Communication Requirements Analysis

Communication is one of the important elements in to project to make it success. Project Manger is expected to spend 90% of the time to ensure proper communication is happening. To make it happen the project manager need to understand the stakeholder needs like when, how, what as for communication is concerned. Also project manager has to know in the given environment who is communicating to whom. This will be taken by the technique called Communication Requirements Analysis.

Also we need to identify the possible number of communication channels within the project. It is calculated using the formula n(n-1)/2 where n is number of stakeholders. For example if there are 10 people, then the number of communication channels will be 45. This helps in how much of time the project manager has to devote for the communication aspects.

The sources of analysis can be from stakeholder register, organization charts, responsibility relationships, department, external information needs like government, vendors, internal communication needs like between the functions, location, etc…

Communication Requirements Analysis technique is used under the process Plan Communications Management.

Project Performance Appraisals

This technique is used to set goals, periodic reviews, getting the feedback, addressing the issues, identifying the gaps between the project need and the skill of the person, facilitating training programs. If it is carried out in a methodical way one can achieve the project goals easily.

Project Performance Appraisals depends on organization policy, complexity of the project, budget, frequency, length of the project, labor laws as per the contract.

Project Performance Appraisals technique is used under the process Manage Project Team.

Observation and Conversation

To monitor the progress of the project towards the project success and at the same time understanding and addressing the issues of the team the project manager need to interact and have a look formally or informally. This aspect will be taken care by the technique Observation and Conversation. It will help in knowing the attitude of the people, their needs, etc…

Observation and Conversation technique is used under the process Manage Project Team

Personnel Assessment Tools

During the project one has to assess the strength and weakness. Personnel Assessment tools will help in doing so. It is for the project team including the project manager. The methods can be surveys, interviews, focus group, etc.. It helps in the areas of assessment like abilities, interest, aspirations, how the team is organized. Also it helps in building the trust, communications and productivity to make the project success. Personnel Assessment Tools is under the process Develop Project Team.

Recognition and Rewards

Motivation is a big factor for the team to perform and in turn to make the project success. As per the plan, organizational culture an practices the project manager should have reward and award system. This can be in the form of monetary, appreciation, pat on the back, assigning challenging work, etc.. It can be again formal or informal. Cultural differences should be considered while using recognition and rewards. To give the team recognition and reward the project manager need not to wait till the end of the project. It should be carried out throughout the project as and when it is appropriate.

Recognition and Rewards technique is used under the process Develop Project Team.

Colocation

Colocation is the team located in the same physical location. The duration of Colocation can be for some time or throughout the project and depends on the situation like skill of the people, complexity of the project, collaboration of the people, etc.. Colocation is opposite to Virtual Teams. The disadvantage of the Colocation is it may be costly, more travel requirement. The other names for Colocation are Tight Matrix and War Room. Please note that Tight Matrix is not a type of organization like Strong Matrix, Weak Matrix, Balanced Matrix and Composite Matrix.

Colocation technique is used under the process Develop Project team.

Ground Rules

Ground Rules is setting the expectation to the team in the beginning of the project so as to increase the productivity and decrease the misunderstanding. The areas can be business etiquette, dos and don’ts during the meeting and the project, code of conduct, communication.

For example the team should come on time to the meetings and the meetings should end on time. While inviting for the meeting the clear agenda has to be set.

Ground Rules is used under the process Develop Project team.

Team Building Activities

Team Building Activities is very much essential for the project success. The objective is to help the individual and team to work towards the project goal in an effective manner. This can be formal or informal and the duration can range from a few minutes to hours to days. Some of the ways how you can use this technique is by having communication, onsite and offsite activities. Even the status meetings help in team building.

The project environment is very much dynamic because of the movement of the people, organizational changes, and individual attitude towards the work. The project manager needs to monitor these project environmental changes and use the team building activities technique throughout the project.

The model which can be used is Tuckman ladder. There are five stages under this model namely Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning.

