Part 11: Project Team
A project team’s compositions vary with the needs of the project
- All teams have a Project Manager who is the leader
- The Project Manager’s authority can vary
Other Members could include
- Project Management Staff
- Team that performs management, scheduling, budget, reporting, and risk management
- In some organizations, the PMO handles this role
- Project Staff
- Carry out the work
- Depending on the size of the project, there could be no staff or thousands of staff
- Supporting Experts
- Develop/execute the project management plan
- Includes people from finance, management, logistics, legal, engineering, and quality control
- They provide expertise to advise the Project Staff or Project Management Staff
- Experts can work on the project full-time, or called in when required
- Experts may work for the organization full time or can be contractors
- User/Customer Representatives
- Users and Customers ensure/validate project results
- Advise the project team on requirements
- It’s important to consult with the customer throughout the project. This way, you ensure that the result meets the customer’s needs. In case of a misunderstanding in the project’s requirements, it’s easier to correct mistakes early on.
- Sellers
- Provide components/services for the project
- Can play a significant role; sometimes the sellers (subcontractors) perform most of the project work
- Business Partner Members
- Business Partners
Composition of the Project Team depends on culture, scope, and location
A Project Team can be Dedicated or Part-Time
- Dedicated
- All/most of the team members work full-time on the project
- Mostly found in projectized organizations
- Part-Time
- Team members remain in their existing organizational (functional) role
- They work on the project on the side
Partnership-Based Project
- A Partnership-Based Project is a joint venture/alliance between two or more organizations
- One organization is the leader and assigns a project manager
- Partnerships provides flexibility at a lower cost
- Project Manager has less control when there are multiple organizations
Virtual Team
- When members are in different geographic areas, a virtual team can be set up
- Must use collaborative tools & technology to communicate (example video conferencing, e-mail, SharePoint)
- Project Manager must accommodate diverse cultures/languages/work hours, especially when members are in different countries