Q. 1 A successful project manager should have special traits.

Critically examine these traits with reference to a

construction project.
Construction managers supervise and direct people to make sure a building project is completed safely, on
time and within budget. This may be the construction of a new building or the maintenance of an existing
one. The cost of a building project may range from several thousand pounds to hundreds of millions.

The work could include developing a programme of work for the project, supervising the building work,
making sure the site is safe, and reporting on progress to the client who is paying for the work. They also
supervise the preparation of the site and communicate with a wide range of people, including the public
and professionals such as architects, engineers, estimators and surveyors. Construction managers have daily
contact with the site workforce and have frequent meetings with subcontractors.

Project Managers interact with different types of people at different level s within the organization and
outside the organization. Since their responsibilities include directing and coordinating various resources
throughout the life cycle of the project, it is important the Project Managers have certain characteristics to
ensure project success. There are five main characteristics they are

1. Flexible – Flexibility is required for a PM especially when dealing with new team members who may
need specific , firm direction to get started. PM should be able to adopt various styles of leadership
(Authorative, Colloborative etc) with various people.

2. Credible – PM should be Trust Worthy, Competent, Dependable and honest.

3. Tolerant – Considering the fact that the Resources, Goals and Objectives are often vague, PM Should
be tolerant. A Non Tolerant Project Managers becomes stressed when working with ambiguous projects.
While dealing with varied group of stakeholders having different objectives and opinions, Project
Managers should be able to approach each group with understanding and Tolerance for successful project
completion

4. Innovative - PM should be innovative with solutions as the Resources and capabilities needed to
complete a project may be scarce.

5. Available - As there are many aspects of managing a Project Managers must be available to spend
time with various people involved in the project for ensuring project success.

The Skills of Successful Construction Project Manager

There are eight skills a project manager require to ensure success they are

1. Technological Skills – Effective project manager should be familiar with degree of technological
knowledge to complete the project. This will help identifying Alternative solutions and
 communicating risks associated to technology to various stake holders and to route the problems to
the right SMEs for solution
2. Organizational Skills – Although you may not need intense technological skills but it is important
that PM has a deep Organization skills ( Organizational policies, procedures & Planning) This
would help in analyzing the Scope, Time, cost, quality and risk.
3. Communication Skills – This is the most important skill that a PM should have. This deals with
keeping the stakeholders well informed by Timely distribution of project data and updates to
stakeholders
4. Team Building - PM should be proficient in Facilitating team meetings, conflict resolution and
handling diverse team. Should ensure motivation and empowerment of team members by
encouraging the Suggestion and recommendations of the team and allowing the team share their
opinions
5. Coping – This implies Project Managers should be creative with solutions and flexible with results
and they need to Patient and persistent with stakeholders. Coping with stakeholders is necessary for
successful solution.
6. Negotiation – Since there are varied stakeholders with varied objectives , It is important for a
Project Manager to persuade and negotiate the terms of Project , Resources and results
7. Content - Project Managers should be knowledgeable in the subject matter. Knowing the subject
matter without having to consult with SME would reduce project duration time. Uninformed project
managers have to prolong tasks by days to wait for responses from experts
8. Leadership - Project Managers should be positive, decisive, motivating, empowering and energetic.

Q. 2 Why time management, communication and motivation

are given more importance in the project management
environment in contrast to traditional management
environment? Describe your answers with reference to the
practical project management situation.
What is the project environment?

Today, there is a growing awareness and concern for the impact of infrastructure and facility construction
on the physical environment. Fortunately, today's technological disciplines responsible for such work are
becoming attuned to the idea of mitigating the adverse impacts of their projects. Certainly the project
manager needs to be similarly concerned about the project's technology, and manage accordingly. This
applies to both the implementation and shorter term practical construction impacts of the project as well as
its conceptual development and consequent long term impacts. However, today's project manager also
needs to be attuned to the cultural, organizational and social environments of the project. Understanding
this environment includes identifying the project stakeholders and their ability to affect its successful
outcome. This means working with people to achieve the best results, especially in the highly technical and
complex environments such as those involving modern day construction projects. Therefore, it is essential
that the project manager and his or her project team are comfortable with, and sympathetic towards, their
cultural, organizational and social surroundings. This leads to the possibility of influencing the project
environment in a positive way, for the better reception of the change which the project is designed to
introduce. For example, peoples' typical resistance to change will no doubt be evident amongst some of the
stakeholders. Others may have vested interests or personal or group agendas which are only indirectly
related to the project. If these can be identified in good time, they may be dealt with proactively and in such
a way that the corresponding risks, which are otherwise likely to undermine the success of the project, can
be significantly reduced. Failure to take such an approach will inevitably lead to a less than optimum
project outcome.