Forming is the team formation and assigning the roles and responsibilities.

Storming is the stage where the people having difference of opinions, clashes, conflict.

Norming is the team start adjusting toward the environment and begin to work.

Performing is the team is interdependent and starts achieving the results.

Adjourning is disbanding to their respective functions.

Team Building Activities technique is used under the process Develop Project team.

Training

Training is to enhance the competencies of the team to meet the project objectives. It can be technical or managerial skills. The project manager needs to identify if any gaps between the skill of the team and the project need and accordingly the Training to be facilitated. The methods of Training are class room, online, web based, on the job, mentoring, coaching and can be formal or informal. The facilitators can be external or internal. The training budget should be considered during the cost estimation.

Training technique is used under the process Develop Project Team.

Conflict Management

Conflicts can be good or bad based on the situation and is very much inevitable in the project environment. Why it is good is, it can result in notion among the team and can be bad is, when you are not motivating the team, providing the wrong status to the stakeholders, overlapping of the activities without proper RACI model. The sources from where the conflicts can originate are scarce in resources, schedule, project priorities, cost, technology, administrative procedures, personality. Schedule is the common source from where the conflict starts and personality is the least. Some of the conflict management techniques are

Collaborating or Problem Solving: The team is open to discuss the difference of opinion and come with different solutions and take the decision with consensus. This results in win-win situation. For example removing the overlapping of the activities, finding the different alternate solutions for the issue and getting the consensus from all the people and implementing the solution, applying one of the solutions and if not working going for the other solution.

Compromising or Reconciling: It brings some degree of satisfaction to both the parties and is lose-lose situation since no party gets fully satisfied. This is the next best after collaborating. For example taking 50% solution one party and 50% solution from another party and implementing it, considering the cost over the schedule.

Withdrawal or Avoidance: Here the parties defer the decision of a problem to a later time or date. This is not the best technique but can be applied based on the situation. For example let’s deal this next week, come to my office and will discuss later, let’s take it offline.

Smoothing or Accommodating: Here areas of agreement are focused rather than areas of disagreement. To maintain the relationship and harmony this technique is used. For example calming down the situation to get into work where there is chaos over issues.

Force or Direct: Pushing one viewpoint at the expense of another and results in win-lose situation. Again this technique can be used if no other techniques are working out and can be last resort. For example using the power and directing the team to work.

Collaborating is the best Conflict Management technique.

Conflict Management is used under the process Manage Project Team.

Interpersonal Skills

To make the project success the project manager can’t make it happen alone. It is a team work and the project manager need to interact with project team and other stakeholders. During the interactions, all the time with all the stakeholders the things may not go as per the expectation. The project manager should possess the technique called Interpersonal Skills. It is a soft skill and there is no direct formula for this technique and can be built with application and experience. Let us look into some Interpersonal skills.

Leadership: It is the ability to get the things done. It involves focusing the efforts of a group of people toward a common goal and enabling them to work as a team. To achieve the goal one need to set the vision and maintaining it. Apart from trust building we need to respect, influencing, monitoring, and mentoring the team.

Team building: Team building is helping the individual and the group to grow and make the project success. We need to set the good environment so that the team starts trusting with each other and work towards the project. To achieve this the project manager should set right process, enhancing the team skills by facilitating the training programs, on site and off site meetings, etc..

Motivation: Most of the time the level of work which the people can contribute to the project depends on their motivational level. The project manager should motivate the team by assigning the challenging work or the work which they value most, appreciation, appropriate compensation, rewards and recognition.

Communication: Communication is the key factor for success or failure of the project. It should be always two ways. The project manager spends 90% of the time to ensure proper communication is happening from him and among the stakeholders. Conveying the right information, at the right time, to the right stakeholders using right media is called communication. It should be efficient and effective. The project manager should be a good listener. He should understand or recognize tone, modulation, body language.

