MGT 172 Final

Environmental Factors: Culture

Visiting project managers must accept and respect the customs, values, philosophies, and social standards of their host country. Global managers recognize that if the customs and social cultural dimensions of the host country are not accommodated, projects will not succeed. Not only do project managers have to adapt to the culture of the host country, but often-times overseas projects require working with people from different countries.

Problems for Int Proj Managers

absence from home, friends, and sometimes family; personal risks; missed career opportunities; foreign language, culture, and laws; adverse conditions

Advantages of Outsourcing

cost reduction; flexibility; fast project completion; high level of expertise

Advantages of Iterative Design Process

* Continuous integration, verification, and validation of the evolving product * Frequent demonstration of progress to increase the likelihood that the end product will satisfy customer needs * Early detection of defects and problems

Developing Trust in Virtual Teams:

* First, if it is impossible to hold a face-to-face meeting in the beginning, managers need to orchestrate the exchange of social information- who everyone is and some personal background information during the initial electronic interchange. * Second, clear roles need to be set for each team member. Ideally, specific tasks should be assigned to each member so that they can make an immediate contribution to the project. Trust in virtual projects grows through team member reliability, consistency, and responsiveness * Finally, the project manager must consistently display enthusiasm and an action orientation in all messages; this spirit will hopefully spread to other team members

Basic Agile Principles

* Focus on customer value-Employ business-driven prioritization's of requirements and features * Iterative and incremental delivery-Create a flow of value to customers by 'chunking' project delivery into small, functioning increments * Experimentation and adaptation-Test assumptions early and build working prototypes to solicit customer feedback and refine product requirements. * Self-organization-Team members decide amongst themselves who and what should be done * Continuous improvement-Teams reflect, learn, and adapt to change; work informs the plan

Culture Shock Progression

* Honeymoon. You start your overseas assignment with a sense of excitement. The new and the unusual are welcomed. At first it is amusing not to understand or be understood. Soon a sense of frustration begins to set in. * Irritability and hostility. Your initial enthusiasm is exhausted, and you begin to notice that differences are greater than you first imagined. You become frustrated by your inability to get things done as you are accustomed to. You begin to lose confidence in your abilities to communicate and work effectively in the different culture. * Gradual adjustment. You begint o overcome your sense of isolation and figure out how to get tings done in the new culture. You acquire a new perspective of what is possible and regain confidence in your ability to work in the culture. * Adaptation. You recover from your sense of psychological disorientation and begin to function and communicate in the new culture.

Good Practice in Outsourcing: Long-term outsourcing relationships

* Many companies recognize that major benefits can be enjoyed when outsourcing arrangements extend across multiple projects and are long term. Among the many advantages for establishing a long-term partnership are the following * Reduced Administrative Costs * More Efficient Utilization of Resources * Improved Communication * Improved Innovation * Improved Performance

Advantages of Long-term outsourcing relationships

* Reduced Administrative Costs * More Efficient Utilization of Resources * Improved Communication * Improved Innovation * Improved Performance

Scrum Meetings: Daily Scrum

* The heartbeat of an Agile project is the daily meetings which are commonly referred to as the 'Scrum.' Each work day at the same time and place, team members stand in a circle and take turns answering the following key questions: * What have you done since the last Scrum? * What will you do between now and the next Scrum? * What is getting in the way of you performing your work as effectively as possible? The Scrum, which typically lasts 15 minutes, is held next to a whiteboard, at which time all tasks and blocks are recorded. The Scrum master erases blocks once they have been removed. The meetings must start on time. A late fine collected by the Scrum master is a popular rule. The value of the Scrum is that it creates a daily mechanism to quickly inform the team about the state of the project. It sustains a sense of team identity that encourages openness and resolution of problems in real time. Having everyone report what they plan to do for that day generates a social promise to the group, thereby building accountability. Notice again that the team is self-managed. The Scrum master does not assign daily tasks to team members; the team decides amongst themselves.

