even if they are not as desirable as your first choice.

2. Identify potential barriers to getting your target team .

You need to understand why you may not be able to get the right people for your proj ect. Examine the following possibilities :

Availability of the people you want Jose is your top candidate for Task 62. Jose is con­stantly sought after for pro jects because of his expertise and work ethic. Consider the strategy you will use if Jose is not availa ble when you need him .

Your relationship with the functional manager You havefoundJose's boss, Mary,difficult to work with. How can you work with her to come to a win-win solution that will benefit both your project and Mary?

Your autho rity as a project manager Organizations give project managers different levels of authority to run their projects. For this project, do you have the authority to staff the project? How strong are your influencing skills?

Your organization structure Organizations can be functional or projectized, with many variations in between . Functiona l organizations have clear reporting relationships, where staff members usually report to one supervisor no matter what project work they are doing. Projectized organizations support project work . Most staff are doing project work and report to one or more project managers. Projectized organizations tend to provide more authority to project managers. Think about your organization's structure. How will that structure help or hinder your ability to get the right resources?

3. Build your negotiation strategy.

Spend a little time building your negotiating strategy. Determine your requests and fall­back strategies to use if you cannot get your requests filled. Understand enough about the

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ba rriers you face to know what wil! help (or hinder) your position. Determine the best approach to negotiate for the staff you need to successfully complete the project.

4 . Negotiate for your project team .

Start negotiating for the most critical staff first. If you are able to get them assigned to your project, you might not need your first-choice candidates for other, less important positions. Negotiate your way through your dream list until all of your positions are filled .

Pre-assignment

The second tool and technique of the Acquire Project Team process is pre·assignment . Pre­assignment describes a situation in which a project has certain positions staffed when the project is initiated . This can happen if

there is only one resource available who can fill a specific position,

the project was "sold" with staff predefined, or

staff are defined in the charter for the project.

Virtual Teams

As technology advances, the use of virtual teams for successful projects increases . It is no longer imperative to completely co-locate the project team because of advances in electronic communication, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing.

Acquisition

The last tool and technique of Acquire Project Team process is acquisition-how you acquire outside resources for your project team . We will not spend any time on this subject here. We cover procurement extensively in other exercises .

Scenario You are ready to begin staffing Afforda ble Sweeping's Operation : NFL project. You were hired to manage the up-and-coming property maintenance company's contract to prepare the local NFL stadium for the current football season . You need more than 100 people to com­plete the project. Your team leads and subteam leads will be employees of Afforda ble Sweep· ing. Subcontractors will provide the other workers . You are concerned about getting the right people for the project. Affordable Sweeping has many contracts, and most of the people you need are already assigned to other projects. Given these prior staff commitments, you know you will need to use every skill, tool and technique, and every bit of expertise you have to appropriately staff Operation: NFL.

Testing Your Knowledge of Acquiring the Project Team Use your knowledge of the Operation : NFL project, Affordable Sweeping, and project man­agement to answer the following questions and prepare for staffing negotiations:

1. What are the five inputs to the Acquire Project Team process?

2. What are the four tools and techniques of staff acquisition?

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3. Name the four steps for negotiating for project staff.

4. When the contract for Operation: NFL was signed, Bill was named to lead the outside maintenance team. This is an example of what tool and technique of staff acquisition?

5. How will Affordable Sweeping's organizarional strucrure influence your ability to acquire the project team?

Exercise 8.3: Developing the Project Team The objecti ves for Exercise 8.3 are as follows:

Describe the Develop Pro ject Team process.

Describe the six tools and techniques of team development.

Describe when team development techniques should be utilized.

Background Develop Project Team is one of two human resource management processes that are performed in the Executing process group. (The other is Acq uire Project Team, which we just covered.) Develop Project Team prepares the project rea m (Q work rogether and create the project deliv­erables. It continues throughout project execution facilitating good working relationships. The team development process has six tools and techniques:

General management skills

Team-building activities

Reward and recognition systems

Co-location

Ground rules

Training

We will discuss each of these tools and techniques, as well as how 10 decide when each should be used.

General Management Skills

Hundreds of books describe general management ski ll s. These skills cover communication, managing, and team development, among other things. Proj ect managers utilize all of these skills and more while developing the project team.

