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the skills are needed. Resource shortages occur when there aren’t enough resources
available with the skills needed to perform the task. Resource overallocation occurs
when one resource (or set of resources) is scheduled to work on too many tasks at the
same time. These tasks may be on the same project or a combination of tasks from
different projects and their normal operational work. Benched resources are those who
have rolled off one project and are waiting for the next project to begin. These are
costly resources to the organization, so work in coordination with other project and
functional managers to assign these resources as soon as possible.
Interproject dependencies occur when you need the completed deliverables from one
project in order to start work on the next project. Interproject resources contention
occurs when resources are scheduled for similar tasks on competing projects and may
be unavailable for your project when needed.
Team members might be in-house resources, resources from outside the organization,
or remote resources. When possible, colocate resources.
A project organization chart is a hierarchical chart that shows the sponsor, project
manager, and team members. A RACI chart shows the roles and responsibilities of
team members (or it can depict teams or business units). RACI stands for responsible,
accountable, consulted, and informed.
All teams progress through five stages of development: forming, storming, norming,
performing, and adjourning.
Team-building activities help diverse groups of people work together in an efficient
and effective manner. Trust building is an important activity. It takes time to build
trust with team members and requires that the project manager demonstrate
competence, respect, honesty, integrity, and openness.
Provide feedback to your team members in a timely manner and deal with negative
situations as soon as they occur. Removing personnel from the project should be done
in coordination with the human resource department.
Rewards and recognition are important motivators for individuals and teams. Be
certain the reward is in keeping with the achievement. Also make certain that reward
criteria and processes are written down.
Conflict will occur on nearly all projects. The common techniques for conflict
resolution include smoothing, forcing, compromising, confronting, avoiding, and
negotiating. Confronting, also known as problem-solving, is the technique project
managers should use.
Project kickoff meetings introduce the team members and stakeholders to each other
and describe the goals and objectives of the project. They are typically held after the
project charter is signed.
Exam Essentials
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