University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

ENGM92ENGM92

managing disparate,managing disparate,multi-site andmulti-site and

multi country teamsmulti country teams

Unit 3Unit 3

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

International Project International Project Management and PracticeManagement and Practice

• Introduction– People are important– Team unity is important– Disparate teams are not easy to manage

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

IssuesIssues

• Collaboration

• Parallelism

• Changing requirements

• Conflicts with normal work

• Semi-autonomous work

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Identify Areas ofIdentify Areas ofProject RiskProject Risk

• Starting the project– getting local support

• Project reporting– getting efficient and reliable reporting

• Managing Issues– timely and complete resolution

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Defining the TeamDefining the Teamfor success!for success!

• Various types of team members:– Critical team members

• Key to project success

– Locally focused team members• Generally local support workers

– Cameo members• Provide significant input for limited time

– Should be no distinction between contractors and employees

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Attributes of Team Attributes of Team MembersMembers

• Not just technical and business skills

• Experience of similar projects

• Experience of international projects

• Ability to work with diverse teams

• Ability to solves problems – maybe independently

• Sensitivity to issues and problems

• Multilingual capability

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Identify and Select Identify and Select Team MembersTeam Members

• Your expectations

• Their expectations of the project and the benefits to them

• Local time conflicts and other local problems

• Re-allocation of team members current work

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Build a Team MentalityBuild a Team Mentality

• Start with a meeting of all Critical Members– establish roles and responsibilities– could use video link if budget is tight

• Develop team approach– unity of purpose– Involve all the team– Be aware of body language and non-verbal

communication

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Replace Team MembersReplace Team Members

• On projects of any length team members can and will leave– prepare for this

• Review current work• Talk with departing member• Move to assign other team members

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Manage Team MembersManage Team Members

• Data is the key

• Face to face meetings are best– beware of reports by email– telephone is better if face to face not possible

• Listen

• Be sensitive to cultural differences

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Manage the Manage the international teaminternational team

• You cannot manage everything

• Team is often to widespread globally

• Be selective

• Delegate

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Proactive resource Proactive resource allocationallocation

• Identify critical resources

• Don’t let a local office reassign your resource– without discussing with you first

• Check resource allocation regularly a progress meetings

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Update the PlanUpdate the Plan

• Planning is a key tool– just as in all projects

• All team members should be able to view the plan– modern technology makes this easy

• Communicate changes

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Track project workTrack project work

• Data is so important

• Record the tracking– this helps monitoring and control

• Make unannounced visits– You may find that progress is not as good as you

have been told

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Review milestonesReview milestones

• Project milestones

• Goals

• Key result areas

• Key progress indicators

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Determine the state of Determine the state of the projectthe project

• What is the projects real status and conditionfor example:– what is the status of the oldest issue

• why is it still unresolved

– are team members working to the latest plan– are team members working in isolation or as a

team

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

Other IssuesOther Issues

• Employ a project score card

• Carry out change management when required

• Deal with scope creep

• Alter project direction – if required

• Measure Project Results

University of Sunderland ENGM92 Unit 3

ConclusionsConclusions

• Manage Team Members

• Manage the Team