Team -Building Activities

Team-building acti vi ties are planned activities that facili tate working together effectively. As with the 1001 and technique of genera l managemem skills, a substantia l body of literature has been published on Ihis subject. Project managers need to be aware of the types of activities available. You can become acq uaimed with them through the li terature. For now, it will suf­fice to know that team-building activities can be as simple as a group lunch or as complex as

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daylong, facili tated sessions. Project managers should use team-building sessions at three points in the team development process:

Initiation As soon as the project team is assembled, begin team-building activities. Be sure to

devote sufficient time to the team-building work at this stage. These activities will serve as a foundation to move the team through progressi ng stages of development.

New team members Anytime a new team member joins a project, the dynamics of the team change. Project managers need to be aware of the effects of adding new staff. It might be nec­essary to incorporate more team-building activities in the work plan.

Conflict Conflict is normal and desirable on projects. It allows the team to resolve problems and find the right solutions for successful project completion . At times, though, conflict lasts longer than necessary and becomes a detriment. This might be a time to use team-building techniques to resolve the conflict and bind the team into a better-performing group .

Reward and Recognition Systems

The reward and recognition tool and technique describes measures you will use as incentives for outstanding performance . Design your reward and recognition systems at the beginning of the project. Communicate the plan to the team members so they understand "what is in it for them." The key to a reward and recognition system is doing what you promise. If you prom­ised a da y off for extra work, be sure to let the person have the day off. The first time you do not reward as you said you would, the system will be destroyed because no one will trus t it. If this happens, you need to redesign the incentives and apply the new system.

Co-location

Another tool and technique of team development is co-location . Co-location physically moves team members into d ose proximity for the duration of the project . This is intended to facilitate team development and interaction. If it is impossible for the team to be located together, the project manager needs to find other ways to fac ilitate team interaction . Co-location, when used, should be established at the beginning of the project and continue throughout project execution as resources leave and new resources are added .

Ground Rules

Ground rules allow team members to establish dear expectations for how they are to work together. The meeting where this discussion occurs should be facilitated by the project man­ager, and each team member should be encouraged to participate. Once the ground rules are established, each team member is accountable for adhering to them . This technique should be established early in the project and reinforced during the Execming processes.

Training

The last (but certainly not least) tool and technique of the Develop Project Team process is training. T raining enhances the team management or technical skills . If team members attend training together, it also can be a type of team-building activity. \'Vhen core competencies are missing, training should be completed at the beginning of the project. Additional training can be provided later in the project when specific needs arise.

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In this exercise, you'll spend some time analyzing project team development techniques.

Scenario You've acquired the staff needed for Affordable Sweeping's Operation: NFL project. You were hired to manage the up-and-coming property maintenance company's contract to prepare the local NFL stadium for the current football season. You'll have more than 100 people on the project team. Your team leads and subteam leads are employees of Affordable Sweeping. Other team members are subcontractors.

You face some real challenges building your team. Affordable Sweeping has several offices throughout the city. You moved all team and subteam leads into the same office. You arranged a tour of the stadium for the entire team, followed by lunch. At lunch, team members intro­duced themselves and explained their role on the project.

After working together for several months, team members are still uncomfortable working together. You just found out that the groundskeepers and turf preparation teams, known for their constant bickering, are behind schedu le. You know that you must meld these disparate individuals into a real team if they are to work together and finish the project in time for the firs t game. It's time to decide which team development tools and techniques to use-and when.

Testing Your Knowledge of Developing the Project Team Use your knowledge of Operation: NFL and the tools and techniques for developing a project team to answer the following questions and prepare your team to work together:

1. Develop Project Team is performed during what phase of a project?

2. What are the six primary tools and techniques of Develop Project Team?

3. Which Develop Project Team tool and technique did you use when you moved the team and subteam leads into the same office?

4. The stadium tourlteam lunch is an example of what primary tool and technique of the Develop Project Team process?

5. What tool and technique of the Develop Project Team process would you use to resolve conflicts between the groundskeeper and turf preparation teams and keep the project on schedule? Why?

Exercise 8.4: Communicating with the Team and Resolving Conflict The objectives for Exercise 8.4 are as follows:

Identify communication forms and listening skills.

Learn and practice some conflict resolution methods.

