| Articles » Burning Rubber at the Start of Your Project |
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Burning Rubber at the Start of Your Project |
| by Dave Paradi |
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| Get the Best Pit Crew |
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| The success of any auto race depends on having a crew who will work
together to get the car across the finish line first. The car owner
starts by identifying the pit crew chief and together they identify
the different roles required to prepare the car, race it and maintain
it during the race. Each of the team members is selected for their
expertise at their role and they understand what their role in the
whole operation is. |
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| Building
our project teams is similar to putting together a top pit crew.
As a project manager, it is important to work with a sponsor to identify
the appropriate roles required for our project. We then develop the
list of responsibilities for each role. The responsibilities should
be stated as areas of responsibility rather than a task list. The
next step is to identify the individuals who would best fit the identified
roles. |
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| Confirm Roles and Responsibilities of the Crew |
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| Once the team is selected, it is important to confirm the roles
that each person will play. One way to do this is to use a strengths
and weaknesses exercise. Each team member individually lists the strengths
they bring to the team related to the identified roles and responsibilities.
They also list their weaknesses relative to the roles and responsibilities.
Each team member then shares their lists with the other team members
so that names can be assigned to roles based on what each team member
brings to the team. The sharing of weaknesses allows team members
to help each other compensate for those areas that are not personal
strengths. |
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| In this way, each team member knows exactly what role they play
in the team and what they will be responsible for – so you get
the best crew possible. When necessary, coaching and/or training is available to facilitate this process. |
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| Create a Powerful Engine |
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| The engine of a racing car is a finely tuned piece of equipment
that will be the focal point of the entire crew. The ability of the
crew to keep the engine running will determine the success of the
car. The entire team is involved in making sure every aspect of the
engine is tuned to optimal levels. |
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| In a similar way, the scope statement is the focal point of the
project team. It is the key document that the team uses to keep the
project on track. |
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| The entire team should be involved in developing the
scope statement. While it appears that it would take less time
if the project manager developed a draft scope statement and brought
it to the team for modification, our experience is that in most cases,
major modifications are not made and the level of buy-in by the team
is low. When the entire team is involved in the development of the
scope statement, they get an opportunity to buy-in to what is being
developed and their level of commitment to the project is higher. |
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| The team needs to be very clear on the project
goal and the deliverables need to be measurable. The scope statement
also needs to be detailed enough to reduce the range of interpretation
by team members and stakeholders. The clarity that detail and measurability
bring allows the team the freedom to complete the tasks without the
loss of focus that comes from time spent wondering whether work being
done is in or out of scope. |
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| Race to the Finish! |
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| When a clear scope statement guides a properly formed team, they
can start their project quickly and ensure they reach the finish line
taking the checkered flag. |
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| For more information about this article, please contact bia™ at info@bia.ca. |
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| © Dave Paradi |
