Project Management (Part 6) - Putting Your Team Together

In Project Management (Part 6) - Putting Your Team Together, you'll learn ...

• The pros and cons of the traditional functional structure, the project-focused projectized structure, and the extensively used matrix structure
• The key differences between authority, responsibility and accountability
• What can and can’t be delegated and how to hold everyone on the project accountable
• The elements of a formal Work-Order Agreement
• How to begin creating your team’s identity at the onset of project execution

Overview

Credit: 4 PDH

Length: 46 pages

Over the past 25 to 30 years the number of projects in the workplace has skyrocketed. Projects of all types and sizes are now the way that organizations accomplish their work. People who want to devote their careers to planning and managing those projects are vital to their successes.

At the same time, a new breed of project manager has emerged. This new breed may not have set career goals to become project managers, but they do know they must successfully manage projects to move ahead in their careers. Clearly, project management has become a critical skill, not a career choice.

Even though these people realize they need special tools, techniques, and knowledge to handle their new types of assignments, they may not be able or willing to devote large amounts of time to acquiring them, which is where this Project Management course series comes into play.

This course is Part 6 of a 9-part series based on the popular book Project Management for Dummies, 4th Edition, which provides tools and techniques in accordance with PMI’s A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK). Each course in the series is stand-alone. Feel free to jump back and forth through the courses depending on your own project-management knowledge and experience and your current needs. However, it is suggested that you complete the series in sequential order if you are new to project management concepts.

This course, Part 6 of the series, will show you how to identify, organize, and deal with people who play a part in your project’s success. You will learn how to define team members’ roles and get your project off to a strong start.

You’ll learn the advantages and disadvantages of three common organizational structures. You’ll learn the keys to success in the most popular one: the matrix structure. You’ll learn the ins and outs of a Responsibility Assignment Matrix.

You’ll learn how to effectively deal with micromanagement on your project. You’ll learn how to develop your team’s unique identity. And you’ll learn how to delegate effectively and how to make your team members accountable.

The courses in this series were written to be direct and (relatively) easy to understand. But don’t be misled — the simple text still navigates all the critical tools and techniques you’ll need to support your project planning, scheduling, budgeting, organizing, and controlling.

For those seeking Project Management Professional (PMP) certification, the tools and techniques provided in this course series are in accordance with PMBOK. In fact, a section is provided at the end of each course module that specifies where the topics in the module are addressed in PMBOK.

It’s important to note that PMBOK identifies what best practices are but doesn’t address in detail how to perform them or deal with difficulties you may encounter as you try to perform them. In contrast, this course series focuses heavily on how to perform the project-management techniques and processes. However, if you’re preparing to take the PMP examination, use these courses as a companion to PMBOK, not as a substitute for it.

From Project Management For Dummies ®, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey . Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.