If there are voluntary people (=not paid, working for honor/social engagement/...) working in the project, will project management be different? I assume principles as no-gold-plating should be revisited because gold-plating might be a form of reward for the team member. Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Not really, Gold plating is mainly related to the scope of work so it can't e a kind reward. Project Management is not any different when you do volunteering, why would it be different. Same concepts apply to projects and they only difference is that you volunteer instead of getting paid. Saving Changes...
Lenka PincotChief of Staff to the CEO| Project Management InstituteParis, France
I think there are differences but at the same time there should not. For instance when you work with volunteers you should really focus on efficiency because you should respect any minute of the time they dedicated to your project. That means using simple yet powerful communication tools, avoid any wasting time on meetings, give very clear instructions that do not require lengthy explaining and prevent rework. At the same time, this should be standard also on "commercial projects". But is it? Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
There should be no difference in the project management approach itself but you will have a slightly different approach to the HR component. As you eluded to the motivation/reward system might be different. In theory is is always easier to motivate and reward volunteers since they do it be cause they want to, not always the case with paid resources.
PS. As Rami pointed out, gold plating is about delivering nice to have scope and is not related to reward. Saving Changes...
Since the motivation levels are slightly different with voluntary people as opposed to ones who are paid, the PM should be slightly more sensitive when it comes to giving tasks. Sometimes more persuasion might be required. Saving Changes...
If someone is volunteering for a project, initial motivation is high because folks are signing up unlike on a "normal" project where someone might have been assigned a role or a project against their desires, but a PM will need to ensure that interest doesn't falter, especially during critical execution activities.
Kiron Saving Changes...
John FarlikProgram & Project Management| SPX FLOWWaxhaw, Nc, United States
I would say that the discipline is still the same. You are defining objectives, determining scope, budget and schedule, and then communicating with the team. Some of the tools and techniques that may be available are different, and the reasons for motivation are varied as well. However, the basic function of PM remains. If the PM is a volunteer it is even more important that efficiency is maintained to maximize everyone's time (as some of my colleagues have already stated). Thanks for the question Mirko.
jtf Saving Changes...
John RobertAuthor | Associate VP| Sun Pharmaceutical IndustriesVadodara, Gujarat, India
I would say even in PAID projects if people have voluntary engagement, the project management is far effective. MY sense ifs that one need not micromanage a volunteer mindset.
To answer your question, it is far productive to work with volunteers, examples are Wikipedia, many open source software are done by volunteers Saving Changes...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
You need to make sure people are personally invested in a volunteer project and feel a sense of ownership, for they have no other reasons to work on the project. Saving Changes...
Daniel GustProject Portfolio Manager| Previously at Intrepid Solutions and ServicesLand O Lakes, Fl, United States
It will be more rewarding for those involved on a voluntary basis, but one must remember that volunteers will have other priorities at times, especially if their leadership does not support allowing them the time to work on other initiatives.
I has a supervisor that strongly encouraged this type of effort, but when he left, his replacement was adamantly against it; if my company was not getting paid for it, then my expertise was not permitted to work towards completion. I tried to fight for my right to volunteer my free time to help, but was squashed as the project was at the same customer organization but being led up by an employee of one of our competitors. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
There are no difference at all. I will say why. Because people must be motivated to make their job and motivation is a topic that is only needed to be defined with a special characteristic depending of the environment. Environment is what we need, as project managers, taking into account when we define the project scope which is at the very begining of the project. Saving Changes...
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