Project Team and Resources (Week 7 lecture)

building the project team is one of the most important aspects of-

project management

considerations for when you're planning the project team:

organizational policies, skills needed, ability to learn new things, knowledge, personality, availability, experience, aptitude, and ability to work with others

Steps for gathering the internal project team members

1. Identify the skill set needed to complete the project work 2. Identify the person in the org with that skill set 3. Negotiate with the functional managers for the person 4. Have the person assigned to your project

Steps for gathering the external project team members

1. Identify the skill set needed to complete the project work 2. Identify the skill sets not covered by people in the organization 3. Create a job posting 4. Have the person assigned to your project

assess skills of existing and potential project staff members

skills assessment

skills assessment documents the-

skills each team member possesses and their experience level in those skills

how often are skills assessments updated?

yearly through the annual performance review

what kinds of questions should you ask when negotiating for resources?

experience?, training?, career goals?, interest?, have they worked successfully before?, are they outstanding, are there any personal issues?

what should you give when negotiating for resources?

a copy of the project charter ahead of the meeting (when negotiating with another manager)

once your project team members are assigned to the project, you can assign their names to the project activities

staffing assignments

when conducting staffing assignments....

timeframes will be determined when creating the schedule, can create a resource breakdown structure, don't forget to consider personal interests/characteristics, determine any training needs for project team members

contains contact information for the project sponsor, project manager, stakeholders, all team members, and all vendors

Project Team Directory

for the project team directory, you should include...

descriptions of their roles and their communication needs

after creating the project team directory, you should hold a-

project team kickoff meeting and invite team members who start later in the project schedule

this document records the project team values, agreements, and operating guidelines, and establishes clear expectations regarding acceptable behaviors by project team members

project team charter

when do you acquire materials, supplies, and equipment?

after tasks are identified (refer to WBS and WBS dictionary)

what questions do you asking when planning and acquiring resources?

questions about what materials/equipment may be needed to complete activities and deliverables

when making or buying decisions, you need to determine whether it is more-

cost-effective to make the product or service in-house, or purchase the product service

make or buy decisions can be made for any of the following:

project, deliverables, activities, resources, skills, training, availability, process controls, trade secrets

describes the resources, services, or materials to be purchases from an outside vendor and how the procurements will be managed

procurement plan

lists services/goods needed, quantity, price, vendor, and timeframe- know your organization's procurement policies!

procurement plan

what should you prepare in conjunction with or in place of the procurement plan?

the contract statement of work (SOW)

describes all resources needed for the project including human, goods, and services; skills assessment, skills definition by task, staff assignments, and physical resources have been identified

resource plan

a resource plan would include a table with the following:

name of the resource needed, the requirements, the number of the resource needed, duration resource is needed, person in charge of managing resource, the task(s) for which resource is needed (use WBS ID codes), any additional information to understand resource

a mutually binding agreement that obligates the seller to provide that specific product, service, or result and obligates the buyer to pay for it

contract definition

set a fixed price, used for a well-defined project, service, or result

fixed-price contracts

agree to reimburse the vendor for the costs incurred plus a fee; often used when scope is not well-defined or subject to fluctuations

cost-reimbursable contracts

established a fixed rate without a SOW

Time and materials contracts

allows an indefinite quantity of products/services/results with upper and lower bounds and a fixed timeline

indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts

contracts are managed by a _____________ or ____________ ______________ in many organizations

procurement or contract department

Project managers still have responsibility to understand the contracting process because they have to-

manage vendor relationship, and determine if deliverables are satisfactory

contracts are enforceable by a court of law, true or false?

true

when contracting for resources, the buyer creates the-

statement of work (SOW)

what is the contract life cycle?

requirement, requisition, solicitation, award, closeout

a narrative description of products, services, or results to be delivered by the project

statement of work (SOW)

what is part of the requirement part of the contract life cycle?

the SOW, PM, sponsor, legal counsel, procurement department create draft; organization may have a template, includes project requirements and deliverables

what is part of the requisition part of the contract life cycle?

fill out a request for information, request for proposal, or request for quote

what is part of the Solicitation part of the contract life cycle?

advertisement of RFP; deadline for bids posted, buyer generally has a bidder conference to describe project/ answer questions ---> vendors respond to the RPF; vendors provide info on their experience, their organization's relevant resources, prices for goods and services, ect.

what is part of the Award part of the contract life cycle?

uses evaluation methods to choose among proposals, committee reviews and ranks the responses using weighted scoring model and screening systems

assigns a weight to selection criteria, criteria weight is multiplied by rating to determine a score, scores are added to determine overall weighted score

weighted scoring model

screening systems outline criteria that must be met for a proposal to make it to the next level in the selection process, screens out proposals that don't meet predetermined criteria

screening systems

what is part of the awarding part of the contract life cycle?

document the requirements from the RFP, milestones, timelines, deliverables, and more in the contract, use the SOW to monitor the vendor's performance to assure agreed-upon deliverables are met

PM verified the work of the contract was completed accurately and satisfactory (compare the contract and SOW to the outcome), PM sends a formal notification to the vendor that the work is acceptable

closing out the contract