IMS9300 IS/IM FUNDAMENTALS
Project Management;
Working in teams;
Conflict resolution;
Negotiation in teams.
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What is project management?
• “Project Management is the process of
planning, directing, and controlling the
development of an acceptable system at a
minimum cost within a specified time frame”
Whitten et al. (2001)
– On time
– On budget
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Why project management?
• Project management is necessary because
of:
– the number of people involved
– the number of tasks to be done
– the extent of the interaction between the tasks
and people
– the complexity of the interactions between the
tasks and people
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Project management activities
• Defining tasks and the dependencies between them
– critical path
• Allocating people and resources to tasks
– Scheduling, resource sharing, skill sharing
• Monitoring progress of project against plan
– monitoring
• Taking remedial action when things don’t go according
to plan
– intervention
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Basic process of project management
– Select systems development methodology
– Plan the project tasks
– Estimate the resources and time required to complete
individual phases of the project
– Staff the project team
– Organise and schedule the project effort(tasks/time/
people/technical resources) and therefore cost
– Control the project development (directing the team,
controlling progress, replan, restaff, .... )
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Some Project Management Tools
and Techniques
• Deliverables - to check what has been done. Binary
deliverables.
• Milestones - to check where we have got to (and how far
to go)
• PERT Charts - to show the connections between tasks
(Whitten p.130)
• Gantt Charts - to show progress on tasks (milestones)
(Whitten p.131)
• Project support software – eg. Ms. Project, graphical
output
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Planning the project
•
The project plan
– it establishes intermediate tasks en route to the
project’s objectives
•
Staffing
– choose team members, match skills to task, training for
team members, morale (idleness, overburden)
•
Project control
– well-defined requirements, estimated rate of
progress, reporting (at detailed and overall
levels), review performance against plan.
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The Project Manager’s contribution
•
•
•
•
•
order – point of reference, metrics (measurements)
method – company’s favoured project methodology
planning – coordination, preparation, critical path
support – monitor, aid, re-planning
control – warn, intervene, smooth over, fix
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Teams (in systems development)
• systems development is complex – many people
and tasks must be coordinated and controlled
• teams are commonly organised on a project
basis – together for one project then divided for the next
• team membership can include various
stakeholders - IT managers, systems analysts, users,
business managers, programmers, and other specialists at
various points in the project.
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Teams in systems development ctd.
A team is a group where:
• members are operating within a charter
• members see themselves as having specified
roles
• members see the team as accountable for
achieving specified organisational goals
• the team provides a forum where the members
interact, relationships develop, a common
approach emerges, goals are reached
(Dwyer 1997 chap 10)
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Working in teams
• team leader (or project manager) responsible for organising work on the project
• everyone else is nominally equal
• team skill set – determined by the nature of the
project
• team size - large enough for specialist skills, large
teams are difficult to manage, teams within teams are
common
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Team success
• team success depends on
• team’s skills - how the group is assembled
• team’s effort - participation and productivity
• team management - the leader must be
organised, informed, with good communication
and human relations skills
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Characteristics of good teams
•
•
•
•
•
•
diversity
tolerance
communication
trust
put the team first
reward structure
(Hoffer et al p 17, p 57)
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Group decision making
• professional work involves many decisions
• with group work decisions impact others
• meetings allow group decision making
–
–
–
–
democratic decisions
agreed and equitable load sharing
review of strategy
formal authorisations
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Group membership
• group membership presumes
competence
• address your knowledge and skills
shortfalls
– in your specific, delegated tasks
– in related areas
– in your general ability and skill levels
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Why Conflict/Negotiation in IS Projects?