Dimensions of the Project Environment

For convenience, and working outwards, the project environment may be thought of in terms of the project
time environment, the internal project culture, the original corporate culture, and the external social
surroundings. For those who have not had experience of a construction project "in the trenches" so to
speak, it is sometimes difficult to capture the feeling of pressure, stress and ultimate satisfaction of a
project well accomplished, which the construction project management process offers. For the first timers,
many experience bewilderment as to what is really happening around them. Yet, most projects, if they are
well run, exhibit some very typical but distinguishing features as they run their course.
The Project Time Environment - Four Distinct Project Phases

It will be seen that there are, or should be, four distinct project periods which make up the typical life span
of a well run project. These phases are shown as
• Concept
• Planning
• Execution
• Transfer.
The Internal Project Culture
The culture which develops within a project is often a reflection of the leadership style and organizational
structure which is adopted for the project. This can vary considerably according to the size and nature of
the project, but in any case has been dealt with extensively in the project management literature, and will
not be repeated here. However, to the extent that the melting pot of participation and coordination
represents the project's internal cultural environment, it is worth considering because it needs to be
managed,. A typical situation is shown in Figure 2, in which the project group to be managed will
eventually consist of consultants, contractors and specialists, as well as the owner's staff of advisors and the
project control team itself.
Influencing the Project's Cultural Environment
The project manager of the successful project will recognize the need to spend some effort in influencing
the project's cultural environment for the benefit of the project stakeholders. Every project team member,
indeed every member of the workforce, needs to be persuaded to convey the attitude that, just as they are
stakeholders, every other project stakeholder is also important. It means inculcating a universal attitude
which says "We care!", and a commitment to service, even if it sometimes hurts. It also means creating a
project management environment in which every decision and action is designed to make the stakeholder's
experience better than it would have been had the project not been implemented. It requires a focus on the
quality of the stakeholder's experience at every stage of the project, rather than an overriding preoccupation
with computer printouts and weekly progress reports. Since this relationship mirrors the project
manager/team relationship, it is clear where the process must begin. For in both the short and long term
runs, it is through good team relationships that good project management practices can be achieved. By
attending to what the team members need in order to perform their respective contributions, the project
manager can establish effective relationships with them. These characteristics of help and support as a
cohesive team are, in time, passed on to the project's stakeholders. This positive environment seldom goes
unnoticed. In developing project management strategies at the outset of the project, the project's executive
should recognize the important contribution that the role of human resources development and, specifically,
project management training can make towards improving the project's cultural environment. Such training
provides a powerful tool in developing competency and commitment to the project, in improving team
performance, and ultimately, in final project quality.
Effective Internal Project Management Strategies
Projects fail for many internal reasons, some of them technical, some of them managerial. However, even
the technical failures can often be traced back to a failure on the part of the project's executive management
to recognize and deal with these inherent managerial risks. On the other hand, probably the majority of
apparently successful projects do not reflect their optimum potential either. As a matter of project
experience, a number of prerequisites have been identified with the successful project. While these
prerequisites do not necessarily guarantee success of future projects, their absence may well lead to sub-
optimal success, if not outright failure. The Project's Executive has a vital role to play in achieving project
success and should therefore insist on the following:
Executive Support - The Executive must clearly demonstrate support for the project management
concept by active sponsorship and control.
External Authority - The project manager must be seen as the authoritative agent in dealing with all
parties, and be the responsible and single formal contact with them.
Internal Authority - The project manager must have the necessary managerial authority within his
organization to ensure response to his requirements.
Commitment Authority - The project manager must have the responsibility and authority to control the
commitment of resources, including funds, within prescribed limits. The results of these decisions must
be both accountable and visible.
Project Manager Involved in All Major Decisions - No major technical, cost, schedule, or
performance decisions should be made without the project manager's participation.
Competence - The project manager and his team members must be competent. Other functional
personnel assigned to the project must also be competent.
Project Team - The project manager should have a say in the assembly of his project team, which will
help him to obtain their personal commitment, support and required quality of service.
Management Information Systems - Effective project management information and control systems
must be in place.
The Project's External Surroundings
On some projects, events external to the project sometimes come as a surprise to the project manager
and his team and are therefore seen as obstacles to progress. However, as noted earlier, projects
generally exist only because of that external environment and so it is essential for the project team to
recognize that they must also be responsive to it.
What is this Project External Environment?
It includes the established and latest state-of-the-art technology in which the project is based, its
customers and competitors, its geographical, climatic, social, economic and political settings, in fact,
virtually everything that can impact its success. These factors can affect the planning, organizing,
staffing and directing which constitute the project manager's main responsibilities.
This external environment represents a complex set of inter-dependent relationships, which constantly
react with the project as it is brought into reality. Conversely, most projects are intended to impact the
environment in one way or another, and this is particularly true of infrastructure projects. Therefore, for
the project to be ultimately successful, these inter-dependencies must be taken into account.
Even more important, the factors noted above have a habit of changing during the life of the project,
especially if the project takes a number of years to complete, and is brought on-stream in phases. This
translates into a high degree of uncertainty or risk surrounding the project, as a result of its external
environment. In fact, the greater the degree of interdependence, the greater the degree of uncertainty,
and the greater the challenge for the project manager and his team.
Managing the Project Environment Page 9 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
Not the Same for Every Project
Clearly, the environment will not be the same for every project. In fact, it is likely to be determined
principally by three considerations, namely:
• The product or service resulting from the project
• The technology and the manner of its application, and
• Its physical location
To identify potential difficulties stemming from the project's stakeholders, assess their probability of
occurrence, and to try to head them off in advance, the project team must learn to interact frequently
with those individuals and institutions which constitute the most important elements of the project's
external environment. Together with the project's sponsors, owners and users, these people constitute the
project's direct and indirect stakeholders.
Effective External Project Management Strategies
Prerequisites for avoiding internal project failure, or at least sub-optimal results, were discussed earlier.
However, it has also been noted earlier that external conditions and events also represent uncertainty and
risk to the successful accomplishment of the project. These conditions have been linked to the external
stakeholders of the project. Therefore, it is essential to develop a sound stakeholder environment.
Developing a Sound Stakeholder Environment
Just as the means of influencing the project's cultural environment, as described above, was one of
developing the right attitude, so it is with developing a sound stakeholder environment. Perhaps this