Influencing: Influencing is to get others co-operate in making the project success. It can be achieved by setting himself/herself as an example, having and concluding the decisions in a collaborative way, adjusting the style as per the situation or environment, applying the power cautiously.

Decision Making: Four decision styles are command, consultation, consensus and coin-flip and four factors which affect decision styles are time constraints, trust, quality and acceptance. Decision making model can be described by six-phase model namely

Problem Definition

Problem Solution Generation

Ideas to Action, Solution Action Planning,

Solution Evaluation Planning

Evaluation of the Outcome and process

Political and cultural awareness: The project manager should understand and use the power and politics within the project environment. Organizational politics are inevitable. Avoiding these two factors may lead to unsuccessful projects. The team will be working with global environment and the factors like language, culture can influence in a negative manner and can hinder the progress of the project. So, we need to create the trust environment and win-win atmosphere.

Negotiation: Refer to the link http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2016/01/negotiation.html

Trust Building: Without trust building across the project team and the stakeholders we can’t make the project success. Trust building can be done through

Open and honest communication

Informing the stakeholders about the right project status and the risks associated

Spending time with team to eliminate assumptions

Voicing your need directly

Not withholding the information out of fear

Open to innovation

Working towards project interest

Having concern about other opinions

Conflict Management: Refer to the link http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2016/01/conflict-management.html

Coaching: Coaching technique is to develop the skills of the people to maximize their potential. It can be formal or informal. It results in motivation, confidence building, develop confidence and positivity. Counseling is different from coaching. Counseling addresses won’t whereas coaching addresses can’t and will convert to can. By using this technique the chances of making the project success is more.

Interpersonal Skills has to be applied throughout the project and is a technique used under the processes Develop Project Team, Manage Project Team and Manage Stakeholders Engagement.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis

In the process of making the people on board for the project, the project manager should consider different criteria like skill, experience, cost, availability, etc.. Let us see a few parameters:

Availability: The project the team or the person should be available during the required schedule.

Experience: Relevant experience of the team which matches the project requirement.

Cost: The cost which will be incurred for the team is it within the budget?

Ability: Apart from experience, the person ability to see is he/she competent enough to carry the work?

Attitude: The style of the member/s whether they cope up with the environment or not.

Knowledge: Relevant knowledge of the customer, project implementation

Skills: Relevant skills to use the tool

International factors: Time zone, language, communication skills, location

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis technique is used under the process Acquire Project Team.

Virtual Teams

Virtual Teams is nothing but the team spread across different locations. With the availability of technology like email, video/audio conferencing, social media, virtual teams is feasible. Virtual teams can be

For the team from the same organization but spread across different geographical locations.

For the expertise from external who are in different geographical areas

For the people who work from home

For the people who work in different shifts, hours or days

For the people who are physically challenged due to disability

For the organization where the organization can minimize the travel cost

Virtual Teams can lead to some disadvantages like misunderstanding, sharing knowledge, isolation. For any critical discussions or issues to be solved face to face is the best option. However one can choose the Virtual Teams options cautiously to create the team.

Virtual Teams technique is used under the process Acquire Project Team.

Acquisition

When the performing organization is not able to provide the staff to the project, the project manager should get the people from outside the organization. This is called Acquisition. Either it can be hiring consultants or outsourcing the work to contractors.

Acquisition technique is used under the process Acquire Project Team.

Negotiation

Negotiation is an interpersonal skill and the project manager is expected to have this skill to make the project success. Negotiation can happen with

Functional manager to get the best resources for your project with specific skills for specific time.

Other functions within the organization when there is a scarce resource.

Vendors, suppliers to get the qualified and certified resources.

Negotiation happens with every stakeholder in one way or the other throughout the project. But Negotiation should end from win-win perspective.

Negotiation technique is used under the processes Acquire Project Team.

