info 638lecture #61 software project management team management and project closeout info 638 glenn...
TRANSCRIPT
INFO 638 Lecture #6 1
Software Project Management
Team management and project closeout
INFO 638Glenn Booker
INFO 638 Lecture #6 2
Managing a Team
One of the key powers of management is to create organizational structures Doing so poorly can sabotage the best
personnel before the project starts But with good organization, even
ordinary people can produce good products
INFO 638 Lecture #6 3
Project vs. Functional Managers
The Project Manager is responsible for the whole project’s successful completion
The Functional Manager (Wysocki’s term) is the person responsible for staffing the project, and matching people’s skills to the project’s requirements
INFO 638 Lecture #6 4
Project vs. Functional Managers In common terms, the functional
manager (FM) might be a manager of people with a particular skill set, e.g. database analysts or interface designers
Whereas the project manager is responsible for using the people “owned” by the FM to get a given project done
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Motivation
Motivation is a key ingredient to baking a good team (ouch, lousy analogy)
Just like the director of a play doesn’t control the actors once they take the stage, the PM and FM can only set up good conditions for a team to work well (ok, that’s better)
Another key contribution to a team’s success is their motivation
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Motivation
Key for a good manager to recognize is that different things motivate different people And what motivates one person might
change over time One person might be thrilled to get an
award for their contribution to a project, another might prefer a check, and a third might want an extra two days vacation
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Motivation
The big motivational factors for most people are: Opportunity for achievement Opportunity for advancement
Might include technical supervision Recognition Increased responsibility The work itself
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Motivation
The environment in which you work is considered hygiene factors, which don’t contribute directly to motivation, but could detract from it
The hygiene factors are Company policies and practices, working
conditions, your management, interpersonal relations, job security, and salary
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Motivation
An aside – many people would put salary as their first motivational factor
These factors are based on landmark 1959 study by Frederick Herzberg Maybe nobody needed money as much
back then?
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Management and Motivation
Many of the motivational factors can’t be controlled by a first line manager
Key for managers to focus on are Provide challenging work Recognize your people’s work Design their job to provide a variety of
skills needed, clearly identifiable and significant tasks, allow autonomy, and provide feedback
INFO 638 Lecture #6 11
Recruiting a Team
Creating a great team is a challenging form of alchemy
You need the right blend of skills to get the job done, and yet balance other characteristics (e.g. personality, salary demands, etc.) to get a viable collection of people
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Recruiting a Team
Assuming you aren’t the PM, the key types of recruiting are for: The project manager Core team members (those drawn from
within your organization) Contract personnel (people hired just for
this project)
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PM Recruiting
The project manager typically needs to be brought on board very early in the project Like, before it starts
Key selection criteria include Relevant background experience
Yes, Brownie, it does make a difference!
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PM Recruiting Leadership and strategic expertise
The PM has to coordinate issues above the project level, so broader experience is important
Technical expertise Some believe a generic manager can
manage anything; in most technical fields, this isn’t true
Interpersonal experience Ability to plan, manage
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Core Team Recruiting
The core team consists of the people who will also tend to be with the project from start to finish
They are typically identified when the project scope is defined
They need to be balanced in terms of skills, especially if voluntary turnover is a problem
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Core Team Recruiting
Key characteristics include Commitment to the project Shared responsibility for project success Flexibility to do what’s needed Results-oriented Able to work with schedule & resource
constraints Trust and mutual support of the team
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Core Team Recruiting Must play nicely with others (a team
player) Open minded to alternative problem
solutions Able to work with everyone Able to use project software tools
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Contract Team Recruiting
Depending on the project, contract personnel may or may not be needed
Generally required when staffing and/or specific skills aren’t available in-house
Typically are called upon for a short period within the project
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Contract Team Recruiting
Key challenge is getting them up to speed quickly May need to monitor their work quality
Key characteristics include Skills needed Number of people When they are needed
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Contract Team Recruiting
Once staffing needs are identified, make a list of sources for personnel
Write and distribute a request for proposal (RFP), defining the needs
Evaluate the RFP responses Give best candidates a chance to
make a formal presentation Choose the source, and write contract
INFO 638 Lecture #6 21
Contract Issues Many management issues involve
contractual concerns A good resource with more detail is
On Time Within Budget, E.M. Bennatan, 3rd ed., ISBN 0-471-37644-2, Wiley, 2000.