attitude is best reflected by adopting a mind set that reverses the traditional organization chart hierarchy.
In other words, place the project stakeholders at the top of the chart, followed by the front-line project
team members, and on down to the project manager at the bottom. Perhaps the project team will then be
better visualized as a truly service organization, designed to serve the best interests of a successful
project outcome, both perceived and in reality.
Some suggested steps in this process include:
• Learn how to understand the role of the various stakeholders, and how this information may be
used as an opportunity to improve both the perception and reception of the project
• Identify the real nature of each stakeholder group's business and their consequent interest in the
project
• Understand their behavior and motivation
• Assess how they may react to various approaches
• Pinpoint the characteristics of the stakeholders' environment and develop appropriate responses
to facilitate a good relationship
• Learn project management's role in responding to the stakeholders drive behind the project
• Determine the key areas which will have the most impact on the successful reception of the
project.
Managing the Project Environment Page 10 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
• Remember always that even a minor stakeholder group may discover the "fatal flaw" in the
project and which could bring the project to a standstill!
Identifying The Project Stakeholders
One technique for dealing effectively with the project's external environment is to prioritize the required
stakeholder linkages by conducting a stakeholder analysis. Such an analysis would be designed first to
identify all the potential stakeholders who might have an impact on the project, and then to determine
their relative ability to influence it.
Stakeholder Groupings
Project stakeholders may be recognized in any of the following groupings:
• Those who are directly related to the project, for example suppliers of inputs, consumers of
outputs, and managers of the project process
• Those who have influence over the physical, infra- structural, technological,
commercial/financial/ socioeconomic, or political/legal conditions
• Those who have a hierarchical relationship to the project such as government authorities at local,
regional and national levels, and
• Those individuals, groups and associations, who have vested interests, sometimes quite unrelated
to the project, but who see it as an opportunity to pursue their own ends.
Stakeholder Categories
Having identified the various stakeholders, each may be assigned to a category according to their
relative ability to influence the project. Three categories are envisaged, namely:
• Those who are controllable
• Those who are influencable, and
• Those who need to be appreciated
Within each category, each stakeholder may then be further rated by degree of importance according to
their ability to influence the project. Appropriate members of the project team can then prioritize their
efforts accordingly to maintain the necessary stakeholder linkages, and thus give rise to the best chances
of ultimate project success. If the project is large enough, or the stakeholder linkages are sufficiently
intense, the project team's efforts may be assigned to a specific group within the project team. Enter
Project Public Relations.
Project Public Relations
Traditional management has long since recognized the classic Input-Process-Output model with its
management feedback loop for controlling output, see Figure 3. Dynamic managers also recognize that
opening communication channels in both directions constitutes a powerful motivator at the operative
level. Whether quality information is presented in verbal, written or graphical form, improvement in
Managing the Project Environment Page 11 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
performance can be quite remarkable. Indeed, many knowledge workers demand it, and the Japanese
have built their industrial reputation on the "quality circle", which uses this principal.
Figure 3 Traditional management feedback
The principal is just as true in the field of projects, though regretfully much less evident on construction
projects. Nevertheless, on a major project, especially if it is publicly funded, providing a general
information center is quite normal. A more proactive stance, or positive feed forward, is usually known
as Public Relations, or just PR, and plays a vital in the favorable influence of the environment of a
complex project. This public relations feed forward concept is shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 Public relations feed forward concept
To a surprisingly large extent, the project team's ability to exercise this positive feed forward will
determine their ability to control the project in terms of its final cost and schedule.
The Public Relations Plan
Good public relations requires a strong identity, a planned program and concrete goals, and commences
with appointing someone to be responsible. That person must be outgoing and positive, yet able and
willing to listen. He or she must be capable of preparing carefully constructed text and presentations,
and be able to work through a program systematically. Like every other major function of the project
management process, the PR function should be conducted like a sub-project.
In developing a PR plan, the following eight steps are recommended. It will be noted that many of the
recommendations made earlier are incorporated.
Managing the Project Environment Page 12 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
1. Know the project organization and its objectives thoroughly
2. Determine who the interested publics will be and the characteristics of each
3. Establish the relative importance of each to the project, and in particular, identify the "high risk"
areas
4. Assess the current reputation of the sponsoring organization as it is perceived by each of the
interested groups
5. Determine appropriate action in each case
6. Develop strategy, resource requirements, priorities and schedule which are in sympathy with the
project itself
7. Implement the PR program
8. Continuously monitor the effectiveness of the program during its execution, and adjust as
necessary for optimum results
Ensuring the Effectiveness of the PR Plan
What are the hallmarks of successful PR? Here is a top ten check list of a good public relations program:
1. Develop quality information about the benefits of the project
2. Care and concern genuinely expressed for the project's stakeholders
3. Timely (rapid) response provided to information requests
4. Information requirements anticipated and provided ahead of time
5. Genuinely sincere appreciation expressed to a stakeholder for their inquiry
6. Flexible personal responses provided, where special issues dictate
7. Recovery from inevitable lapses of services during implementation, in ways that impress
8. Project team members empowered to make decisions to solve urgent and obvious problems
9. Stakeholder-friendly policies and procedures established
10. Stakeholder-friendly facilities available both during project implementation, as well as
subsequently
Some Practical Examples
Advanced Rapid Transit System
A local government authority conceived an ambitious project to design and build 22 km of light,
intermediate capacity, rapid transit system through densely populated areas. Innovative features included
light driverless cars, magnetic traction, steerable wheels, and fiber optic based communication and
control systems. The cost of the project in 1986 was about $800 million (Canadian).
With such a high profile project, a decision to establish a public relations function was taken at an early
stage. At the outset, the cost of the system was thought to be exorbitant. However, figures were
developed and shown graphically in the display center to show that the estimated cost was realistic when
compared with similar systems built with similar capacities elsewhere.
Safety of the automatic driverless trains was another major concern. A major strategy in the project
implementation plan was to fast-track a one kilometer test section of the permanent elevated part of the
Managing the Project Environment Page 13 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
line through to complete temporary operation, at a very early stage. This section provided invaluable
design and construction experience. In addition, it was used for five months to give free rides to more
than 300,000 visitors from all over the world, while construction of the rest of the system continued.
During construction, the alignment community was recognized as the most important stakeholder. All
homes within each area were kept informed of progress by a local news letter. In addition, a construction
"hot line" was established to receive complaints day or night, with someone available to visit the scene
at the earliest opportunity. The practice worked well and paid dividends. Perhaps the most satisfying
evidence was to be seen in the shift of attitude on the part of the local newspapers.
These strategies undoubtedly did much to build confidence, assuage stakeholder concerns, and enabled
the project to be completed early, within budget, and to a high performance level. The cost of the PR