Pre-assignment

During the initiating stages of the project one might have identified or blocked some resources based on their expertise or capabilities so that they can be used for the later stages of the project. This is called Pre-assignment. The situation demands under the condition like if the project is dependent on skilled or core expertise, the project charter identified some people.

Pre-assignment technique is used under the process Acquire Project Team

Organizational Theory

Every organization work with different ways and is having their own culture, style, environment, structure, leadership, individual response, performance, personal relationship, etc… If you understand these parameters it becomes easier and efficient while planning for the Human Resources. Hence Organizational Theory technique is helpful.

Organizational Theory technique is used under the process Plan Human Resource Management.

Networking

Networking is a formal and informal way of interacting with people, function, industry, professional environment to understand the competencies, specific expertise, political factors, partnership opportunities, etc.. to develop the better planning from human resource point of view. It also helps in project management professional development during and after the projects. The networking can be luncheon meetings, during events, seminars, events, etc…

Networking technique is used under the process Plan Human Resource Management.

Organization Charts and Position Descriptions

Organization Charts and Position Descriptions techniques is used to show the reporting relations of the team, responsibility chart and role description. The formats used are Hierarchical-type charts, Matrix-based charts and Text-oriented formats.

Hierarchical-type charts are used to show te positions and the relationships between department and or people. It’s like organizational breakdown structure (OBS). It shows departments, units or team with project activities or work packages that will be executed under each department.

Matrix-based charts are used to show the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM) and uses RACI charts or the model. R is responsibility, A is Accountable, C is Consult and I is Inform. Responsible means the people who are working on the activity, Accountable is the person who is having ownership for an activity, Consult is the people to who we need to have discussion so that approval can be obtained like SME, consultant and Inform is the people to who we have to just keep in loop for the message exchanges. For any activity only one should be accountable and we can have multiple responsible, consult and inform.

Text-oriented formats are detailed descriptions of the roles and responsibilities, authority, competencies and qualifications of the individual or the team can be mentioned.

Organization Charts and Position Descriptions technique is used under the process Plan Human Resource Management.

Approved Change Request Review

During the course of the project many changes might have been raised due to defect repair, corrective actions, preventive actions and these change requests will go through Integrated Change Control Process. Some changes might have been approved and some may be rejected. This information is captured in the change log document. The approved changes must be implemented on time.

Approved Change Request Review technique will ensure the approved changes are implemented correctly.

Approved Change Request Review is used under the process Perform Quality Assurance.

Process Analysis

Process Analysis follows the steps that are mentioned in the subsidiary plan Process Improvement Plan to identify any process improvements like constraints, the activities which are redundant, problems experienced. It uses root cause analysis to find the causes which can be used for preventive actions.

Process Analysis technique is used the process Perform Quality Assurance

Quality Audits

Quality Audits is used to see if the project activities being carried out as per the organizational and project policies, processes and procedures. Quality Audits can be internal or external or can be both.

Some of the outcome of the Quality Audits will be:

Identification of non- conformance which means the project is not following the desired steps

Identification of best practices from your projects which can be implemented for other projects

Identification of best practices from other projects which can be considered for your projects

Proactive measures which can be taken to improve the processes which in turn help in team raise productivity

Contribution of each audit in the lesson learned organizational knowledge bank

Quality Audits can be random or scheduled basis. Also this technique ensures implementation of approved change requests.

Quality Audit is used under the process Perform Quality Assurance which is part of Executing process group.

Quality management and control tools

Quality management and control tools are Affinity diagram, Process decision program charts, Interrelationship digraphs, Tree diagrams, prioritization matrices, Activity network diagrams and Matrix diagrams. These seven tools are called Seven Quality and Control Tools.

For Affinity diagram refer the link http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2015/09/group-creativity-technique.html

Process decision program charts (PDPC): is used to understand the goal in relation to the steps to be followed in achieving the goal. This helps in anticipating the risk which may arise while achieving the goal so as to plan for contingency.

