Chapter 2: Human Aspects of ISP Management

Project Management Summer 2014/2015

Dr. Nouh Alhindawi

Department of Software Engineering Jordan University of Science and Technology

Quotes and Sayings• Believe you can and you're halfway there. 

• Change your thoughts and you change your world. 

• Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. 

• If you can dream it, you can do it. Walt Disney 

• If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.

• It's always too early to quit.

• From the errors of others, a wise man corrects his own. 

• Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. 

• Don’t say things about people you wouldn’t tell them to their face.

• Do not tell the same thing differently to different people

People in the process (Management activities)

• Problem solving (using available people)

• Motivating (people who work on a project)

• Planning (what people are going to do)

• Estimating (how fast people will work)

• Controlling (people's activities)

• Organizing (the way in which people work

Motivation

• Intrinsic motivation causes people to participate in an activity for their enjoyment like read, write and play.

• Extrinsic motivation, causes people to do something for a reward or to avoid a penalty.

• Motivation is a complex issue but it appears that their are different types of motivation based on:

(Maslow’s motivation and personality 1954)

– Physiological needs (sustain life e.g. food, sleep, etc.)– Safety needs – Social needs, individual is fed and safe, so finding social outlets is important.

(friends, e.g. to be accepted as part of a group)– Esteem needs, self respect and achievement (e.g. public recognition of achievement)– Self-realization needs, responsibility for their work and develop their skills, growth,

knowledge, people want to excel and work at something the enjoy.

Human needs hierarchy

Motivating people

• Motivations depend on satisfying needs

• It can be assumed that physiological and safety needs are satisfied

• Social, esteem and self-realization needs are most significant from a managerial viewpoint:

- Social, Provide communal facilities, Allow informal communications

- Esteem, Recognition of achievements, Appropriate rewards

- Self-realization, Training - people want to learn more, Responsibility

Motivational TheoriesMcGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y

• McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y motivational approach identifies polar differences in subordinates:

• Theory X -The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can. - Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organizational objectives. - The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants security above all else.

• Theory Y - People will apply self-control and self-direction without external control or the threat of punishment. - Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement. - People usually accept and often seek responsibility. - In industry the intellectual potential of the average person is only partly utilized.

Quotes

• No one is satisfied with his fortune, nor dissatisfied with his intellect.

• “Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.”

• “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.”

• “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”

• “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.“

Motivation balance

• Individual motivations are made up of elements of each class

• Balance can change depending on personal circumstances and external events

• However, people are not just motivated by personal factors but also by being part of a group and culture.

• People go to work because they are motivated by the people that they work with

Personality types

• Task-oriented. – The motivation for doing the work is the work itself, This type of

leadership can be described as autocratic. Autocratic leaders make decisions without consulting their team

• Self-oriented. – The work is a means to an end which is the achievement of

individual goals - e.g. to get rich, to play tennis, to travel etc.• Interaction (people)-oriented

– The principal motivation is the presence and actions of co-workers. The people oriented approach involves supporting and developing people in their team. This type requires a high level of participation from leadership

Working with Team Members

• You will encounter four types of team members in your role as a project manager:– Evaders, do not like confrontation, they always nod their heads,

smile, and scream internally. Never offer a different opinion or disagree with any suggestion. To get these individuals involved, try the following: have each member offer an opinion, let them think about the problem and email solution to you.

– Aggressive, love to argue, their opinions are in opposition of others, usually are smarts, intelligent, and educated than others. To deal with this type follow: allow them to make their recommendation first, ask to explain their position clearly, speak to them privately for their cooperation when searching for solution.

Working with team members..

– Thinkers, Usually the are quite thru the process and then they offer their opinion based on what is been discussed. They are excellent to have on the project. Try to ask them for their opinion early in the process.

– Idealists, they see the project is simple, straight path to completion. They may ignore, or not a ware of, the process. Usually they are well trained to the technology, but have a little practical experience. The are open to learning and eager to offer solution to the project.

Dealing with each of these personas takes patience, insight into their personalities. So you have to spend time with your team members develop a relationship with them, and lead by example.

You will not be an effective leading your project team if you only talking about project, assign work…..and review…

Personality types of mangers based upon management style

– The imaginary leader, the think that they are managing the project today and running the company next week. (… raise their hand in school and remind teacher if he forgot to assign homework), they want to lead but they do not know how.

– The mouse, Afraid of doing any activity without explicit direction from somebody, they are afraid of mistakes, and need guidance. Encourage this type to take charge, build their confidence, and work together to fix some their mistakes in order to build their confidence.

