folks, delicate situation so little specific detail:
2 high profile projects with shared attributes: delayed, recently revised requirements, part time team members, small teams with increasing personality issues, trying to be Agile.
Any ideas, other than planetrecruit or jobsite?
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Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
I think that by the time people are thinking about job sites, then there is a pretty good chance that they have already mentally checked out. Maybe moving on wouldn't be such a bad idea? Saving Changes...
Hans RobbersSenior Director| SalesforceVlissingen, Netherlands
Ana
Agree with Elizabeth. You are what you preach. If you have a negative mind set this will be noticed by the team and the atmosphere will become negative.
If you want to make this project a success you rneed to:
- believe in the success yourself
- call the team together in a face to face session and resolve the personal issues It must become a team. If members are refusing replacing will be the option
- plan based on the team remaining , the new requirements a new end date and some contingency and obtain seniior management buy in
- inform management and sponsor on a weekly basis on progress against the plan
good luck
Hans Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Your comment "Any ideas, other than planetrecruit or jobsite?" gives me the idea that you have tried unsuccessfully to address the problems with others only to be told that this has been tried before, we always do it this way, etc. And this frustration will be visible to your team. Sometimes the best way is to explan or summarize the situation, your frustration, etc. and ask the team for suggestions on how to move foward.
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Leam HallPM Apprentice| Smartronix/DoDPulaski, Va, United States
Instead of the team meeting, maybe talk one on one over coffee, lunch, or bagels? Much easier to get a personal understanding of the players and their concerns and ideas. Later on do the team thing but only reference peoples compliments and good ideas. If someone refers to someone else as an idiot, you might not want to mention that bit. :)
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The sponsors of these projects will not be impressed - you need to take control of the projects and its resources. If there is conflict between people that is stifling progress it must be addressed and resolved. Personal issues are to be put aside when working on projects team work is imperative business focus is imperative. Demonstrate leadership and ensure your teams play ball, start by asking their input and or suggestions on how to turn things around - and ensure you have the right skilled resources on your projects, if not go and get them through your sponsors. Saving Changes...
Russell GeakeProject Management Consultant| Deciduous Partners LtdLostwithiel, Cornwall, United Kingdom
In my experience this is not an uncommon story, at least elements of it. I don't think there have been many places where people don't have issues at one time or another.
As always the advice and guidance here are shining - Elizabeth is right that people considering checking out probably have already, Leam's one-on-one approach and Anon 2's suggestion of asking how they would move forward are excellent, and the importance of keeping your vitality and leadership intact throughout will help you as Vasoula and Hans say.
You say that they are two high profile projects...has anyone mentioned which is the higher priority? Try to maintaing the seperation, that way you are only dealing with the issues in one project at a time - this may help manage any "overload" on your psyche. Is there any reason why teams cannot be juggled in order to manage the issues? It may be that the current teams are just not meant to be together.
"Any ideas, other than planetrecruit or jobsite?" Turn this on its head and see if there are any candidates that have the appropriate skills that you could bring in to help out - if you can influence the sponsors that this would be a good idea.
In an Agile environment the key thing is that everything is done by iteration - you have the power to move things around, if there are bottlenecks focus on them until they are resolved. If they persist or recur in the review see if you can identify the root causes (practice the 5 Y's and ask incisive questions)
Transition is rarely an easy path to take - just keep things moving and you'll get there.
Rs
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Anonymous
thanks all, your comments are really useful and encouraging - guess i was getting a bit bogged down and blinkered by others attitudes. Will try one-on-one discussions but distributed teams might make this tricky. I'm confitdent i can try most of this advice what have i got to lose? Saving Changes...
Where are the project sponsors in this mess? They are responsible for resources. It looks like you need some direction on which project is the higher priority. Can you get both sponsors in the room and give them some options?
"trying to be agile" leads me think that you are "failing to be agile". Can you bring in some outside help to get your agile method back on track?
Good luck Saving Changes...
Anonymous
I'd like to know that too juli :( Saving Changes...
As a project manager it is your responsibility to escalate issues, so I suggest that you formally document this as an issue and organise a meeting with both sponsors to resolve it.
The sponsors are not going to take the initiative on this they will assume that you are handling the situation. So it is up to you to get the right stakeholders together to get this resolved. It is time to be more assertive. Saving Changes...