The key contractual vehicles are RFI, RFP, and RFQ For zillions of examples, go to
www.firstgov.gov and search on those acronyms
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RFI – Request for Information An RFI is used to identify reasonably
well qualified vendors …and screen out unqualified ones
It outlines the general scope of an intended project or contract, and asks for potential vendors to prove they are qualified to work in that area
Qualified potential vendors then get an RFP or RFQ
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RFP – Request for Proposal
An RFP defines specific project needs and requirements, and asks potential vendors to tell how they would solve the problem presented, and give specific commitments for the time and effort to do so
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RFP – Request for Proposal
An RFP includes detailed criteria on how the vendors will be judged
A large RFP may have separate management, technical, and cost volumes
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RFQ – Request for Quotation Or “Request for Quote” An RFQ is used to get a bid or
quotation on a well known, common type of product E.g. office supplies, computer
components, etc. The main distinguishing feature of
bids is simply price; delivery schedule may also play a role
INFO 638 Lecture #6 26
Contracts
There are several types of contracts, depending on the complexity of the transaction Retainer Time & materials Time & materials – not to exceed Fixed bid Fixed price incentive fee
INFO 638 Lecture #6 27
Retainer
A retainer contract pays a certain fixed amount per month
Up to some defined amount of work can be expected per month; beyond that some hourly rate is set
Typically use retainer for very specialized skills from outside your organization
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Time & materials
Used for very vague scope contracts, a time & materials contract pays for the amount of effort expended on the contract Plus paying for material costs
The ‘not to exceed’ clause is to keep from getting billed way more than expected for a given set of tasks
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Fixed bid
A fixed bid puts the risk on the vendor – a given set of tasks will be accomplished for a set price
If it takes more work than expected, the vendor eats the additional costs
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Fixed price incentive fee
A fixed price incentive fee contract (not in the text) adds bonuses if the vendor exceeds requirements for the project (is faster than required, has more capacity, etc.)
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Contract examples
Lawyers and people with rare skills (e.g. SAP experts) might be put on retainer
Research contracts and work on novel systems might use time & materials
Many software development contracts using established technologies use fixed bid or fixed price incentive fee
INFO 638 Lecture #6 32
Contract Terms
The terms of payment are clearly defined in any contract Often payments are based on meeting
specific milestones in the project Rules for handling contract early
termination, and normal closeout of the contract are also defined
INFO 638 Lecture #6 33
Team Organization
A key decision for a project manager is the delegation of authority How much is enough?
Too much and you lose control of the project
Too little and work can’t get done efficiently
Responsibility can’t be delegated The PM is responsible for the work of all
people under them
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Team Balance People tend to follow four major
approaches when on a team Assimilate data & ideas quickly, focusing
on the theory more than the problem Diverge, and look at the problem from
many perspectives Accommodate people’s views and keep
conflict to a minimum Converge on a solution, focusing on the
technology more than people
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Team Rules Any team needs some rules to
function effectively How will decisions be made? How do you solve problems? How do you resolve conflicts? How & when does the team meet? How does the team interact
with other projects? The customer? Who defines the answers to these?
INFO 638 Lecture #6 36
Project Closeout
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Closeout
Normal closeout of a project typically involves six steps Get client acceptance Ensure system installed Ensure documentation delivered Get client signoff Post-implementation Audit Party!
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Get client acceptance
This can be formal or informal Formal acceptance involves following
your customer’s acceptance procedure May involve customer-run testing to prove
requirements have been met Informal acceptance either means you
are done within the stated time limit, or there is no formal acceptance needed
INFO 638 Lecture #6 39
Ensure system installed
This step means you have installed the production system, and it has gone live (is in production; is operational; there are lots of terms)
This step is the conclusion of your project cutover, rollout or deployment strategy
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Ensure documentation delivered
Everyone loves to forget documentation
This step reminds you to deliver all of the promised documentation May include requirements, design,
implementation, maintenance, training, and other documentation
May include documenting the total effort and schedule needed for completion
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Get client signoff
Once the system is in place, and everything has been delivered, the customer can formally accept completion of the contract
This has legal ownership implications – the system now belongs to them
Might be done with much fanfare
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A note on FCA/PCA
To formally accept a system, functional and physical configuration audits (FCA and PCA) may be done FCA is the act of proving that the system
requirements have been fulfilled PCA gives a detailed accounting of all
components, code, and documentation in the final system (as if to say, “here’s what you got for your money”)
INFO 638 Lecture #6 43
Post-implementation Audit
A.k.a. a post-mortem for the project This audit is to assess how well the
project went What worked? What didn’t? How do we
fix the latter next time? How accurate was our estimation? Was the customer happy? Did the project meet its success criteria?
INFO 638 Lecture #6 44
Party!
Sounds trite, but celebrating team success is very valuable Tokens from the project (mugs, T-shirts,
etc.) can provide a connection for years afterward, even if you can’t afford five digit bonuses for everyone
Oodles (that’s a lot) of loyalty and motivation can come from showing genuine appreciation