Personality types of mangers

– You favorite Uncle (or Aunt), Office clown, telling jokes, sharing stories around the office, Not only they are really fun, but also the are time wasters. Often this type have nothing to do and they think that everyone else is the same. Give those people more assignment and tell them –politely- that their activities are appreciated, but not always necessary.

– The cowboy, love excitement, happy to try anything out (rebooting a server mid-morning) just to see what happen. Encourage their enthusiasm but discourage their ability to make on the spot decisions without thinking.

Building the TEAM

Group feeling develop over time, it is suggested that teams go through five stages of development:

• Forming, meetings, introduction to the project, learning roles and

responsibilities.

• Storming, addressing project work, technical decision, and the

project management approach.

• Norming, team work together, and adjust work habits.

• Performing, team function as well as organized unit.

• Adjourning, completing work and getting out from the project.

Advantages of Ground rules

• Establish clear expectations on acceptable behavior by team members.

• Rules aid in providing a comfortable environment

• Decreases misunderstanding and increase productivity.

• Discussion of ground rules help understand values.

• Rules take much of the responsibility of being the “policeman” off the leader and instead distribute it to the group.

• All team members are responsible for enforcing rules.

Recognition and rewards

• Recognizing and rewarding desirable behavior• Focus on win-win rather win-loose rewards• Should satisfy a need which is valued by rewarded

individuals, consider cultural difference.• Generally, money is viewed by most as a very

tangible aspect of any reward system.• Encouraged during the project lifecycle not after

completion.

Recognition Tips

• Be sincere

• Be spontaneous

• Match reward to achievement

Carnegie’s Golden Rules?????- Become a Friendlier Person: Don’t criticize, Give honest sincere appreciation, Become genuinely interested in other people, Smile,

Remember that a person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound in any language. Be a good listener, Talk in terms of other person’s interest, Make the other person feels important.

- Win People to Your Way of Thinking: - The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it. - Show respect for the other person's opinion. Never say, "you're wrong." - If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically. - Begin in a friendly way. - Get the other person saying, "yes, yes" immediately. - Let the other person do a great deal of the talking. - Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view. - Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.- Be a Leader - Begin with praise and honest appreciation. - Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person. - Ask questions instead of giving direct orders. - Let the other person save face. - Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to. - Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct. - Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.

Types of managers….

• Mangers who won’t listen, not interested or disrespect for others. So documents what you have to say to this type.

• Mangers who are aggressive, yelling, shouting, rude…befriend them, and let them know what he say or do offends you.

• Mangers who avoids decisions• Mangers who micromanage, they do the work themselves they

do not trust anyone else.• Mangers who rotate the discipline, someone always has to be

in trouble, and discipline that one to remind everyone that they are in charge.

• Finally the good bosses, the individuals who are caring, hard working, goal oriented ones. Do not be mistaken when working for a passive boss assuming you work for a good one.

Time distribution

50%Interaction with

other people

20%Non-productive

activities

30%Working alone

Quotes• Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders. 

• A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.

• Management is nothing more than motivating other people.  ~Lee Iacocca

• Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing

• There were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take

the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group. There is much less competition.

Cooperation

• IS projects bring diverse people together– Working with computers creates a machine

focus in some– Working with people creates a different

mindset– IS project managers need to make both work

together

Waterfall Development Model

Stage Personnel

Feasibility analysis Systems analysts, users, finance

Software requirements Systems analysts, users

Product design Systems analysts

Detailed design Systems analysts

Coding Programmers, Testers

Integration Systems analysts, Programmers, Testers, System administrators

Implementation System administrators, Testers, users

Operation & Maintenance Maintenance

Quotes

• The greatest conflicts are not between two people but between one person and himself

• Conflict is inevitable, but combat is optional.

• Creativity comes from a conflict of ideas.

• To believe in something, and not to live it, is dishonest

• “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”  Mahatma Gandhi • “Knowing when to fight is just as important as knowing how.”  • “All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal.”

IS Group Conflict

• a dispute or disagreement where different people feel that their wants, needs, interests or concerns are threatened.

• The opposition and disagreement due to incompatible goals, thoughts, or emotions within or between individuals or groups, it occurs when they try to block each other’s effort to attain those goals.

• Conflict inherent in – Human organizations– information systems

• Lack of trust & understanding• Hostility• Frustration

• The more diverse the team, the more likely that conflict will arise • Studies found that this conflict reflected in three levels:

• Disagreement• Interference• Negative emotion

Source of conflicts

• Values of team members, disputes occur when an issue is viewed by two individuals with different value, good and bad, right or wrong.

• Attitudes of team members• Goals/Expectations - the processes and expected

outcomes• Roles and responsibilities of team members• Limited resources• Personalities• Interdependency• Increased interaction (frequency)

More about conflicts

• Allen C. Amason, of Mississippi State University, has studied conflict and its role in decision-making. He suggests there are two types of conflict: (These actually trace back to the sources listed above.)