effort amounted to approximately 0.6% of the total project budget.
Proposed Liquid Natural Gas Facility
A private company planned to build a facility to export liquid natural gas. The project would include 800
km of pipeline, a liquefaction plant, a marine terminal and a fleet of ships to deliver the product to the
company's customers. Planning approval required environmental impact and socio-economic benefit
studies, and to succeed would require the majority support of all those impacted by the project.
Assistance with public relations was obviously required, and a local public relations firm was hired.
Their major asset was in knowing local dignitaries and media representatives and in being able to
provide quick and favorable access to them. Very positive relationships were established with local
authorities and the local populations.
World Class Fair
The local government authority conceived the idea of a five-and-a-half month long transportation fair to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the city of Vancouver. The site, which is within
walking distance of downtown, had to be expanded several times to the final size of 70 hectares to
accommodate the 41 countries that finally took part.
The financial success of the project was heavily dependent upon exhibitor participation on the one hand
and attendance on the other. A major promotional effort was therefore obviously a necessary part of the
project. However, to be successful, the project also needed the support of the local communities, who
initially viewed the whole enterprise with considerable skepticism.
Therefore, a public relations effort was established quite separate from the hard-sell marketing effort.
The basic philosophy of the program was to create public interest, awareness and excitement, establish a
sense of ownership and thereby increase the number of local visitors. Particularly with publicly funded
projects, it is worth bearing in mind that the stakeholders who stand to gain the most are not necessarily
those who are impacted the most. In practice, they are likely to be the "vocal minority", while the former
sit on the side lines as the silent majority.
Managing the Project Environment Page 14 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
In the early stages of the project, the construction site became embroiled in a major labor dispute. It
became a test case for retaining closed union shop conditions on government work. The government, on
the other hand was determined that every company should have an opportunity to participate. The
project organization tried to negotiate a compromise with the unions and the government threatened to
cancel the fair.
Fortunately, the public relations communication with the media had been steady, open and honest.
Through the media, the issues were taken back to the public, and the majority public opinion eventually
prevailed. Except for the original four or five days lost, there were no subsequent labor interruptions. In
due course, the fair was opened on time, within its prescribed budget, was very well attended and highly
successful. The cost of the PR effort was of the order of 0.4% of the project cost.
Water Storage Barrage Construction
Further afield, and some years ago, a well known national construction company secured the first major
water retention barrage construction project in Bihar, India. At the time it was the longest barrage in the
country. However, the entire area was known for its local labor problems.
The local village heads and leaders were invited to meetings in which the project, and particularly the
arrangements for employment were explained. Even though by law the company must employ its own
men first, the local elders were pleased to be consulted, and work was found for their people by
subcontracting. Certain tribes expected special recognition and treatment, if peace on the site was to be
maintained. This too was carefully nurtured.
The company also gave great attention to the facilities needed by its employees and their families.
Necessary schools, shops, tailors, hair dressers, a butcher, dhobi, atta grinding shop, and so on, were all
provided. Similarly, necessary buildings and facilities for messes for vegetarians and non-vegetarians
sections, South Indian and North Indian and Punjabi were also provided. Transportation was provided to
the local school, and outsiders were admitted to the project hospital facilities, which provided free
medical attention. An activity club was established where all levels of the project staff could play and
relax together.
As a result of these and many similar considerations, the project was completed on time and in peace,
including the periods of seasonal retrenchment and at the end of the project. This was a considerable
achievement given the time and place. Even though the project was built some years ago, the need for
cultivating a favorable impression amongst the native tribal groups was well recognized.
Clearly, the project management of the day understood the importance of managing the project
environment.
Two recent hydro projects
It seems that water storage schemes are becoming increasingly vulnerable to environmental concerns.
As if to emphasize the points made earlier, the following newspaper articles are perhaps worth quoting.
Managing the Project Environment Page 15 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
From The Indian Express, Bombay, January, 1990.
"The controversial Tehri hydel power project in Uttar Pradesh is likely to go through, perhaps with some
changes to satisfy agitating environmentalists...After a marathon five hours of talks. . .chaired by the
Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Mrs. Maneka Gandhi, the environmentalists lost some
ground as it was decided to resume work which was suspended earlier this month....
"The meeting highlighted the clear divide between the groups for and against the project, and the
technical data and arguments presented by both sides confused even Mrs. Gandhi..."
From The Sunday Spectrum, Calgary, Alberta, March 1990.
"Activity continues at Oldman Dam site...There is. . .a hub of frantic construction, even though nearly a
week ago three Federal Court of Appeal justices jerked the province's building Licence and ordered
neglected environmental studies."
Clearly, there is still trouble ahead!
Consultants in Constructive Citizen Participation
Today, project sponsors and administrators are finding themselves spending more and more of their time
and resources simply reacting to conflict and crisis. To the surprise of many, they are discovering that
much of this is coming from the community around them, because now people have very different
values, goals and assumptions. As we have seen, this trend is likely to accelerate.
In fact many project delays and postponements and cancellations are unnecessary. Mistrust stems from
uncertainty, poor communication, inadequate information exchange, basic philosophical differences, and
general lack of credibility. Mistrust leads to confrontation, polarized positions, inflexibility, and
entrenched adversarial roles. Each party needs to at least understand, if not entirely accept, the legitimate
and differing interests, roles and expectations of the other.
Very often, the issue in the public's mind is not so much how to stop the project altogether, but how to
have their concerns integrated into its strategic planning. However, once conflict has developed, special
dedication and skill is required in its resolution. Better still is the constructive participation of the
citizenship at the outset.
Consequently, consultants are now to be found who have developed various techniques for working
constructively with stakeholder conflict, or who specialize in acting as independent mediators through
communication, education, analysis and soliciting alternative courses of action.
Summary
Clearly, the project manager's job is no longer confined to controlling events within his or her own
project organization. It is no longer sufficient to think of project management as simply the monitoring
of time and cost by planning, scheduling and resource leveling, as many software programs might have
Managing the Project Environment Page 16 of 16
AEW Services, Vancouver, BC © 1990, 2001 Email: max_wideman@sfu.ca
us believe. Nor even is it sufficient to include the many other organizational tasks of the project
manager, as leader of the project team.
Vitally important as all these things are, these are not sufficient for effective and successful project
management in today's dynamic world. What is equally important - often more so to achieve a
successful project outcome - is the need to track the project's linkages to the external environment. This
is especially true of infra-structure projects which place emphasis on development and innovation and
must respond to increasingly rapid change.
The reason is simple. Every construction project exists for a purpose relating to, and within, its
surrounding environment. Therefore, its creation and implementation must be responsive to its
environment by maximizing the benefits, as far as possible, to all the stakeholders, and minimizing the
adverse impacts by deliberate mitigation. Clearly, how the project manager works within the project

