Building Successful Project Teams – A Checklist

© Dhanu M Kothari, PMP

Project Management is defined as the art and science of getting work done with the active cooperation of individuals and organizations who are directly or indirectly involved with the project. This includes Senior Management, Project Sponsors(s), Customers, End-users, Stakeholders, Team Members, Sub-contractors, Vendors and Consultants. Professional Project Management today is subject to increased industry pressures from accelerated implementations, restructuring and downsizing, mergers and acquisitions, faster technology obsolescence, and the use of new and unproven technologies. Furthermore, the project environment itself is rapidly changing with the use of distributed and virtual teams as organizations implement new “Projectized” cultures.

The Challenge for the Project Manager consists of attracting the right resources, forming a cohesive team, keeping the team motivated, meeting individual aspirations and getting the work done – all within scope, cost, time, and customer satisfaction! How should we meet the challenge? Here is a checklist with “Ten Golden Rules” to help you assess the maturity level of teamwork and team effectiveness in your projects.

Golden Rule # 1: Develop a Project Organization

o Is there an identified sponsor and a customer/client for the project?

o Does everyone know who has the single source of responsibility for the project?

o Is there a Project Organization Chart with individuals identified for each role?

o Are the roles, responsibilities and expectations clearly defined for each individual?

o Have the commitments been formally accepted by the individuals?

Golden Rule # 2: Formulate a Team Purpose

o Is there a common understanding of the project among all players?

o Do you have a “Vision, Purpose, Goals” document for the project?

o Is the time horizon for issues under consideration reasonable - within 90 days?

o Does the team have a mix of core, support and expert members?

o Did team members have input into team norms, rules, processes?

Golden Rule # 3: Hold a Formal Kickoff Meeting

o Is an “internal” kickoff with your project team members planned?

o Are you holding an “external” kickoff with your client and stakeholders?

o Is there an agenda for the kickoff meeting? Will senior management be in the meeting?

o Will you be presenting a high level overview of the project with major milestones?

o Will the project team members be introduced in the meeting?

Golden Rule # 4: Insulate Team from Management Issues (Politics/ Influencing)

o Is there a process for escalating problems to management and resolving issues?

o Do you accept that “Project Politics” is a fact of life? Do you know how to leverage it in a positive sense to influence the desired project outcome, in a positive sense?

o Is the Project Manager experience/trained to support/protect the team especially in meetings with clients and /or senior management?

o Is the Project Manager trained/experienced in exercising communication/soft skills?

o Is there a well defined process for decision-making within the team?

Golden Rule # 5: Teams Optimize, Individuals Maximize

o Does every team member clearly understand his/her deliverables and acceptance criteria?

o Is there an agreed facilitation process for team discussion and issue resolution?

o Are decisions arising from meetings primarily driven by consensus?

o Are the team members excited about the project experience? Do they see it as a learning opportunity?

o Do you publish a newsletter to communicate project and team achievements to all stakeholders?

Golden Rule # 6: Encourage & Facilitate Open Communication

o Is there a formal/structured communication process in place (e.g. Reviews, Status Reports)

o Does the Communication Plan include weekly “One on One” reviews with team members?

o Does the review process allow for discussion of potential problems & possible solutions?

o Does the team environment genuinely believe in and encourage sharing and trust-building?

o Do the team members believe that the team is empowered to make relevant decisions?

Golden Rule # 7: Institutionalize Positive Mindset

o Do your team members believe that their meetings are generally productive?

o Do you invite team members to provide feedback on the content & process of the meeting?

o Are you encouraging rotating “Chair” for internal team meetings?

o Do your meetings focus on problem resolution as opposed to assignment of blame?

o Do you proactively ascertain the confidence & commitment of team members regularly?

Golden Rule # 8: Remember the Four “R”s

o Do you budget for Rest, Recreation, Recognition and Rewards for team members?

o Is the baseline schedule realistic? (Not planned around overtime and weekend work)

o Do the team members believe that the goal is both challenging and achievable?

o Do you celebrate significant achievements or milestones throughout the project life cycle?

o Have you formally thanked, congratulated & recognized team members for their specific contribution on the project?

Golden Rule # 9: Implement Consistent & Predictable Processes

o Are team members familiar with the organization’s Business terminology & PM Methodology?

o Are team members clear on the consequences of not following project or team processes?

o Do team members understand & use PM tools/documentation as the means to drive the project?

o Are team members trained to provide meaningful, clear & concise weekly status report?

o Is there a clear understanding of critical project dependencies among the team members?

Golden Rule # 10: Transition the Team Graciously

o Do you celebrate the formal Project Closure with key stakeholders?

o Do you take the time to provide feedback to team members on their project performance?

o Do team members know their responsibility for support & warranty phases of the project?

o Do you hold a formal “Lessons Learnt” session with the team following project completion?

o Do your team members enthusiastically volunteer for your next project?

Creating successful teams requires conscious and deliberate investment of time. Teams are built around four basic principles that recognize the importance of Team Structure, Team Process, Team Culture and Team Politics. Teams must embrace a common purpose, and develop and follow a set of processes. They must believe in and build a common set of values and culture. The Project Manager’s role in team building is to guide, coach, mentor, facilitate and direct as required to achieve the project outcome.

Score and assess your Team Building Skills

Check your score by counting “Yes” responses to the questions and refer to the guideline below for assessment of the team building maturity level in your project organization:

Total Score	Team Building Maturity Level	Team Building Maturity Assessment
1-10	Initial	No processes for team building; Ad-hoc approach
11-20	Repeatable	Basic formal processes developed and used for team building
21-30	Defined	Demonstrated mgt. support & processes for team building
31-40	Managed	Evolving towards implementing High Performance teams
41-50	Optimizing	Implemented self-managed High Performance Teams

Dhanu M Kothari, PMP is the President of D2i Consulting, a firm dedicated to promoting higher levels of Project Management maturity and achieving clients’ business goals through successful projects. He can be reached at Kothari@D2i.Ca

Learn more on “Managing & Motivating Teams” at Dhanu’s workshop, ProjectWorld 2003, Toronto, April 21.