• Cognitive - conflict aimed at issues, ideas, principles, or process

• Affective - conflict aimed at people, emotions, or values

• His studies showed the presence of both types in any group setting; but he's clear to explain that cognitive conflict is constructive, while affective is destructive 

More about conflicts

Another researcher, Thomas K. Capozzoli (1995), reinforces this by describing the outcomes of constructive and destructive conflict:

• Constructive conflicts exists when… - People change and grow personally from the conflict - The conflict results in a solution to a problem - It increase involvement of everyone affected by the conflict - It builds cohesiveness among the members of the team

• Destructive conflicts exists when… - No decision is reached and problem still exists - It diverts energy away from more value-add activities - It destroys the morale of the team members - It polarizes or divides the team

IS Project Characteristics affecting interpersonal Conflict

Barki & Hartwick [2001]

Individual Team Project Organization

Personality Size Time pressure

Culture

Background Heterogeneity Resources Form

Role & status Leadership Success

Individual goals

Participation Top support

History

Individual Characteristics

• Personality– Technical people tend to dominate IS projects– Users need to participate as well

• Background– Different education, experience

• Organizational Role & Status– Hierarchical power won’t match expertise

• Individual Needs & Goals

Team Characteristics

• “Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

• Team size– Larger tends to have more conflict

• Team heterogeneity– More diverse tends to have more conflict

• Team Leadership• Participation

- Many shared interests can lead to conflict

• History, previous project clashes

Project Characteristics

• Time pressure inherent in most IS projects– People react differently

• Resource constraints– Often have to work with what’s available

• Success criteria– Expectations

• Top management support

Organizational Characteristics

• Conflict can arise over resource allocation, the distribution of duties, workload and benefits, different levels of tolerance for risk taking, and varying views on accountability. 

• Organizational culture• Form of organization

– Many project organizations use Matrix (multiple line of

authority you report to functional manger and project manager)• Creates high pressure, highly dynamic environment

Conflict & Performance

• Conflict, in itself, does not have to be bad. Often, it is beneficial to hear other viewpoints. As in personal relationships, conflict can help raise issues that need to be addressed. It might motivate workers to help solve problems

• Study found that conflict management had some positive impact on information system outcomes.

• It is Better to avoid interpersonal conflict– High conflict in some high performing groups

• Need to be able to reach closure– Low performing groups often had less conflict until the end

• Encourage – Open discussion– High levels of personal respect– Cohesive & supportive team leadership

Views of conflict(Traditional, Behavioral, and Interactionist)

• Negative T

• Must be avoided T

• Project manger job is to avoid conflict T

• Natural and inevitable B

• Can have a positive impact B

• Necessary to increase performance I

• Encourage conflict up to certain level I

Interpersonal conflict resolution management strategies

Collaborating, I win you win, used when: - there is a high level of trust

- you don't want to have full responsibility - you want others to also have "ownership" of solutions - the people involved are willing to change their thinking as more information is found and new options are suggested - When you need to work through animosity and hard feelings

Compromising, you end I bend, used when: - people of equal status are equally committed to goals

- time can be saved by reaching intermediate settlements on individual parts of complex issues

- goals are moderately important

Interpersonal conflict resolution management strategies

Accommodating, I lose you win, used when: - an issue is not as important to you as it is to the other person

- you realize you are wrong

- you are willing to let others learn by mistake

- you know you cannot win

- it is not the right time and you would prefer to simply build credit for the future

- harmony is extremely important

- what the parties have in common is a good deal more important than their differences

Competing, I win you loose, used when: - you know you are right

- time is short and a quick decision is needed

- you need to stand up for your rights

Ways to minimize conflict

• Listening empathetically and to all parties

• Thinking before speaking

• Using persuasive ways to express your point view

• Understanding other’s point of views, motive, and needs.

• Admitting own mistake

• Building trust

• Give other what they want so you can get what you want.

Organization Culture and success rate

• Your organization's culture has a lot to do with the success rate of your projects. The term culture generally means “how we do things around here. Culture comes into play on projects in a number of areas.

- Process orientation, if an organization follows a good, scalable project management process, it is more likely to be consistently successful on its projects. The entire project team generally knows how to create and follow a work plan, and can use standard processes to effectively handle risk, scope change, and issues.

- GovernanceMany organizations have processes in place, but no one follows them. This highlights a problem with management governance. In simplistic terms, governance is the management function that has to do with making sure people do what they’re supposed to do. Typically, if your management structure is engaged and interested in projects, and if managers make sure that your project management process is followed, you’ll be more successful.

