Lecture 2: Project Managers & Teams

Question 1

What is Project Management?

Answer 1

The art and science of coordinating people, equipment, materials, money, and schedules to complete a specified project on time and within approved costs

Question 2

What are the Project Participants?

Answer 2

Owner, Designer, Contractor

Question 3

Roles of Project Participants

Answer 3

Owner: sets operational criteria, establishes cost and schedule limits, final approval and payment
Designer: produces plans and specifications, provides initial budget and schedule, may do on-site inspection
Contractor: completes the work, prepares accurate estimates and schedules, monitors estimates and schedules

Question 4

What is the Communication Level of Project Participants?

Answer 4

Project Manager

Question 5

Role of the Project Manager (Functions of Management)

Answer 5

Planning: form a course of actions to complete a project
Organizing: organize the project around work to be completed
Staffing: select appropriate team members
Directing: serve as an effective leader in coordinating project
Controlling: measure project performance based on planned vs. actual

Question 6

Leadership Roles

Answer 6

1. Interpersonal: deal effectively with people from various backgrounds, resolve disputes and create unity, motivate team members to achieve milestones and project goals, build positive relationships with project stakeholders, consider others’ opinions in decision-making
2. Informational: arrange and lead team members, create and maintain work schedules for team members, communicate project vision to team members, provide feedback on results and quality and deliverables
3. Decisional: distinguish between features and benefits (identify value), allocate/re-allocate resources as necessary, maintain a balance between cost and time and results, prevent “scope creep” and “budget slippage”
4. Business Management: understand the role of the project to the overall business, assist with accurate accounting of the project, monitor human resource situations

Question 7

Traits of a Good Project Manager

Answer 7

1. Project Enthusiasm
2. Change Management
3. Ambiguity Tolerance
4. Team Building
5. Customer First
6. Business Priorities
7. Industry Knowledge

Question 8

Identifying Members for the Team

Answer 8

What kind of experience is needed?
What is their availability?
What knowledge and skills are needed?
Are they personally invested in the outcome of the project?
Will they work well with other team members?

Question 9

Matching Skills to Tasks

Answer 9

Is there a specific skill set needed to complete the task?
How much experience is needed to complete the task?
Is the person qualified with knowledge or education?
Are certain interpersonal skills needed?
How many people with these skills are needed?
If you could choose anyone, who would you choose?
For the selected team, how much supervision is needed?
Where will the people come from - inside or outside?