Issues with International Proj Management

* major environmental factors that impact project selection and implementation * how organizations decide where to expand globally * the challenge of working in a strange and foreign culture * how companies select and train professionals for international projects

tips for fixing communication problems with virtual teams

1. Keep team members informed on how the overall project is going. Use shareware to develop a central access point such as either a Website or LAN account to provide members with updated project schedules. Team members need to know where they fit in the big picture 2. Don't let team members vanish. Virtual teams often experience problems getting in touch with each other. Use an internet scheduling software to store members' calendars 3. Establish a code of conduct to avoid delays. Team members need to agree not only on what, when, and how information will be shared but also on how and when they will respond to it. Develop a priority system to distinguish messages that require immediate response from those with longer time frames 4. Establish clear norms and protocols for surfacing assumptions and conflicts. Because most communication is non visual, project managers cannot watch body language and facial expressions to develop a sense of what is going on. They need to probe deeper when communicating to force members to explain their viewpoints, actions, and concerns more clearly 5. Share the pain. Do not require everyone to conform to your time zone and preferences. Rotate meeting times so that all team members have a turn working according to their clock

Int Proj Classifications: Foreign

A foreign project is executed in a foreign country fora foreign firm (a U.S. firm developing an information system in Malaysia for Malaysian banks).

Int Proj Classifications: Global

A global project consists of teams formed from professionals spanning multiple countries, continents, and cultures with their work integrated for the entire enterprise (e.g., multinational enterprise developing a global distribution system). Global teams are a crisscross of functions, work locale, markets, culture, and products.

Advantages of Outsourcing: Faster Project Completion

A high level of expertise and technology can be brought to bear on the project. A company no longer has to keep up with technological advances. Instead, it can focus on developing its core competencies and hire firms with the know-how to work one elegant segments of the project

Int Proj Classifications: Overseas

An overseas project is one executed in a foreign country for a native firm (a Swedish company building a truck factory in the United States for their native company).

5 stage team dev: Storming

As the name suggests, this stage is marked by a high degree of internal conflict. Members accept that they are part of a project group but resist the constraints that the project and group put on their individuality. There is conflict over who will control the group and how decisions will be made. As these conflicts are resolved, the project manager's leadership becomes accepted, and the group moves to the next stage.

Scrum Meetings: Sprint Review

At the end of each sprint, the team demonstrates the actual work product increments they have built to the product owner and other relevant stakeholders. Feedback is solicited from the product owner and other relevant stakeholders. The product owner declares which items are 'done' and which items need further work and are returned to the product backlog. The team can take this opportunity to suggest improvements and new features for the product owner to accept or reject. The sprint review meeting is an opportunity to examine and adapt the product as it emerges and iteratively refine key requirements. Such refinements will be the subject of the next sprint planning meeting.

Scrum Meetings: Sprint Planning

At the start of each sprint, the product owner and development team negotiate with product backlog items the team will attempt this sprint. The product owner is responsible for identifying which features are most important and the team is responsible for determining what is possible within the sprint. If it is impossible to complete a certain key item within four weeks, the team works with the product owner to break the feature down into doable pieces. All committed items are recorded in a product backlog. The team uses this backlog to prioritize specific work to be done and assign initial responsibilities. These tasks are recorded in the sprint backlog. Once the meeting has adjourned the goals for the Sprint cannot be changed.

Environmental Factors: Economic

Basic economic factors in foreign countries and regions influence choices of site selection and how business will be conducted for potential projects. The gross domestic product of a country suggests the level of development of a country. A faltering economy may indicate fewer sources of capital funding. Other factors such as balance of payments, currency fluctuations, hyperinflation, population growth, education level of workforce, and market size can influence project choices and operations.

Advantages of Outsourcing: Cost-Reduction

Companies can secure competitive prices for contracted services, especially if the work can be outsourced offshore. Furthermore, overhead costs are dramatically cut since the company no longer has to internally maintain the contracted services.

Good Practice in Outsourcing: Well-established Conflict Management Processes in Place

Conflict is inevitable on a project and, as pointed out in the previous chapter, disagreements handled effectively can elevate performance. Dysfunctional conflict, however, can catch fire and severely undermine project success. Successful firms invest significant time and energy up front in establishing the rules of engagement so that disagreements are handled constructively. Escalation is the primary control mechanism for dealing with and resolving problems. The basic principle is that problems should be resolved at the lowest level within a set time limit or they are 'escalated' to the next level of management.

Agile Project Management

Continuous design Flexible scope Features/requirements Freeze design as late as possible High uncertainty Embrace change High customer interaction Self-organized project teams

Disadvantages of Outsourcing

Coordination breakdowns; loss of control; security issues; conflict

Disadvantages of Outsourcing: Coordination Breakdowns

Coordination of professionals from different organizations can be challenging, especially if the project work requires close collaboration and mutual adjustment. Breakdowns are exacerbated by physical separation with people working in different buildings, different cities, if not different countries.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing: Security Issues

Depending on the nature of the project, trade and business secrets may be revealed. This can be problematic if the contractor also works for your competitor. confidentiality is another concern and companies have to be very careful when outsourcing processes like payroll, medical transcriptions, and insurance information.