environment can make all the difference between the success of the project and its failure.

Q. 3 A system is a group of independent but interrelated elements comprising a unified whole. Do you think that the
project consists of sub-systems? Elucidate in detail.

“In every great endeavor we wish to achieve, twice as much hard work is needed for us to give”. I believe
in this statement and every project manager would definitely agree. A project manager sees to it that
everything goes well as planned and if problems may arise as they usually do, a resolution is immediately
implemented. To be able to create a successful project, one must go through the project management steps
carefully completing each and every project management phases. Here is a guide of the project
management phases:

1. Team Assembly

No man is on an island. Same is true in undergoing a project. It is a collaboration of different minds

working together to come up with a cohesive idea and plan out the strategies needed to execute the project
successfully. In creating your team make sure that you have different people from a variety of fields to
have the most brilliant ideas on hand.

2. Project Initiation

Identification of the project definition, objectives and approach are discussed in this phase. It is important
to have your goal in mind before starting to brainstorm into the scope and specifications of your project to
serve as your guide throughout the duration of the project.

3. Project Planning

Among the project management steps, I would say this is very

important since the foundation and backbone of the project will
depend on the planning stage. If a complete and thorough
planning is done the probability of setbacks and problems along
the course of the project will be highly prevented. As a project
manager you would need to use management-level planning to
map out an overview of resources, acquisitions, subcontracts and
costs. It is expected of you to estimate, plan and oversee all
phases of the project management phase. As a project manager
you need to include your team or set up a committee to execute project planning.

4. Project Execution

In this project management step the project manager needs to know the importance of delegation. Each task
needs to be delegated to everyone to achieve efficiency in delivering results. It is also helpful since easy
tracking can be done through small teams or groups working together as one to achieve a single goal
identified on the Initiation phase. Use a project management software to give a constant overview of how
the project is going in terms of scheduling, cost control, budget management, resource allocation,
collaboration software, communication, quality management and documentation or administration systems
especially in large scale projects. Then collaborate with your team to hold meetings and conferences to
provide feedback solve challenges and aid in decision making. Communication is essential in making your
project a success to determine degree of dependency among team members and to foster camaraderie.

5. Project Leadership

What sets apart a manager and a leader? Some might not even know the slightest difference. A leader leads
by example by that it means he embodies in himself the values of providing quality service to others. He is
passionate in helping his team members be productive and resourceful without demanding for results right
away. A leader knows and understands his team members weaknesses and strengths which he works
around to motivate them to do their best and work collaboratively to produce excellent results.

6. Project Monitoring and Controlling

In any project you need to be able to allocate your resources effectively. Project software is available to
oversee your costs, resources and financial capability throughout the project. Highest quality is achieved by
constant monitoring and project tracking. Standard Quality is the goal being obtained in this phase to be
able to present a high quality result.

