OVERVIEW

By definition, the primary focus of the project team is the final deliverable of the project. However, the team must focus on the deliverable in conjunction with the activities that assure the delivery of the desired product, or the facilitation of the desired service, in the most cost-effective and efficient manner. The project team must plan the delivery of the product or service through adoption of best practices and consistent procedures. Then, during the implementation phase of the plans, which usually occurs in a dynamic environment, the team must manage emerging issues that influence its performance in delivering the desired results.

The activities of the project team can be divided into two major categories: those that deal with things and those that deal with people. The things issues include quantifiable performance of planning procedures, cost management, schedule management, scope management, risk management, change management, and integration efforts. The goals and objectives of the procedures for managing things issues are nearly the same for all projects independent of the type of team employed in delivering the product. People issues include the usually nonquantifiable characteristics of client satisfaction, vendor satisfaction, team morale, and communication (Figure 2.1). The separation of things issues and people issues is only for purposes of topical coverage, because these two sets of issues are almost always intertwined. This chapter deals with management of the things issues of the team's performance. The management of the people issues of the team's performance is addressed in Chapter 3.