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Background To prepare yourself to manage team communication, start by understanding how you use var­ious forms of communication (including listening) to provide information to and receive infor­mation from you r team_ Your communication skills can make the difference between a team that passes important information openly and quickly and one where members hold back, using information as a weapon . And even if you use communication skills expertly, you will still have conflict on your project. Conflict is a natural part of a project. Team members who do not understand their roles clearly, inadequate resources, and differing opinions all can become areas of contention .

Communication

One model of communication is based on the theory that senders encode messages and receivers must decode them . Using the terms of the model, the sender formats the message to be sent (encoding it in a way that can be decoded by the receiver). Perhaps the most important lesson you can learn from this model is that there must be feedback : you, as the sender, can't assume that everyone understands the information you send out as you intend it to be understood. Receivers must also own some responsibility for understanding the message. The receiver needs to confirm their understanding of the communication .

During the sending and receiving of a message, noise (introduced by garbled communication or distance) can get in the way of clear communication . The receiver, in this case your team member, might "filter" your message (another form of noise) and perceive it with a mind-set learned by culture, language, or emotions. So, it is their duty to describe what they perceive and yours to confirm their understanding or clarify the communication so the message you intended can be received effectively.

Important items need to be communicated often . People usually can't get (and retain) the point the fi rst time you present new information . That's why commercials play over and over again-the media has figured our that messages aren' t understood the first time. You as a project manager need to remember it too. Important information, such as milestones, quality expectations, changes, the project goals, or job expectations, must be repeated .

You also need to understand the forms of communication-formal and informal---so you can use them in the appropriate situations. And you will (consciously or unconsciously) make decisions about the form your communications take. Should your message be communicated verbally (on the phone or face to face ), graphically (pictures, graphs, or charts), using body language (facial expressions or gestures), or in writing (electronic or hard copy). The decision depends on the situation . Become aware of your communication habits . Perhaps you frown while you are listening intently. Some will interpret this as disapproval, even though you might be just listening hard . You might need to change that habit to have a more open look on your face . And as a project manager, you need to fine-tune your listening skills . Practice active lis­tening (keep an open mind while listening---don't spend the time formulating responses in your head), eye contact, and other gestures that show interest (such as nodding). Make it a habit to recap what is said and discourage interruptions .

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Conflict Resolution

In addition to practicing communication skills, you will get the chance to practice connict res­olution. People narurally want to avoid conflict, so as a project manager, you need to actively encour3ge problem solving whenever possible for conflict situ3tions. The PMBOK Guide describes five conflict resolution methods:

Forci ng Using this method, one person forces their point of view on another to resolve a problem. The solution is usually imposed by someone with authority. It resolves the conflier, at least temporarily, but those on the receiving end might cOlllinue to harbor issues.

Smoothing Smoothing emphasizes agreement or choosing to ignore the disagreement. This is a temporary solution because no one has worked through the disagreement or thoroughly resolved the issue. The issue might resurface.

Compromise This method allows those who disagree to reach some level of satisfaction. Each party gives up something. This method allows grudging agreement. However, compromise might result in a permanent solution because everyone makes a commitment to the resolution . Unfortunately, there might be a better solution that was never considered because each team member held such strong convictions about " their" solution.

Withdrawal When withdrawal is used to resolve conflict, one of the parties avoids conflict by leaving or 3voiding the issue. Project managers need to watch for these siru3tions. You might need to initiate discussions to keep the team working to resolve the issue. This is one of the least effective methods for conflict resolution because no one wins and the problem continues..

Problem solving (confrontation) This method involves getting to the bottom of the issue and resolving it to everyone's satisfaction. Usually, you use the problem-solving techniques (anal­ysis, alterna ti ves review, recommendations) and finally, based in bct, reach the best sol ution. This is the best W3y to resolve conflict.

Hy consciously considering the va rious methods for dealing with conflict and facilit3ting solutions, you will be performing one of you r most import3nt roles as a project m3nager.

Planning and M anaging Team Communications

Knowing that communication, feedback, and conflict resolution afe such important compo­nents of maintaining an effective project team, you will want to keep the following in mind when planning and managing your team and its acrivities:

Take an inventory of your communication skills, and develop your listening skills. Prac­tice active listening regularly.

Think 3bout the types of communication you can use and decide how you will use them. You will probably W3nt to use verbal communication in status meetings and discuss issues informally, but to record the decisions, you will want to include them in 3 written report.

