Empower and Develop your Project Team/Team Members

Technology Project Management

 

• Ensure open communication takes place (respect members’ expertise and opinions)
• Request and receive team members’ input and buy-in for plans, schedules, risks, etc.
• Allow team members to accomplish their responsibilities and provide any lessons learned without over supervising or micro-managing, unless required.
• Alternate some team members as the team lead (Alternate each member as a team lead and encourage some members to try it if they didn't want to (In these cases if it was not working out, make the an appropriate change)
• Pair novice/inexperienced members with more experienced members
• Acknowledge and recognize team members/team accomplishments and achievements. Ensure recognition is shared with team member’s management in a matrix environment.
• When training opportunities are available make arrangements for attendance by a team member(s) if there are no issues with a member(s) attending the training session. In some cases set up evening training sessions which sometimes may be conducted by an experienced business or technical team member.

 

Technology Project Management Best Practices for Lessons Learned

Technology Project Management

Recently I read this article that grabbed my attention: Stop with the Lessons Learned

 

You would have thought that it was about not doing lessons learned but it was not. It was about documenting and conducting a lessons learned session "post mortem". Although it was a positive article, I applied comments to it because documenting  lessons learned is an important activity and should not just be left for project close out (at the end of a project). Lessons Learned must be documented and used throughout the project and program.Lessons Learned must be used for future projects and programs and during the ongoing, or current, project or program.

Read>> Importance of Documenting Lessons Learned In Technology Projects

 

The Need For Proven Best Practices For Project Success

Technology Best Practice Processes
 
There are serious concerns going forward in 2011 regarding IT project and program failures, including ERP, SCM and VOIP. Some IT professionals in the industry don’t think that changes required to reduce the rate of failure, or to stop this disastrous trend, is forth coming. In one article this seems to be the case, including a statement by an IT professional, “…he sees no immediate end to trouble projects….”
 
But with knowledge transfer, the documenting and USE of lessons learned and best and good practices there would be changes that increase the success rate for IT projects and programs. Also Best Practices are subject to improvement, must be used before the project or program is initiated (feasibility, to determine what is the best solution), be used for implementation or execution, and for closing out projects and programs.
 
Serious steps must be taken by IT professionals, senior management, Vendors and Subcontractors, e.g., system integration and developers, and customers.

Yes, there are several significant challenges and issues (See 10 ....) that lead to troubled or failed projects or programs)and but there are solutions and we must be diligent and committed to make the changes to increase the Success rate.
 
And while we have listed Challenges and Issues that lead to troubled and failed projects and programs, there are several more issues:
Seasoned IT professionals no longer in the work force to provide knowledge transfer (laid off or retired), Inexperienced and experienced IT professionals working extended hours, having extensive and dual responsibilities, burning out.
 
[Read More...] Proven Best Practices are being presented to overcome the Challenges and Issues.