- TrainingSome organizations do a poor job of training project managers. Typically, these organizations do a poor job of training in general. If project managers generally don’t have the right skills, you won’t be successful.

- Roles and responsibilitiesIn successful organizations, people typically know the role they play on projects and what is expected of them. This includes active sponsors, interested clients, and engaged management stakeholders.

Some Organizational Forces hamper (work against) IS Project Success

1. Project scope & objectives rarely communicated to project team, assuming everyone should automatically rally behind the project after officially adopted.

2. Business rationale for project rarely disseminated (circulated)

3. Project budgets inaccurate (or skipped)

4. Lack of project support

5. Project control contested or not firmly established

6. Rules changed during project execution

Project Communication (all stakeholders)

• Constant, effective communication among all project stakeholders ranks high among the factors leading to the success of a project. It is a key prerequisite of getting the right things done in the right way. As knowledge is power, sharing knowledge empowering every project stakeholder.

• Good communication is a major factor in successful PM.• Communications barriers naturally arise

– Within or across organizations• In traditional more permanent organizations, people cope with it

(develop ways to find what they need)• In Projects, high degree of change and uncertainty, people don’t know

ropes (a great amount of change in personnel)• (projects are new, different environment, dynamic and complex project

activities under a time pressure )

Communication methods

• Face to face meeting are most effective• Telephone call, emails, and other tools can be useful when

face to face is not possible.

• When you communicate with people:– Look at the other person– Ask questions– Do not interrupt– Do not change the subject– Express emotion with control– Respond appropriately

Listening to body language

• pointing

• sighing

• Concealing mouth

• Bending forward

• No eye contact

• Crossed arms

• Scratching nose, Rejection, doubt, lying

• Scratch eyebrow, Doubt, disbelief

• Open arms and palms, Sincerity, openness

. Biting nails, Insecurity, nervousness

• Pulling or tugging ear, Indecision

Getting the info you want

• It usually takes three questions: - start with a question

- follow up with question from answer

- follow up with “so”? Or “and”.

• Repeat what you heard by saying “let me make sure I heard you correctly ..…”

Tips for effective communication

• Talk in terms of other person’s interest• Ask question instead of giving direct orders• Be a good listener• Become genuinely interested in others.• Stick to the point• Use persuasive language• Show confidence • Avoid jargon

Winning people to your way of thinking (Carnegie)

• Avoid argument• Show respect for the other’s opinion• If you are wrong, admit it• Begin in friendly way• Get the other person saying yes• Let the other person do most of the talking• Let the other person feel the idea is his• Try honestly to see the other’s point of view• Be sympathetic with other person’s ideas

Negotiation skills

• “Start out with an ideal and end up with a deal.”

• Be firm yet polite when making a stand.• Emphasize advantages and disadvantages of your

approach• Put ego aside and concentrate on the matter on hand• Aim for solutions

• Value time, schedules, and deadlines

Interpersonal and management skills (PMBOK)

• Interpersonal skills - building trust - resolving conflict - active listening

• Management skills - presentation - negotiating, analyze the situation, differentiate between wants and needs, ask high

and offer low, but be realistic, do not just give in, and make sure both parties feel as if they have won.

- writing - public speaking

What to negotiate? Technical and management approaches, price, schedule, payment, contract financing, responsibilities, authorities, and applicable laws.

Management and leadership

• There is a profound difference between management and leadership, and both are important "To manage" means "to bring about, to accomplish, to have charge of or responsibility for, to conduct." "Leading" is "influencing, guiding in direction, course, action, opinion." The distinction is crucial.

Management is...                                   Leadership is....• Coping with complexity                         Coping with and

promoting change• Planning and Budgeting                         Setting a Direction• Organizing and Staffing                         Aligning People• Controlling and Problem Solving           Motivating and

Inspiring People• Effective Action                                       Meaningful Action

Ten Tips for Being a BetterProject Manager

• Successful project management depends not just on what you do, but also on how you do it. Your attitudes and behaviors toward people affect how they respond to you. This can help you successfully win people’s support.

- Be a “Why” Person, look for the reasons behind requests and actions.

- Be a “Can-Do” Person. look at all problems as challenges and find ways to overcome them

- Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say, Communicate clearly, be specific

- View People as Allies, Not Adversaries, focus on common goals, not individual agendas

Ten Tips for Being a BetterProject Manager

- Respect Other People, focus on people’s strengths rather than their weaknesses.

- Think Big Picture, keep events in perspective. - Think Detail

- Assume Cautiously - Acknowledge Good Performance

- Be a Manager and a Leader

Summary

• Information systems projects very valuable• Many difficulties in managing personnel

– New activities– Diverse people– Dynamic environment– Pressure (time, budget)

• IS Project Managers need special abilities– Get things done without authority