Study and understand the methods of resolving conflict. When you resolve an issue with a method other than problem solving, be sure that you understand why the alternate method was used and the possible consequences.

Practice conflict resolution using the problem-solving method whenever possible.

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Scenario You are working with Bill Smith, project manager for an independent, nonprofit organization, Health America, that is creating repons on the status and quality of hospital health care in the United States . Your task as a project management expert is to introduce Bill to communication methods and techniques he can employ as he manages this very complex, highly visible project. The research and reporting started about two years ago. The reports analyze major hospitals, rating whether they are achieving specific goals identified by the president of the United States. The Department of Health and Human Services (H HS) is your client and requires up-to-date information about budget and project status.

Bill works for Karen Pa lmer. She wants to make sure that project management methodologies are applied to this pro ject. Jeremy Checks, a peer of Karen's, thinks that project management is a waste of time. Jeremy hopes the project will turn sour and that project management will be the cause. Several other team members, including Kate Sullivan and Edward Salazar, believe that project management practices will hinder their ability to get work done. Bill is expected to intro­duce project management techniques and methods throughout the course of the project .

Over the past month, Bill has had the follo wing communication and conflict resolution interactions with his team:

He sent an email message to his project team telling them that there will be a review of the latest research findings next Monday at 10 a .m.

He met with Kate Sullivan to discuss issues that led her to believe, based on what she's finding, that she cannot produce the report about the quali ty of pre-op procedures .

He listened to Jeremy Checks complain. Jeremy found out that some of his employees (members of Bill's team) will be spending a couple of days in project management train­ing. He doesn't like this all-the time spent on training won't help them get their work done. He said the team members are complaining to him already.

He met with Kate Sullivan and Edward Salazar. Kate and Edward disagree about the best method for collecting data for one of their reports . Kate thinks the data can be collected using email and an Internet survey. Edward said he knows that at least 20 percent of the hospital staff will respond only to traditional mail. They need to resolve the data collec­tion issue and obtain information about each hospital's use of peer reviews for com plex operations on patients.

Testing Your Knowledge of Communicating with Teams and Resolving Conflict Review Bill's communication and conflict resolution interactions over the past month and, using your project management expertise, answer the following questions:

1. When Bill sent his research review email, who was the sender? What was the message? What was being encoded? Who was the receiver? What was being decoded? What are some of the filters the team members might have used as they read the message?

2. What are some of the listening techniques Bill could employ during the meeting to con­vince Karen that he is interested in helping her find a solution to her difficulties producing the pre-op procedure quali ty report?

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3. Which conflict resolution method should Bill use to resolve the staff training issue with Jeremy? Why?

4. What conflict resolution method should Bill use to help facilitate a solution and allow Kate Sullivan and Edward Salazar to resolve their emai l versus traditional mail data col­lection conflict?

Exercise 8.5: Deciding on Methods of Information Distribution The objectives for Exercise 8.5 are as follows:

Identify the forms of project information that should be distributed.

Identify information retrieval systems.

Identify the ways that information can be distributed.

Decide on methods of information distribution for your project.

Background You created a communications management plan during the planning process, and during the execution process, you will distribute information using your plan. The Information Distri­bution process has the following outputs:

Lessons learned documents

Project records

Ilroj ect reports

Proj ect presemations

feedback from stakeholders

Stakeholder notifications

Requested changes

Make sure you think about these outputs and how you will distribute them as you plan your communications. For instance, you should pla n for lessons learned documents to be created and distributed at the end of each phase of your project. You will decide when and how you will distribute them-will yo u send email or publish to a project website? (We dis­cuss lessons learned documentation in more detail in Exercise 11.2, "Closing a Project or Phase, Including Contract Close. H)

Once you determine who needs to receive your communications and know something about their needs, you will be able to decide what in formation to distribute and how to distribute it. You might begin with an inventory of the information you can create. The list is almost endless and could include any of the following: status/progress reports; escalations; issues; risks and risk response plans; quali ty standards; project processes and standards; contracts; change requests; scope statements; a team directory; the work breakdown structure, schedu le, or budget and their variances; requirements; specifications; user guides; test plans; reports; the project char­ter; responsibility and organization charts; lessons learned documents; and the projcct plan.

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Next, you will decide how to distribute the information . You might choose to use email mes­sages, written memos, formal or informal meetings, presentations (including charts and graphs), conference calls or videoconferences, websites, instant messaging, videos, TV, press releases, faxes, voicemail, articles, brochures, announcements, phone calls, and speeches.