7. Project Presentation

This phase is close to completion of the project wherein majority of what was planned has already taken
place. The client will have a preview of the project outcome before it is officially launched to be able to
change, update or do some minor revisions. The project manager will have the responsibility in presenting
to the clients since he is the head of the organizing team. Effective communication skills are needed to
undergo this phase impressively.

8. Project Conclusion

At any project close there should be a complete documentation, audit and feedback. Regardless of the
success of the project, proper transition of work processes and deliverables should be done. Proper
documentation of processes should have been established with sufficient data for the operation of the
system and to also provide basis for future projects and maintenance.

Being a project manager has a lot of work. You have to be passionate in helping your team to be able to
yield good results. It is not all theories and principles. Though there are a lot of resources on how to use
project management steps wisely and effectively to help you along the way.

Q. 4 At what stage of project life cycle the project manager should be appointed? Should the project manager be
given training inside or outside the organization and should be trained with respect to several project
management functions or for specific function? Explain with the help of example.
Managing projects have observed that projects have special characteristics that can be exploited to manage
them more effectively. One of those areas somewhat peculiar to the project environment deals with project
phases:

• Projects go through definite and describable phases;

• Each phase can be brought to some sense of closure as the next phase begins;
• Phases can be made to result in discrete products or accomplishments (e.g., test results) to provide
the starting point for the next phase;
• The cost for each phase begins small and increase throughout the project, culminating in
development, procurement, and the operations and support phases;
• Phase transitions are ideal times to update planning baselines, to conduct high level management
reviews, and to evaluate project costs and prospects.

Projects should be structured to take advantage of the natural phases that occur as work progresses. The
phases should be defined in terms of schedule and also in terms of specific accomplishments. You should
define how you will know when you are finished each phase and what you will have to show for it.

The Project Management Institute defines four major project phases: initiation, planning, execution and
closure. One could make the case that almost every project goes through these four phases. Within these
phase are smaller gradations. Some methodologies suggest decomposing projects into phases, stages,
activities, tasks and steps.

Cost and schedule estimates, plans, requirements, specifications, and so forth, should be updated and
evaluated at the end of each phase, sometimes before deciding whether to continue with the project. Large
projects are usually structured to have major program reviews at the conclusion of significant project
phases. These decision-points in the life of a project are called Major Milestones.

The following illustrates how the concept of project phases is incorporated into a new product development
methodology.

This illustrates the linking of major milestone review meetings with the completion of each phase.
Milestone decisions are made after conducting a major program review where the project manager presents
the approved statement of requirements, acquisition strategy, design progress, test results, updated cost and
schedule estimates, and risk assessments, together with a request for authorization to proceed to the next
phase.

The early phases will shape the direction for all further efforts on the project. They provide requirements
definitions, evaluation of alternative approaches, assessment of maturity of technologies, review of cost,
schedule and staffing estimates, and development of specifications.

Milestone completions can be defined in terms of "exit criteria" as well as by calendar dates. Using "event
based" schedules rather than date-based schedules ties project phase completions to the successful
achievement of predetermined criteria such as completion of testing, demonstration of prototypes,
adequacy of technical documentation, or approval of conceptual designs and specifications.

A relatively short-term or technically straight-forward project may have only one approval event, following
a proposal or feasibility study. Nevertheless, the project manager should report to customers and interested
senior managers at intervals to keep them up to date on project progress and to ensure the continuing
soundness of the project direction and requirements.

On small projects, if no formal agreements are written, the project manager should deal with customers and
sponsors in an informal yet somewhat contractual way. This means managing expectations and making
clear agreements about what will be produced and when.

If project phases take place over many months or even years, it is vital to provide interim deliverables to
give the customers and sponsors a sense that work is being accomplished, to provide an opportunity for
feedback, and to capture project successes in documented form.

The project planning process should be built around the project life cycle. Particular care should be given
to defining the work to be accomplished in each phase. This should include definition of the deliverables to
be produced, identifying testing and demonstrations to be completed, preparing updates of cost and
schedule estimates, re-assessing risks, and conducting formal technical and management reviews.

If your project runs into an immovable obstacle and progress comes to a complete halt, you may want to
declare victory and bring that phase to a close. This can be done by documenting the work already
completed, and then writing a report describing the work successfully completed and defining the steps
required should project sponsors decide to proceed.

Project Approval and Appointment of Project Management Team Stage: This is the final stage
where the project is officially approved, the necessary funds are allocated and the Project Management
Team (apart from the Executive and the Project Manager who have been appointed in the Design
Stage) is appointed.

Figure 1-4: The three stages of Project Initiation

The specific steps/ activities involved in each one of the above stages, as well as the order in which they are
undertaken are presented in the following flowchart (Figure 1-5). Analytical description and guidance on
how to perform each of these steps/ activities, is given in the following subchapters (1.4 – 1.6).

It is noted that the activities, tools and techniques involved in each of the other phases of the Project
Life Cycle are described in Chapter 7 of this Guide.
Q. 5 The role conflict, communication problem, lack of team definition, members commitment and senior
management support are the among the key barriers that hinders the effective team building process. What
approaches can be helpful to cope with these barriers. Assume any practical situation.

Successful teams produce extraordinary results in all areas of business, in sport, in communities and in
voluntary bodies to name a few. Teams often fail to realise their potential because barriers get in the way of
success. What are those barriers and how can you overcome them?

Barrier 1: Individual agendas

People are use to looking after themselves. We have all probably been told or heard someone say that you
need to look after number one. In other words focus all of your attention on your agenda rather than the
team agenda.

