Project Management Tips
10. Who
Updates the Workplan?
Courtesy
of TenStep, Inc.
In most projects
the project manager is responsible for the workplan and should
update the workplan on a weekly or bi-weekly
basis. In some cases, the
project manager may ask each team member to update the workplan
indicating whether their assigned work is completed.Team members
typically are not allowed to assign themselves to new work, add
new activities or otherwise alter
the workplan. After the team members update the plan with current
status, the project manager can evaluate the overall
project status.
Team Resistance to Managing the Workplan
It's one thing to build a project definition and
the workplan. It's another thing to effectively manage the project.
If you
could issue the plan and the work assignments and have everyone
complete their activities on-time, the project manager's life
would be much easier. However, the process of managing the team
and the workplan is complicated because people don't always complete
their work as expected.
To understand how the project is proceeding
and to ensure that it stays on track, the project manager needs
to work with people and understand how the assigned activities
are progressing. The project manager may need to go around
and ask people how they are doing. The project manager may need
people
to send status reports and attend status meetings to understand
the work status. However, people do not always respond well
to these processes for a number of reasons.
- They may think the project management processes are cumbersome and are keeping them from completing their deliverables.
- They may feel they will be punished for bringing bad news or doing things incorrectly.
- They may not feel the project management processes are effective.
- They may have a normal human tendency against processes that feel like controls.
- Team members may have tried to follow the processes, but found they were not complete or they were not supported by other people on the project.
- They may feel that the project manager is not following the prescribed procedures.
- They may see people going around the processes without consequences.
Knowing and recognizing these normal human tendencies will help
you design a set of project management processes that are appropriate
to the project being managed. The project manager also needs
to communicate the processes effectively, including their overall
value to the project.
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TenStep, Inc, specializes in methodology development, training and consulting in project management, Project Management Office, Portfolio Management, and the project lifecycle.
If you have your own project managment tips that would be of interest to other users, please email us.