•
Conflict management and negotiation are central to
IS development:
- Provision of a service to a client
- Non-standard products
- Development for a mass audience
- Products which significantly change the way
people work
- Team-based multi-disciplinary development
process
- Rapidly-changing technological and theoretical
base
- Externally-based development support
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Parties to Conflict/Negotiation for the IS
Professional
•
The client - wants something from us
• The users - uses what we provide
• Fellow IS professionals - participate in the process
• Project management - direct and manage resources
• External groups who are contributing to the project provide services and support
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Strategies for Conflict/Negotiation
•
•
•
•
•
Avoiding/ignoring
Withdrawing/giving in
Competing/bullying
Collaborating
Compromising
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Common Precursors to
Conflict/Negotiation
•
Failing to establish realistic expectations
• Failing to understand the other’s viewpoint
• Failing to communicate effectively
• Failing to define responsibilities
• Failing to deliver what had been promised
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The IS Professional: Key Issues for
Conflict/Negotiation
•
•
•
Our responsibilities as professionals
Our role as negotiators/conflict managers
The nature of our specialist knowledge
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Key Issues in Conflict/Negotiation: The IS
Professional’s Standing
•
•
•
•
Status of IS professional as a professional
Far-reaching impacts of work on people and
organisations
The nature of professional and ethical
responsibilities
Refer to future lectures on professionalism
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Key Issues in Conflict/Negotiation:
The IS Professional’s Role
•
•
•
Nature of role determines nature of conflict
management and negotiation tasks
Refer to earlier lecture on multiplicity of roles
Rate of change of role
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Key Issues in Conflict/Negotiation: The IS
Professional’s Knowledge
•
•
•
Specialised knowledge - unavailable/inaccessible to
laymen
Technical knowledge - ‘scientific’/’rational’
Nature of knowledge - fragmented/partial/everchanging
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The IS Professional in Negotiation/Conflict
•
•
•
•
‘That’s not my problem; I’m a technical person’
‘It should work if you do it properly’
‘That’s just the way the system operates’
‘There’s no point getting upset about it’
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Conflict resolution
Indicators of conflict:
• discomfort: things do not feel “right”
• incidents: e.g. a sharp exchange occurs
• misunderstandings: motives, facts are confused
(mindreading)
• tension: relationships affected by negative attitudes,
fixed opinions- “I’m sick to death of Harry!”
• crisis: normal functioning is affected, extreme reactions
are contemplated – eg. quitting
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Why does Conflict Occur?
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
differences in values, attitudes, traditions, prejudices
different goals
expectations not being fulfilled
different work practices
responses to incidents
misunderstanding
competition
feelings of anger, of disappointment, of being offended
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Responses to conflict
• Effective communication is essential: active listening
• Assertive behaviour is best: state and uphold your
views whilst respecting those of others
• Aggressive behaviour is not constructive: it involves
dominating and winning at all costs
• Submissive behaviour is not constructive: it involves
an inability to promote a point of view and one’s own needs
and goals
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Negotiation
• Negotiation is a process in which two or more people
attempt to resolve differences, discuss problems and arrive at
an agreement
• Style: personal style will affect the way in which an
individual negotiates and can be classified according to ways
in which the individual uses/experiences power and
psychological barriers
• Strategies: win-win, win-lose - each strategy has a different
outcome and relies on different styles of communication
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Stages in the Negotiation Process
• Plan - establish clear objectives before engaging the
other parties
• Select appropriate time and setting - cool heads
• Set the Context- establish trust and confidence via
listening skills, establish the areas of common
ground, ensure all parties feel equal and safe
• Define needs - establish the needs of each party by
listening
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Stages in the Negotiation Process
• Discuss - deal with one issue at a time, clarify and
summarise the content, feelings and ideas which are,
and have been, communicated
• Negotiate - brainstorm possible solutions, evaluate
those options, select those that everyone can agree
to, implement the solutions
• Action plan – make sure the solutions are
implemented as agreed
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Conflict resolution options
• Compromise – (win-win) will it last?
• Collaboration – (win-win) will it continue?
• Competition – (win-lose) revenge?
• Accommodation – (lose-win) “thin end of the
wedge”?
• Avoidance – (no resolution) repeat?
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References
•
SCHWALBE, K. (2004) 3rd ed., Information Technology Project
Management, Thomson Learning, Inc. Massachusetts. Chapter 1.
•
MARTIN,E., BROWN, C.V., DE HAYES, D.W., HOFFER, J.A. and
PERKINS, W.C. (2002) International ed., Managing Information
Technology, Pearson Education, Inc. New Jersey.
Chapter 12
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