Solution: When on a team, focus on the unique contribution that you make to the overall team results and
put the team results at the forefront.

Barrier 2: Silo thinking

In organisations, the attainment of a result will depend on all those in the process working together. Take
for example a hospital. Someone needs to make the initial appointment for the patient to see a doctor. If the
doctor identifies that the patient needs an operation, they will have to go on to a waiting list, be notified of
when their operation will be, have the necessary pre-operation assessments done. Once they are admitted,
arrangements need to be made to get them to the theatre on time, plans made for their discharge, including
home support and medication.
Each of these tasks will require contributions from different departments and it is all too easy, especially
when people are busy and stretched to fall into silo thinking. In other words, viewing challenges in
isolation without considering the impact on other parts of the process and most importantly the customer
(in this case the patient).

Solution: Make the time for teams to understand the impact of their actions or inaction on others and in
particular the customer.

Barrier 3: Lack of trust

Most people need to be confident that others will deliver to fully embrace team working. In other words
they need to have trust. Building trust takes time, effort, commitment and belief. There is no magic formula
but actions speak louder than words.

Solution: Commit and follow through on actions that you have agreed to carry out and show that you can
be trusted to deliver.

Barrier 4: Vagueness about what is to be achieved

Teams need to know what they have to achieve. In other words they need specific and measurable
outcomes. Teams are often formed with vague goals like improve retention, reduce errors or reduce the
reporting cycle to name just a few. This vagueness is a guaranteed recipe for a dish called disappointment.

Solution: Set specific and measurable outcomes for teams to address like, for example, reduce sickness
levels by 2% by 30 June.

Barrier 5: Absence of conflict

In teams, particularly in organisations who are performing well, conflict is often missing. We are doing
well, so we can rest on our laurels and not rock the boat might be the motto. Conflict should not be seen as
a something negative but a constructive way of getting the best from everyone.

Building a team is one of the most challenging tasks of a leader. Like building a business, creating a good
team is a truly tough endeavour that every leader must take upon.

One of the most frustrating things you can experience as a leader is to continually try, but experience
difficulties and obstacles in human relationships continually.

Make no mistake, human relationships are everything in teams. After all, that's what teams are: people
striving for a common goal.

There are several evident barriers to team success that are common to most teams; let me describe some of
them. Hopefully, if you're struggling with managing your team, you can identify with some of these issues
and realize it's a problem.

Three Barriers to Building a Team

1. Poor Leadership
Everything flows from leadership. And when there's a problem in the team, usually, it's the leader's fault.
Either he's not giving enough direction to his team, or he's not communicating enough.

Remember, when there is a problem with the team, look to yourself first. Do you think you gave enough
instructions for your team to fully understand what you're telling them? Are you committed to your goals,
and it came out through a speech that you gave them?

If you're not sure, you can always ask someone in the team for feedback about yourself. Be ready for
criticism; after all, you're asking so that you can improve.

2. Poor Communication

Communication is the key of life; and more so in teams. You need to have a lot of communication amongst
the team members, and the team members with you.

With communication, you can eliminate a lot of misunderstandings, ambiguity and hence possible conflict
from the team. A team with bad communication often has a lot of mistrust, politics and backstabbing.
Everything is under the table, because nothing is brought upon the table.

This often causes the dynamics to breakdown. Because information is not shared openly or timely, the team
cannot operate at its full potential.

3. Poor Team Dynamics

Teams can fail because some people just cannot work with others. For example, if you have two extremely
opinionated team members in the team, you'll be seeing conflict all day. Also, if you have team members
that are 'yes' men; people that are just passive and wait for orders, you won't see a lot of participation and
open discussion in the team.

How to overcome these barriers

It's not easy, pulling a group of diverse individuals together to work as a team. Barriers abound, in the form
of fierce territoriality, incentive systems that reward individual rather than collective achievement, and
mistrust spawned by an acquisition, merger, or major internal restructuring. Yet at a time when companies
are increasingly relying on cross-functional teams at every level to generate innovative ideas, it's more
crucial than ever to tap the fresh thinking that teams can provide.

How to overcome barriers to teamwork and unite an unlikely group of collaborators? Present them with an
irresistible challenge, advise management consultants Patrick McKenna and David Maister in First Among
Equals: How to Manage a Group of Professionals (Free Press, 2002).

Team challenges can take numerous forms—including a high-profile project, a process-improvement

crusade, an enemy to be vanquished, or a chance to become the "winning underdogs." A crisis and pressure
to complete a daunting task in a tight time frame (launching a new IT system, initiating a brand campaign)
represent additional types of challenges. "A burning platform or aggressive deadline leaves team members
no time to stall, hide, or point fingers," says Allan Steinmetz, CEO and founder of Inward Strategic
Consulting, an internal branding firm in Newton, Massachusetts.
Regardless of the many forms team challenges can take, they share a purpose: fulfilling the deep need that
most people have to be part of something larger than themselves. "People value this feeling more than
anything else," maintains Judith Glaser, author of Creating We: Change I-Thinking to We-Thinking and
Build a Healthy, Thriving Organization (Platinum Press, 2005).

But defining a challenge, and then inspiring your team to meet it, takes real savvy. "Managers must first be
genuinely interested in helping people excel," says Maister. "They also have to understand that shifting
from individual work to teamwork isn't an intellectual process, it's an emotional one. You have to seduce
people step by step into collaborating as a team."

