Chapter 5:

Project Human Resource Management

Learning Objectives

o Explain the importance of good human resource management on projects, especially on information technology projects

o Define project human resource management and understand its processes

o Assist in team development with training, team-building activities, and reward systems

The Importance of HR Management

o People determine the success and failure of organizations and projects

o Recent statistics about IT workforce:n The total number of U.S. IT workers was more than

10.1 million in December 2005, up from 9.9 million in January 2005

n IT managers predict they will need to hire an additional 1.2 million workers in the near future

n Hiring by non-IT companies outpaces hiring by IT companies by a ratio of 12:1

Digital Planet Reports

o The global high-tech industry generated more than $2.1 trillion in 2001, $2.3 trillion in 2002, and $2.4 trillion in 2003

o The Internet and e-commerce were notable bright spots in the global economy

o Global e-commerce went up 79 percent from 2002 to 2003

o China, Poland, and other developing countries are playing an increasing role in the global IT market

Long Hours and Stereotypes of IT Workers Hurt Recruiting

o Many people are struggling with how to increase and diversify the IT labor pool. Noted problems include:n The fact that many IT professionals work long hours

and must constantly stay abreast of changes in the field

n Undesirable stereotypes that keep certain people away from the career field, like women

n The need to improve benefits, redefine work hours and incentives, and provide better human resource management

What is Project HR Management?

o Project human resource management includes the processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with a project. Processes includen Organizational planningn Staff acquisitionn Team development

Keys to Managing People

o Psychologists and management theorists have devoted much research and thought to the field of managing people at work

o Important areas related to project management includen Motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic)n Influence and powern Effectiveness

Motivationo To give incentives in the form of higher wages to the best

workers.o Rewards based on piece-rates need to relate directly to work

produced. Where a computer application is being developed, it is difficult to isolate and quantify work done by an individual, as system development and support is usually a team effort.

o Organizations sometimes giving bonuses to project team members at the end of a successful project, especially if staff have ‘volunteered’ considerable unpaid overtime to get the project completed.

Job Characteristics ModelThe satisfaction that a job gives is based on five factors:o Skill variety: the number of different skills that the job holder

has the opportunity to exercise;o Task identity: the degree to which your work and its results are

identifiable as belong to you;o Task significance: the degree to which your job has a

influence on others;o Autonomy: the discretion you have about the way that you do

the job;o Feedback: the information you get back about the results of

your work.

Methods of Improving MotivationTo improve motivation the manager might do:o Set specific goals: these goals need to be

demanding and acceptable to staff.o Provide feedback: not only do goals have to be set,

but staff have to have regular feedback about how they are progressing.

o Considering job design: jobs can be altered to make them more interesting and give staff more feeling of responsibility.

Ways to Influence that Help and Hurt Projects

o Projects are more likely to succeed when project managers influence withn Expertisen Work challenge

o Projects are more likely to fail when project managers rely too heavily onn Authorityn Moneyn Penalty

Power

o Power is the potential ability to influence behavior to get people to do things they would not otherwise do

o Types of power includen Coerciven Legitimaten Expertn Rewardn Referent

Improving Effectiveness - Covey’s 7 Habits

o Project managers can apply Covey’s 7 habits to improve effectiveness on projectsn Be proactiven Begin with the end in mindn Put first things firstn Think win/winn Seek first to understand, then to be understoodn Synergizen Sharpen the saw

Empathic Listening and Rapport

o Good project managers are empathic listeners; they listen with the intent to understand

o Before you can communicate with others, you have to have rapport

o Mirroring is a technique to help establish rapporto IT professionals often need to develop empathic

listening and other people skills to improve relationships with users and other stakeholders

Improving Relationships Between Users and Developers

o Some organizations require business people, not IT people, to take the lead in determining and justifying investments in new computer systems

o CIOs push their staff to recognize that the needs of the business must drive all technology decisions

o Some companies reshape their IT units to look and perform like consulting firms

Organizational Planning

o Organizational planning involves identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships

Staff Acquisition

o Staffing plans and good hiring procedures are important in staff acquisition, as are incentives for recruiting and retention

o Some companies give their employees one dollar for every hour a new person they helped hire works

o Some organizations allow people to work from home as an incentive

o Research shows that people leave their jobs because they don’t make a difference, don’t get proper recognition, aren’t learning anything new, don’t like their coworkers, and want to earn more money

Teams and IT Development

o Staff in an organization will often belong to a department depending on their technical expertise.

o Staff from different technical areas could then be brought together to work on a project.

o Once project is completed, team may be disbanded.