Traditional Project Management

Design up front Fixed scope Deliverables Freeze design as early as possible Low uncertainty Avoid change Low customer interaction Conventional project teams

5 stage team dev: Forming

During this initial stage the members get acquainted with each other and understand the scope of the project. They begin to establish ground rules by trying to find out what behaviors are acceptable with respect to both the project (what role they will play, what performance expectations are) and interpersonal relations (who's really in charge). This stage is completed once members begin to think of themselves as part of a group.

Environmental Factors: Legal/Political

Expatriate project managers should operate within the laws and regulations of the host country. Political stability and local laws strongly influence how projects will be implemented. Typically these laws favor protection of local workers, suppliers, and environment. The constraints imposed by national and local laws need to be identified and adhered to. Given laws that affect business vary widely across countries. qualified legal assistance is essential. Government corruption is a very real part of international business. In China, various forms of obligatory 'profit' sharing' with city officials in the Hainan province have been reported. Employment of relatives, donations, and other 'favors' are an expected cost of doing business in that region. Political stability is another key factor in deciding to implement a project in a foreign country. What are the chances that there will be a change in the part in power during the project? Does labor unrest exist? How are labor unions treated in the political realm? Is there a chance for a coup d'etat?

Principled Negotiation: Focus on interests, not positions.

Focus on the interests behind your positions and separate these goals from your ego as best you can. Not only should you be driven by your interests, you should also try to identify the interests of the other party. Ask why it will cost so much or why it can't be done by Monday. At the same time, make your own interests come alive. Don't just say that it is critical that it be done by Monday; explain what will happen if it isn't done by Monday.

5 stage team dev: Adjourning

For conventional work groups, performing is the last stage of their development. However, for project teams, there is a completion phase. During this stage, the team prepares for its own disbandment. High performance is no longer a top priority. Instead attention is devoted to wrapping up the project. Responses of members vary in this stage. Some members are beat, basking in the project team's accomplishments. Others may be depressed over loss of camaraderie and friendships gained during the project's life

Five-Stage Team Development Model

Forming; Storming; Norming; Performing; Adjourning

Environmental Factors: Infrastructure

Infrastructure refers o a country or community's ability to provide the services required for a project. Infrastructure needs for a project could be communication, transportation, power, technology, and education systems. Organizations need to consider the needs of the families of personnel they send overseas. Will the facilities and living conditions for the expatriate families place an undue hardship on families? Will schooling for children be available? The welfare and comfort of expatriate families play an important role in retaining good project managers and promoting their peak performance

Principled Negotiation: Separate the people from the problem

Instead of attacking the problem(s), people attack each other. Once people feel attacked or threatened their energy naturally goes to defending themselves, and not to solving the problem. The key, then, is to focus on the problem, not the other person, during the negotiation.

Environmental Factors: Security

International terrorism is a fact of life in today's world. Crime is another factor. Security national involves the capacity of a country's military and police forces to prevent and respond to attacks. In many foreign countries, American firms will have to augment the countries' security system. Another real cost associated with international terrorism is the ease of commerce across borders. Heightened security measures have created border congestions that have expanded the time and cost of moving personnel, materials, and equipment across countries. These constraints need to be factored into the budget and schedule of projects. Managing projects in a dangerous world is a tough assignment. Security precautions are major cost considerations not only in dollars and cents, but also in the psychological well-being of personnel sent abroad. Effective risk management is critical to success.

Int. Proj Management: Environmental Factors

Legal/Political;Security;Geographical;Economic;Infrastructure;Culture

Principled Negotiation: When possible, use objective criteria.