For example automation is to be introduced. Choice is buy a tool or build it yourself. Buy the tool decision leads to vendor selection and ordering. If the vendor will not deliver it on time what can be contingency plan. Similarly build it yourself decision leads to hiring resources. If the desired skilled resource not available what can be the contingency? It may be train the existing employees. This entire sequence can be represented as diagram.

Interrelationship diagraphs is used in problem solving by connecting the relationship with one cause to other the other cause. This can be developed using other diagrams like affinity diagram, cause and effect diagram.

For example the customer is using lot of defects. What can be the reason? The reason can be lack of understanding of the requirements, poor design, improper development, incomplete testing. Let us the major defects are due to incomplete testing which has been found out by cause and effect diagram. The cause of incomplete testing can be poor test planning, the cause for poor test planning can be the requirements came late, this cause can be the customer did not provide the requirements as per the committed date. In this way we can relate the causes and draw the diagram.

Tree diagram used to represent decomposition hierarchies like Work Breakdown Structure, Risk Breakdown Structure and Organizational Breakdown Structure. After creating this structure it terminates to the single point which helps in taking the decision.

For example in a coin what is the probability of getting head or tail? It is 50%. So the value for each possibility is 0.5. Let’s add one more coin and tossing both the coins, the combinations increases to HH, HT, TH and TT. So the probability of getting atleast one head in this scenario will be 75%. Using this mechanism one can design the process improvement or reducing the product defects.

Prioritization matrix: Here the issues are identified and the alternatives are found and prioritized to solve the issue by giving the weightages. For example, need to complete a deliverable which requires highly skilled people and are not available within the organization. The alternatives are outsource or train the existing employees. Give the weightages for both the options and see what can be the best outcome. The one which scores higher is the better option.

Activity network diagrams are nothing but project network diagram. It is used with scheduling, PERT, CPM and PDM. To understand these diagrams refer to the links:

http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2015/11/three-point-estimating.html

http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2015/11/critical-path.html

http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2015/10/precedence-diagramming-method-pdm.html

Matrix diagrams used to perform data analysis created in matrix form. The matrix diagram can be created using rows and columns with different parameters and will indicate the strength of the relationships between those parameters.

Perform quality Assurance process uses Quality Management and Control Tools in addition to the tools which are used under processes Plan Quality management and Control Quality.

Additional Quality Planning Tools

While planning for the project quality we need to use some additional tools which help in defining better quality metrics and quality checklist. Some of the tools are brainstorming, nominal group techniques, force field analysis, and quality management and control tools.

For Brainstorming and Nominal group techniques you can refer to the link http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2015/09/group-creativity-technique.html

Force field analysis provides the diagram to the situations which is for and against. For example we need to introduce automation system instead of manual. The for can be increased efficiency, consistency in getting the results, easier monitoring, cutting the human resource cost whereas the against can threat to the job, initial investment, demotivation among the staff which can results in attrition at the organization level, disruption of service till gets stabilized. For each of these parameters we can give the weightages and sum it. The total score can be used to decide based on the highest score to consider automation or not.

Quality management and control tools are Affinity diagram, Process decision program charts, Interrelationship digraphs, Tree diagrams, prioritization matrices, Activity network diagrams and Matrix diagrams. These seven tools are called Seven Quality and Control Tools.

For Affinity diagram refer the link http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2015/09/group-creativity-technique.html

For the remaining tools refer the link http://bksprasad.blogspot.in/2016/01/quality-management-and-control-tools.html

Additional Quality Planning Tools is used under the process Plan Quality Management.

Statistical Sampling

Statistical Sampling is picking up a few samples out of the lot to see if the requirements are meeting are not. For example, if there are millions of water bottles that are coming out of production, one can’t test all the pieces. Only a few pieces out of every batch can be inspected. If those pieces are meeting the specifications then we can all is well otherwise we can take the decision of rejecting the entire lot. The sampling size and the frequency should be determined during the planning itself so that one can determine the cost of quality required for testing and rework or expected wastages.

