As a project team matures, they go through certain stages. These Team Development Stages are described under Team-Building Activities, which is a tool of the fourth edition PMBOK®’s Develop Project Team process. According to this theory, there are five stages of team development—Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Teams typically begin at the first stage and then progress to later stages. However, teams can stop progressing at a certain stage and never reach the higher stages. Also, an event such as the addition of a team member can cause the team to regress to an earlier stage. In the Forming stage, the team members meet each other and learn about the team’s purpose and goals. In the Storming stage, team members may struggle for certain roles and responsibilities as well as try to convince others of their perspective on how the work should be performed. When the Norming stage is reached, team members are working together and an element of trust has been established. The Performing stage demonstrates a highly effective team whose members are working together smoothly as a unit. When the work is done and the team is disassembled, it is called Adjourning. Project Managers have an advantage if they are able to quickly move their team into the Performing stage. Also see the earlier posting of Develop Project Team Process (posted May 4, 2009).
May 13, 2009
May 4, 2009
Develop Project Team Process
Develop Project Team is one of the 42 project management processes described in the fourth edition PMBOK®. It’s one of the three Human Resource knowledge area processes, and one of the eight Executing processes. The purpose of this process is to improve the team’s competencies and their interactions among each other. The list of who is on the team can be found in the Project Staff Assignments, and the times when each person is available can be found in the Resource Calendars. If the team members are at the same location, it’s called Co-location. The Project Management Plan may contain information on planned team development activities and training. It is helpful if the project management team has relevant Interpersonal Skills in their attempt to improve the interactions and skills of the project team. Training can increase competencies of individual members, and Team-Building Activities and Ground Rules can increase the overall functioning of the team. Recognition and Rewards can be used in a fair manner to recognize and increase desirable behavior. The primary output to this process is Team Performance Assessments which evaluate the effectiveness of the team. Also see the related posting of Develop Project Team – Team-building (posted February 5, 2009).
February 5, 2009
Develop Project Team – Team-building
Develop Project Team is one of the 44 processes in the third edition PMBOK®. This process is classified as a Human Resource process in the Executing process group. The Develop Project Team process concerns improving the competencies of project team members and the interactions among team members. One of its tools and techniques to accomplish this is team-building activities. In some fields and situations, a group of people may work together for many years and form a high-functioning team that is impressive to observe in action. Project Management by its very nature deals with the temporary—teams are formed quickly and disbanded as soon as the project comes to a close. To add to the challenge, some teams are virtual teams that never or rarely actually meet in person, yet to meet the project’s goals they must learn to work together effectively.
The project manager that can encourage the rapid development of a team has a great advantage. According to a well-known theory, teams go through stages of Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. A team that reaches the Performing stage will work most effectively. At the beginning, project managers should make certain that team members understand the objectives and importance of the project to help guide their individual decisions and to make the project goals their own. If the team members have individual agendas overshadowing a mutual team goal, problems are likely to ensue as they work against each other rather than together. Also, the project manager should try to encourage an atmosphere of trust and communication. To these ends, team-building activities may be introduced. Examples that people have used include: ice-breakers, ropes courses, off-site corporate events, games, company parties, and workshops. It can be difficult to find and execute a good team-building activity. What team-building activities have you experienced? Please share any ideas for team-building activities that you’ve found useful.
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