Human Resources is Magic.

Human resource management encompasses motivation techniques, empathic listening, responsibility assignment matrices, project organizational charts, and team building exercises. The processes involved are developing a human resource plan, acquiring the project team, developing the project team, and managing the project team.  In a nutshell, human resource management is about motivation and networking.  These are the same lessons learned by Twilight Sparkles in my little pony friendship is magic.  In the first episode, Twilight Sparkles develops a human resources plan as she is tasked by her queen to prepare for a celebration and to go learn about friendship.  Twilight Sparkles ignores the later objective.  However, when she finally realizes the importance of the team, she is able to save pony land by assembling the elements of harmony.  Thus, she displayed the importance of assembling the right team and managing them effectively. 

               Motivation is a big part of human resources.   Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is the first step in motivating people.  This theory states that people’s behaviors are guided or motivated by a sequence of needs.  If a persons physiological and safety needs are not met, they are not very likely to care about accomplishing a project.  Unless, that project fulfills those needs.   Many managers use their various powers, coercive, legitimate, expert, reward and referent power, while forgetting about the basic needs.   While these methods may work temporarily, you must address a person’s underlying needs for them to remain effective. 

               Networking is something at which I am not very good.  Why is networking important?   Well networking can be basically summed as building relationships that can assist you in the future.   In general, people are more sympathetic to people they know.  By creating these human networks, you can better influence external organizations.  This can make it easier to assemble the team, since well-established connections with sections heads means they will cooperate more and will be more prone to give you competent team members.  Remember as a project manager, you will often see the functional organizational structure in which you have the least amount of power.  This kind of structure means a more heavy reliance on section heads.

             

              Learn from Twilight Sparkles and understand, “Friendship is magic.”

Too Much Scope

    One of my favorite shows to watch is Man vs. Food on the Travel Channel.  This show follows Adam Richman in his pursuit to find the biggest and best foods the U.S of A offers.  At the end of every episode, Adam takes on the local food challenge.  This ranges from eating a 4.5 pound steak with sides in 60 minutes to four pounds of pancakes with one pound of toppings in 90 minutes.   What does this have to do with project management you ask?   This has to do with scope creep.   Scope creep refers to uncontrolled changes or continuous growth in the scope of a project.  Remember scope is the work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product, service, or result with the specified features and functions.  Like Adam, victims of scope creep may soon find the juicy, succulent steak has suddenly morphed into a monstrous 4.5 pound steak that needs to be finished in less than an hour.  Something fairly pleasant morphed into a struggle that leaves many people giving up before they have finished.  

    So what causes scope creep?  Scope creep can be caused by a disingenuous customer, poor change control, lack of proper scope definition, a weak project manager or executive sponsor, and poor communication.  Scope creep to sum it up is change.   Any change can bring more or less cost, time or labor to a project.  Change control management is vital to scope creep.   Change control is a formal process used to ensure that changes to a product or system are introduced in a controlled and coordinated manner.  This occurs at every level.  The project manager must decide whether a change is necessary, whether it is within their authority to make the change, and what impact the change will have on the overall project.   Without a formal means for change control, many unnecessary changes will occur, because they are outside of the authority of the project manager.   Thus, a Change Control Board (CCB) is necessary to ensure that conflicts the project manager can not solve can be arbitrated by a sponsor with sufficient authority.   Thus, through proper change control a project manager can limit change, and thus limit scope.

    One last thing about scope creep, a project manager may not be able to influence all external changes, but they should be able to influence most internal changes.  This is where the management part comes into play.   A manager makes decisions.   Thus, a project manager needs to decide what to do with changes.   Not all changes need to go to upper management, nor do they need customer approval.  You may ask which ones are which?   This is why you are being paid, to make a decision.   You could send every change to the customer and sponsor, but you would quickly find that your project is being slowed down as your team awaits decisions.  The customer and sponsor would get annoyed at you for bringing everything to their attention and wonder what your role really is.   So make a decision.  Will you be wrong sometimes, yes.  That’s just the way things are, but if the project manager is blamed when things go wrong wouldn’t you rather have it have been because you made the wrong call, than someone else made the wrong call for you.