Most established industries and professions have developed standards and rules to help deal with common areas of dispute. Both buyers and sellers rely on the blue book to establish price parameters for a used car. Whenever possible, you should insist on using external, objective criteria to settle disagreements

Advantages of Outsourcing: High Levels of Expertise

Not only can work be done more cheaply, but it can also be done faster. Competitive pricing means more resources for the dollar. For example, you can hire three Indian software engineers for the price of one American software engineer. Furthermore, outsourcing can provide access to equipment that can accelerate completion of project tasks. For example, by contracting a backhoe operator you re able to accomplish in four hours what it would take a landscaping crew four days to complete.

dealing with unreasonable people

Occasionally you encounter someone who has a dominant win/lose attitude about life and will be difficult to deal with. When the other person begins to push, don't push back. Instead, avoid pitting your strengths against another's directly; use your skill to step aside and turn that person's strength to your ends. When someone adamantly sets forth a position, neither reject it nor accept it. Treat it as a possible option and then look for the interests behind it. Invite criticism and advice regarding your ideas Ask questions instead of making statements. Questions allow for interests to surface and do not prove the opponent with something to attack. Silence is sometimes key. If the other person makes an unreasonable proposal or attacks you personally, just sit there and don't say a word. Wait for the other party to break the stalemate by answering your question or coming up with a new suggestions.

Principled Negotiation: Invent options for mutual gain.

Once the individuals involved have identified their interests, then they can explore options for mutual gain. This is not easy. Stressful negotiations inhibit creativity and free exchange

Advantages of Outsourcing: Flexibility

Organizations are no longer constrained by their own resources but can pursue a wide range of projects by combining their resources with talents of other companies. Small companies can instantly go global by working with foreign partners.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing: Conflict

Projects are more prone to interpersonal conflict since the different participants do not share the same values, priorities, and culture. Trust, which is essential to project success, can be difficult to force when interactions are limited and people come from different organizations.

Scrum Roles and Responsibilities

Scrum Master; Development Team; Product Owner

Good Practice in Outsourcing: Co-location when needed.

Smart companies rent or make available the necessary accommodations so that all key project personnel can work collectively together. This allows the high degree of face-to-face interaction needed to coordinate activities, solve difficult problems, and form a common bond.

Good Practice in Outsourcing: Extensive Training and Team-Building Activities

Smart firms recognize that people issues are as important, if not more important than technical issues. They train their personnel to work effectively with people from other organizations and countries. This training is pervasive and is not limited to management but involves all the people, at all levels, who interact with and are dependent upon outsourcers. Training is augmented by inter organizational team-building sessions designed to forge healthy relationships before the project begins

Scrum Documents

Sprint Backlog; Product Backlog; Burndown Chart

Scrum Meetings

Sprint Planning; Daily Scrum; Sprint Review; Sprint Retrospectives

Good Practice in Outsourcing: Well-defined Requirements and Procedures

Successful firms are very careful in selecting the work to be outsourced. They often choose to contract only work with clearly defined deliverables and measurable outcomes. In all cases, the technical requirements are spelled out in detail. Extra care must still be taken to ensure that expectations are understood. Different firms' management systems also need to be integrated. Common procedures and terminology need to be established so that different parties can work together. This can be problematic when you have firms with more advanced project management systems working with less developed organizations.

Scrum Roles: Scrum Master

The Scrum master facilitates the scrum process and resolves impediments at the team and organization level. The Scrum master is not the leader of the team (the team leads itself) but acts as a buffer between the team and outside interference. They have no formal authority. Instead, they are responsible for making sure that the Scrum process is adhered to. They help the product owner with planning and ty to keep the team energized. The Scrum master serves more as a coach than a manager.

Effective Patterns of Com Virtual Teams: email

To distribute important information and news in a one-to-one or one-to many frame of reference

Phase Gate Methodology

The phase gate review process can be defined as a structured process to review, evaluate, and document outcomes in each project phase and to provide management with information to guide resource deployment toward strategic goals. At a minimum each gate should include three components: 1. required deliverables (e.g. project goals, progress, variances) 2. gate criteria and specific outputs (e.g. adjusting project scope, schedule) 3. A clear yes/no decision on whether to go ahead

Environmental Factors: Geographical

The planning and implementation of a project must take into account the impact the country's geography will have on the project. For example, a salvage operation off the coast of Greenland can only be scheduled one month out of the year because the waterway is frozen over during the remainder of the year. Before beginning a project in a foreign land, project planners and managers need to study carefully the unique characteristics of the grography of that country. They need to factor into project plans and schedules such items as climate, seasons, altitude, and natural geographical obstacles.

Scrum Meetings: Sprint Retrospective

The purpose of the retrospective meeting is to reflect on how well the previous sprint went and identify specific actions that can improve future sprints. The Scrum master typically facilitates this meeting and the team decides which changes will be made in how they work together for the next sprint. The retrospective reflects Scrum's commitment to continuous improvement and the value it places on improving not only products but team interactions.

