The Project Team –

One Big Happy

Family

Kupe Kupersmith, CBAP

President, B2T Training

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@Kupe

@B2T_Training

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Agenda

• Why aren’t we one happy family?

• Where to focus your attention

• Guiding a Collaborative Relationship

Why aren’t we one happy family?

• Family fighting

Why aren’t we one happy

family?

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Performance Based on Individual

• Companies create titles and job description

• Various Bodies of Knowledge for roles

– PMBOK

– BABOK

– Etc.

• General attitude of people wanting to work within

a particular job description

• Titles Overlap

– PM/BA

– BA/QA

Who Cares What the BOKs Say?

• They are not bibles for titles

• There great guides for the work that has to be

done and competencies companies need to

achieve their goals

Teams are Built on Roles

Lead Business Analyst

Sr. BusinessAnalyst

DevelopmentLead Sr.

DeveloperSr.

Developer

Architect

ProjectManagerTest Lead

QAAnalyst

UX Analyst

Room for Assumptions

There are gaps in work:

I thought

you were

doing it...

I thought

you were...

Room for Assumptions

Both groups are doing the same work:

I thought

I was

doing it...

I thought

I was...

Build One Based on Skills

Analysis Development

Testing UX

Build One Based on Skills

Traditional

Vision

Identify Needs

Facilitation

Process Knowledge

Analyze Impacts

Motivate the Team

Coding

Testing

Metrics

Agile

Vision

Identify Needs

Facilitation

Process Knowledge

Analyze Impacts

Motivate the Team

Coding

Testing

Metrics

Guiding a Collaborative Relationship

Self Assessment

• Understand your role within your organization

– What are your strongest skills?

– What are your areas for improvement?

• What tasks do you most enjoy?

Guideline to Better Working Relationship

Agenda

1. Get to know each other

2. Discuss project characteristics

3. Discuss the team members needs

4. Get clarity on project

outcomes

1. Get to Know Each Other

Three Things in Common

2. Discuss Project Characteristics

Project Objectives Measureable?

Success criteria

defined? Alignment with corporate strategy?

1. Yes No Yes No Yes No Unknown

2. Yes No Yes No Yes No Unknown

3. Yes No Yes No Yes No Unknown

Stakeholder Name/Group Name Department or Organization Physical Location

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Outside Organizations Involved

1.

2.

3.

Key Requirements Deliverables (if known)Existing systems that may be

impacted (interfaces)

1.

2.

3.

3. Discuss Team Member Needs

• What Decisions does each team member need

to make?

• What information/help do you need to do your

job?

• What information do your team members need

from you to do their jobs.

What it Takes to Make a Decision

• What’s being decided?

• Who decides?

– One person

– Two or More

• What information do they need?

– Input to help decide

– Impact to evaluate options

• Where will the information come

from, or from whom?

The criteria for making decisions:

Break it down

4. Get Clarity on Project Outcomes

• Project scope definition

–Project statement of purpose

–Project objectives

–Project business risks

• What does success look like

• Stakeholder relationships and communication

• Quality: plan for reviews of requirements,

designs & plans

Instill a Feedback System

1. Ask for Feedback

2. Be Appreciative

3. Implement Feedback

4. Provide Feedback on Feedback

It’s About Responsibilities

• Someone needs to take responsibility for tasks

• Collaboration is a must

• People do stuff they are good at and like

– You can use the guides to expand your skills

• How does your

company outline

roles…where do

you need

improvement

Never Say…It’s Not My Job

Who’s the Boss?

• Someone needs to take the lead

• Everyone should take the lead

Multi-tasking: Be careful

• Multi-tasking is not effective.

• People do not multi-task. They switch rapidly

between areas of focus.

Let’s Do an Exercise

What did you learn?

Final Thoughts

• Focus on the work, not the title

• Teams need to collaborate to come up with the

best approach

• Think in terms of making your

team members job easier

Stay Connected

• Questions for Kupe?

kupe@b2ttraining.com

• Connect with Kupe!linkedin.com/in/kupetheba

• Follow us!twitter.com/B2T_Training

twitter.com/Kupe

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