Effective managers use the following tactics:

1. Share as much information as you can

Share with your team as much information as possible about why their effort is so important to the
company. "People want to be in the know," says John Coleman, CEO and founding partner of The VIA
Group LLC, a marketing services firm in Portland, Maine. "I make our people feel like insiders by telling
them about our company's challenges."

Glaser encourages her clients to "open up your company's closets. Put the brutal facts on the table—
whether it's 'We slipped this quarter' or some other difficult news. You'll make people want to protect your
company." Sharing information in this manner can spur teams to rally together and establish a shared
vision for what they need to accomplish.

Katie Buckley, a senior organizational development consultant at Malvern, Pennsylvania-based Siemens

Medical Solutions U.S.A., united business-unit leaders by challenging them to develop a graphic depiction
of the company's competitive strategy as part of a nine-month development program in 2004. The team's
effort resulted in a diagram that lays out the cause-and-effect links required for the company to leave rivals
scrambling.

"We've grown through acquisitions," she says. "The challenge is in the integration—we strive to form
complete solutions for customers."

After seeing the company's strategy in graphic form, "business leaders now realize they have to balance
allegiance to their units and to the company, balance our future needs with today's needs, and put their
'enterprise' hat on," Buckley says. "They clearly see not only where we want to go as a company but also
how we'll get there."

2. Provide the right amount of guidance

Invite team members to share ideas for surmounting challenges. Glaser advises clients to "help people
articulate the unique contributions they can offer. Ask them: 'What are your ideas? What innovation can
you bring to this effort?'" But balance this participation by providing guidelines for generating ideas and
making decisions.

Brian Zanghi, president and CEO of Nashua, New Hampshire-based Pragmatech Software, took this
approach with his executive team soon after he joined the company. His goal was to promote more cross-
functional collaboration, and it proved a delicate task. Half the members of his executive team were new
themselves, and the organization had a hierarchical culture.
"We had few cross-functional initiatives, and decisions escalated to a single point," he says. When Zanghi
challenged his team to work across functions, several "old guard" members became uncomfortable. "Some
of them wondered what their role was now and didn't know how to collaborate with their peers," he says.

To overcome these barriers, Zanghi asked team members to draw on their own expertise to generate ideas
for cross-functional initiatives. "I don't micromanage; that kills creativity and collaboration," he says.

But he did provide some necessary structure to their brainstorming by testing ideas with such questions as
"How will this idea get customers to use our products faster than before?"

3. "Stretch" your people beyond their current skills

Draw people into a challenge by offering them the chance to use skills they don't normally exercise in their
day-to-day work. By "stretching" beyond their skill set, people gain experience thinking in fresh ways—a
key ingredient in effective team collaboration. They can also become a great source of innovative ideas.

Stacy DeWalt, vice president of marketing for management services and enterprise accounts at Stamford,
Connecticut-based Pitney Bowes, recently used this approach with her team. She brought twenty-five
people together who had deep expertise in different areas—advertising, public relations, and the Web—to
brainstorm ideas for how to change the perceptions of the firm's target audience and to elevate the
importance of its products and services to the "C" level audience.

DeWalt then assigned people with different expertise to subgroups and challenged them to generate ideas
outside their normal sphere of responsibility. Mass communication specialists, for instance, were charged
with developing suggestions for direct-response marketing programs.

4. Make it fun, actionable, and visible

To put team collaboration into overdrive, inject fun into your team's challenge. DeWalt, for instance,
designed her team's brainstorming session to mimic the TV series The Apprentice, in which Donald Trump
presents aspiring businesspeople with a challenge and then "fires" mediocre performers.

"Our CMO played Trump," DeWalt says. "He told the group we were out to 'fire' our competitors."

But DeWalt made it clear that there was more to the exercise than just fun. "We told the team that the
company would fund their best ideas, so people knew their brainstorming was actionable." Participants also
discovered their work would be visible. After the session, the groups gathered the easels on which they'd
recorded their ideas and carried them to the boardroom on the sixth floor. "All the VPs and the CMO were
there," says DeWalt. "People realized they had the executive team's endorsement."

DeWalt's reward? Four of the team's best ideas have found their way into corporate or business-unit
marketing plans. Moreover, participants have begun collaborating more to seize advantage of one another's
perspectives.

One young woman enamored by "makeover" series on TV suggested a "mailroom makeover." Intrigued by
her pop-culture perspective, some of her brainstorming partners have invited her into other programs to get
more of her ideas.

A postsession survey revealed additional important results: "People said they felt empowered," DeWalt
says. "They responded, 'You're investing in us and giving us visibility. We want to step up and help. You're
challenging us but making it feel safe to be creative.'"
5. Help people "feel" the challenge
Design exercises that let your team experience their challenge viscerally. Consider the tactics used by
executives in General Motors' Saturn division when they recently challenged retailer teams to generate new
ideas for fulfilling Saturn's purpose: to "surprise and delight" customers.

"We wanted them to experience surprising and delighting at a gut level," says Chris Bower, manager of
Saturn's retail strategy and customer experience. So the company designed a core-values training course in
which each retail team built a bicycle to learn how best to work together. Next the teams had to design a
"delivery experience" meant to surprise and delight a new owner of their bike.

After the teams developed their strategies, facilitators brought children from the local community into the
room and presented them as the new bike owners. Neither the youngsters nor the Saturn teams knew of the
plan ahead of time. "The teams not only surprised and delighted the kids," says Bower, but they
experienced those feelings themselves.

Team members thus gained a visceral understanding of what they were trying to achieve. The "surprise and
delight" they themselves experienced during the exercise