Not only do you need to think about how yOll push information to your team or other stakeholders, you also need to consider the way your team or stakeholders will pull infOfllla ­tion when they need it. Do you store all your information on a website or in an electronic data­base? Do you store it in project management software files, in an electronic directory, or as hard copy in a file cabinet or notebook? Some of these decisions will be based on the need for archiving files and corporate policies.

The decisions about how and when information is distributed might be based on how often and how formal the information needs are, your organization's capabilities, your team members' skills, confidentiality, and need to know. Do people need information updated frequently, or can they wait for a week? If your team is not trained in reading and using a project schedule, you might need to find a form simpler than a Gantt chart for communicating status and progress. Or you might need to provide project management training for the team so they can read and inter­pret a Gantt chart.

What's more, you must match the information to the audience and provide it at the rigbt time. You might find you need to design two kinds of status reports: a detailed report for the team that includes tbe status of eacb person's deliverables for the week and a high-level report for executives that provides an overview of major deliverables, budget, and escalations. The format for each might be entirely different so that al though the team sees tbe detailed schedule, executives see only a bigh-level milestone report .

Last but not least, you need to decide how you can get information to people when they request it outside the regularly scheduled times or when stakeholders have special requests for information you don't usually provide. In other words, you need to create an information distribution strategy. The following lists some guidelines for creating an infomlation distribution strategy:

Decide the major forms of communication for the various audiences and types of infor­mation . For instance, you might create a written status report for use by the team and your immediate management and communicate a less detailed version of the information verbally in presentations for executives. You might hold informal meetings to communi­cate issues and updated scbedules to your team and produce executive summary memos for those outside the team .

Decide which technology or metbod to use to dis tr ibute the information : email, Internet, written memos, or a directory structure on the network .

Decide how often you will distribute different forms of information. You might start forming a matrix that will eventually be completed in a communications plan .

Let the team members know where all the information is, where they can put their infor­mation, and bow they can get information when it's needed.

In this exercise, you will belp Health America decide on the various methods tbey will use to distribute information for the project.

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Scenario You continue you r work with Bill Smith, project manager for an independent, nonprofit orga­nization, Health America, that is creating reports on the sta tus and qua lity of hospital health care in the United States. Your task as a project management expert is to introduce Bill tocom­munication methods and techniques he ca n employ as he manages this very complex, highly visible project. The research and reporting started about two yea rs ago. The reports analyze major hospitals, rating whether they arc achieving specific goa ls identified by the president of the Uni ted Srates. Karen Palmer, Bill's boss, and her peer, Jeremy Checks, arc very interested in implementing project management processes, although Jeremy is skeptical.

In preparation for creating the communications management plan, Bill is thinking about all of the kinds of information he's creating and the tcchnologies Health America has to usc. Health America relics on email for communication, uses the Web to gather information, and provides a shared network drive for file storage. You will help him decide on his information distribution strategy so he is more consistent in comm unicating with the team and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which must be kept up-to-date on the budget and project statllS.

As you lalk with Bill, he makes you aware of some of the comm unication issues he faces :

Bilt has been receiving some calls from several national news agencies asking about the new program.

HHS needs up-to-date information on the budget and pro ject slatus regularly.

The project learn has been doing research and crea ting the reports for two years now. Some team members are storing their find ings on the shared drive; some are nOI. 0 one knows where all of the files are.

Several team members use email for team communication daily; olhers check email infre­quently and use email messages for team communication even less frequently.

Testing Your Knowledge of Deciding on Information Distribution Consider how you, as a project managemem expert, should advise Bill, and then answer the queslions thai follow:

1. What kinds of information would you recommend that Bill Smith distribute?

2. What are some methods you would recom mend that Bill use 10 distribute information at Health America?

3. After consulting with you, Bill has decided to distribute a status report to the team, to

Healt h America executi ves, and to HHS. He will also create press releases and provide status on an external website that only hospitals ca n access. How often do you think he should issue or update each of these, and why?

4. \Vhen someone needs information in between sta tus reports, how would you recommend thai Bill sel up the information so they can get it ?

5. Hill will be training the team next week about how often to expect information and where to store project information. Will this training be enough for the team? What should Bill do to follow up on this training?