Selecting the Right Person for the Job

o One of the biggest differences in software development performance is between individuals.

o Recruitment Processn Create a job specificationn Create a job holder profilen Obtain applicantsn Examine CVsn Interviews n References

Instruction in the Best Methodso When new members of the team are recruited, the team

leader will need to plan their induction in to the team very carefully. Where a project is already well under way, this might not be easy.

o The team leader should be aware of the need to assess continually the training needs of their team members.n Training needs profile ought to drawn up for each staff

member when considering specific courses.n Some training might be provided by commercial

training companies.

Stages in Becoming a TeamForming

Storming

Norming

Performing

Adjourning

Team-building exercisescan help the process of becoming a team

Stages in Becoming a Teamo Simply throwing people together will not immediately enable

them to work together as a team. Group feelings develop over time. It is suggested that teams go through five basic stages:n Forming: the members of the groups get to know each other and try

to set up some ground rules about behavior.n Storming: conflicts arise as various members of the group try to

exert leadership and the group’s methods of operation are being established.

n Norming: conflicts are largely settled and a feeling of group identity emerges.

n Performing: the emphasis is now on the tasks at hand.n Adjourning: the group disbands.

Management Team Typeso The chair n Not necessarily brilliant leaders but they must be good at

running meetings, being calm, strong but tolerant.o The plantn Someone who is essentially very good at generating ideas and

potential solutions to problems.o The monitor-evaluatorn Good at evaluating ideas and potential solutions and helping to

select the best one.o The shapern Rather a worrier, who helps to direct the team’s attention to the

important issues.

Management Team Types (Cont.)o The team workern Skilled at creating a good working environment by jollying

people along.o The resource investigatorn Adept at finding resources in terms of both physical resources

and information.o The completer-finishern Concerned with completing tasks.

o The company workern A good team player who is willing to undertake less attractive

tasks if they are needed for team success.

To be a Good Team Member

o Time your interventions – not overwhelm the others in the team

o Be flexibleo Be restrainedo Keep the common goals of the team in mind all

the time

Leadership Styleso Directive autocratn Makes decisions alone, close supervision of implementation.

o Permissive autocratn Makes decisions alone, subordinates have latitude in

implementation.o Directive democratn Makes decisions participatively, close supervision of

implementation.o Permissive democratn Makes decisions participatively, subordinates have latitude in

implementation.

Stresso Both project manager and team members will be

under pressure when it closes to deadline.o Good project manager can reduce the reliance on

overtime by the more realistic assessment of effort and elapsed time needed, based on careful recording and analysis of the performance of previous projects.

o Good planning and control will help to reduce unexpected problems generating unnecessary crises.

Reward and Recognition Systems

o Team-based reward and recognition systems can promote teamwork

o Focus on rewarding teams for achieving specific goals

o Allow time for team members to mentor and help each other to meet project goals and develop human resources

General Advice on Teams

o Focus on meeting project objectives and producing positive results

o Fix the problem instead of blaming peopleo Establish regular, effective meetingso Nurture team members and encourage them to

help each othero Acknowledge individual and group

accomplishments

Health and Safetyo Top management must be committed to the safety policy.o The delegation of responsibilities for safety must be clear.o Job descriptions should include definitions of duties related

to safety.o Those to whom responsibilities are delegated must.

understand the responsibilities and agree to them.o There should be deployment of a safety officer and the

support of experts in particular technical areas.o There should be consultation on safety.o There should be an adequate budgeting for safety costs.

Project Resource Management Involves Much More Than Using Software

o Project managers must n Treat people with consideration and respectn Understand what motivates themn Communicate carefully with them

o Focus on your goal of enabling project team members to deliver their best work

Questions and Answers