Statistical Sampling technique is used under the process Plan Quality Management and Control Quality.

Design of Experiments

Design of Experiments (DoE) helps in determining which combination is the best to produce an apt output. It is like a trial and error method by varying or experimenting with different inputs so that one can get the best quality product or the process output. For example in the construction or manufacturing industry which combination of material or proportion or design can produce an optimal output can be determined.

Design of Experiments is used under the process Plan Quality Management.

Seven Basic Quality tools

Seven Basic Quality tools are Cause and effect diagrams, Flowchart, Checksheets, Pareto diagrams, Histograms, Control Charts and Scatter diagrams. Seven Basic Quality tool is popularly known as 7QC tools in the industry. This uses the famous Edward Deming cycle Plan-Do-Check-Act also known as (PDCA) model to solve the quality related issues. Let us consider one by one.

Cause and effect diagrams: This tool is used to find the cause for a particular defect/effect. The defect or the problem statement is defined and causes for this defect is identified. Then one can use the concept “5 Why’s” to find out the root causes which can be converted to actionable items. When you represent the problem statement and the causes in the form of visual representation, it looks like a fish skeletal hence the name fish bone diagram and is also called as Ishikawa diagram.

Flowcharts: Flow charts depict the flow of the work or the process which is sequence of steps to be carried out. Flowcharts show the activities, decision points, branching loops, parallel paths, inputs, outputs… It uses a model called SIPOC, Supplier-Input-Process-Output-Customer, or the COPIS, Customer-Output-Process-Input-Supplier, model. For example, in the car manufacturing industry, the supplier provides the raw materials as the input, the process manufactures the car which is the output and is used by the customer. The customer provides the feedback which helps in improving the process and in turn the raw materials quality from the suppliers. The workflow logic and the frequency helps in expected monetary value for conformance and nonconformance work to deliver the desired output which in turn helps in estimating the cost of quality.

Checksheets: This is also called as tallysheet used to gather data. Checksheets ensures that all the data has been gathered which helps in identifying potential problems. This helps in inspection to identify the defects. For example there is a product which about 10 cm length which is the expected value. The other possible values which we can get are >10cm or <10cm. Measure all the output and see how many are meeting the expected value and how many or not.

Pareto diagrams: This is also called as 80/20 rule used to find most potential issues or to distinguish between critical vs non-critical. 80/20 rule means 80% of the problems are due to 20% of the causes.

Histograms: It is a bar chart and used to find the central tendency, dispersion and shape of statistical distribution. Also histogram can be used to represent data in no particular order and is not related to time. The bar which is higher can be the reason for the defect or effect.

Control charts: This tool is used to see if the process is stable or not and also to find the measurements are coming within the expected limits. Control charts uses four parameters apart from mean, upper specification limit (USL), lower specification limit (LSL), upper control limit (UCL) and lower control limits (LCL). The mid line will be mean, the line immediately above mean is UCL and the still above that is USL and the line immediately below mean is LCL and the one which still below is LSL. If the measurements are within the UCL and LCL then there is no problem. If the measurements are above the UCL and or below the LCL then it calls for corrective action. There is one more principle called rule of seven. Rule of seven says if the 7 consecutive points are above the mean level or seven consecutive points are below mean level and even though they are within the control limits still it calls for corrective action. USL and LSL can be customer committed values above which the measurements are not acceptable. UCL and LCL are defined within the project level in agreement with stakeholders. UCL and LCL helps in tightening the situation so that we are not touching or deviating the specification limits.

Scatter diagrams: This is also called as correlation charts used to find is there any relation between two variables. The correlation can be positive or negative or zero. Based on positive and or negative it helps in taking further action.

The above 7QC tools can be used as combination.

Seven Basic Quality Tools is used under the process Plan Quality Management, Control Quality. This is also used along with seven quality management and control tools, which is used under the Perform Quality Assurance process.