Scrum Roles: Development Team

The team is responsible for delivering the product. A team is typically made up of five to nine people with cross-functional skill sets. There are no designated roles or titles; people take on different responsibilities depending on the nature of the work. The team is self organizing in the sense they decide both who and how the work is to be accomplished. Team members should be co-located so that intense face-to-face collaboration occurs. They are responsible for the achieving commitments they make at the spring planning and sprint review meetings.

5 stage team dev: Performing

The team operating structure at this point is fully functional and accepted. Group energy has moved from getting to know each other and how the group will work together to accomplishing the project goals.

5 stage team dev: Norming

The third stage is one in which close relationships develop and the group demonstrates cohesiveness. Feelings of camaraderie and shared responsibility for the project are heightened. The norming phase is complete when the group structure solidifies and the group establishes a common set of expectations about how members should work together.

Effective Patterns of Com Virtual Teams: electronic bulletin boards

To encourage discussion and flush out diversity of opinion on issues

Disadvantages of Outsourcing: Loss of Control

There is potential loss of control over the project. The core team depends on other organizations that they have no direct authority over. While long-term survival of participating organizations depends on performance, a project may falter when one partner fails to deliver.

Scrum Roles: Product Owner

This person acts on behalf of customers to represent their interests. They are responsible for ensuring that the development team focuses their efforts on developing a product that will fulfill the business objective of the project. The product owner establishes the initial list of product features and prioritizes them in the product backlog. The product owner negotiates sprint goals and backlog items with the development team. The product owner has the option to change features and priorities at the end of each sprint if desire. However, no changes should be made once a sprint has started. The product owner is the final arbiter on requirements questions and is empowered to accept or reject each product increment. The product owner ultimately decides whether the project is completed. Product owners are the keeper of the product vision and watch dog on the return on investment.

Effective Patterns of Com Virtual Teams: fly

To build or repair trust. Use travel budget to get all key players together early on to instill commitment to the goals of the project and engage in team-building activities

Good Practice in Outsourcing: Fair and incentive-laden contracts

When negotiating contracts the goal is to reach a fair deal for all involved. Managers recognize that cohesion and cooperation is undermined if one party feels he or she is being unfairly treated by others. Performance-based contracts in which significant incentives are established based on priorities of the project, are becoming increasingly popular.

Scrum Documents: Burndown Chart

a chart illustrating the completion rate of the project. As more time passes the project should steadily reach completion.

feature

a piece of a product that delivers some useful functionality to a customer As a... I want... So that...

BATNA

best alternative to a negotiated agreement

Scrum Documents: Sprint Backlog

developed and controlled by the team, the sprint backlog represents the amount of work the team commits to complete during the next sprint. The sprint backlog lists the tasks that must be completed to deliver a functional feature or segment of a feature. The sprint backlog also serves as a status document by listing the person responsible for each task, remaining hours of work, and recording the task as finished, in processs, or not yet started

Effective Patterns of Communication for Virtual Teams

email, discussion boards, video conferencing, conference calls, fly

Advantages for Int Proj Managers

increased income, responsibility, career opportunity, foreign travel, new friends

sprint

one sprint consists of four phases: plan, build, test. and review

International Project Classifications

overseas; foreign; global

Good Practice in Outsourcing: Frequent review and status updates

project managers and other key personnel for all involved organizations meet on a regular basis to review and assess project performance

Scrum Documents: Product Backlog

the customer's prioritized list of key features desired when the project is completed. Only the product owner can change the product backlog and its priorities. The product backlog usually defines each feature and estimates of time, cost, and work remaining

Outsourcing

traditionally applied to the transferring of business functions or processes to other, often foreign companies, the term is now being applied to contracting significant chunks of project work.

Good practices in outsourcing

well-defined requirements and procedures; extensive training and team building exercises; well managed conflict management contingencies; frequent review and status updates; co-location when needed; fair and incentive-laden contracts; long-term outsourcing relationships

Effective Patterns of Com Virtual Teams: videoconference

when it is necessary to see each other's face and expressions. This is important during the early phases of a project, when you are building relationships and developing a common understanding of what needs to be done

Effective Patterns of Com Virtual Teams: conference calls

when people in difference locations are working with common documents, presentations, sketches, and models. Use for status report meetings and to sustain social camaraderie