|
Activities for Leading Successful Cross-Functional Teams
By Barry M. Weinstein, President, Barry M. Weinstein & Associates
Success of Projects
During your technical career you have probably been involved in a countless series of project assignments and various team structures. Some projects focus on the "purchase and installation" of equipment with well-defined parameters. Many projects however are more complex. These "development" projects require the interaction of traditional engineering departments with many different areas of an organization (see sidebar). How do you assess the success of this type of "cross-functional" project? Looking back on development projects that you have been involved with what are some of the significant events or activities initiated by those projects' managers that helped your teams achieve their target objectives. What are some activities that could have made a difference? What are some of the criteria you use to evaluate whether the project was successful?
Successfully leading cross-functional project teams require activities extending beyond those normally associated with technical professionals such as scientists and engineers. These projects require coordinating the efforts of multiple departments and shifting focus from "why" and "how" things happen to "what" and "when". Communication and leadership skills become more important than technical and management skills. This article outlines some of the cross-functional leadership activities that will help you run these project teams effectively, allowing your company to develop a significant advantage in the marketplace by delivering superior products in a shorter time at lower development costs.
Definitions Of Authority And Responsibility
With regard to project teams, "Authority" is the power and capability to decide where resources or assets are assigned. In most organizations this capability is reserved for specific job levels, and is supported by the organization. In any case the Project Manager must have a clear understanding of which individuals or group of individuals has the authority to assign the assets required to complete the tasks the project is trying to accomplish. These individuals with the authority to assign assets are referred to as Sponsors
The term "Responsibility" is related to who is accountable for insuring that a specific activity is completed. In many cases actual responsibility for completing a task is usually held by an individual at least one level higher in the organization that you first suspect. There is a distinct difference between being assigned to complete a task and being responsible that the task is indeed completed. All responsibility initially resides at the top of the organization (remember "the buck stops here").
Evaluating Goals And Identify Objectives
Success in cross-functional projects is measured in three general parameters: cost, schedule and performance. In order to be considered successful the project must deliver the sought after result, in the allotted time and utilizing only those assets budgeted for the project. In order to determine the level of success of a project a clearly defined set of objectives are needed at the start.
Almost all projects start out as goals. Nobody can manage goals; goals are by their very nature too general to manage. At the start of every project one of the first activities a project manager must undertake is to negotiate with the initiating sponsors to identify objectives that will result in attaining the goals.
A manageable objective is very much like a news story. It must contain the answers to five key questions.
| Who |
The people assigned both internal and external resources. |
| What |
The performance criteria, this includes the target cost and profit contribution for the project. |
| When |
The schedule criteria |
| Cost |
The cost criteria, these are all the assets required to complete the project. Examples include all staff-hours, purchased services, capital and expense funds. |
| How |
The method to be used, this will be your project plan and will include input from multiple sources. |
At the start of each project a project manager must carefully evaluate the project objectives and identify if any of these questions are currently unanswered. The project manager should develop an initial estimate for any missing information and review the revised objective with the requesting sponsor. It is critical that the designated project manager and the requesting sponsor reach a consensus on the project cost, schedule and performance deliverables and how they will be measured.
Defining Tasks And Resource Requirements
Once the objectives have been agreed upon by the project manager and the project initiator the project manager's next step is to generate an initial list or outline of the tasks required to complete the project. The purpose of this initial task list is two-fold. First, it helps to identify the different skill sets that will be required to complete the cross-function program. Second, it forms the basic framework used to develop the final project plan including how the output of one department's work becomes the input for another. Many companies have established lists of activities that need to be addressed for development projects, (idea to market, product development plans, product innovation programs, etc). These can be used to generate the initial project activity list. The list can be expanded and modified as new information becomes available. A key activity for project managers with technical backgrounds is to include initial cost estimation, market evaluation and sales projection activities. The purpose of the project (in most cases) is to generate or increase profit. A profit impact estimate covering different time horizons should be drafted as early as possible to outline how the project will meet this objective. A review of past projects may be helpful in developing initial time and asset requirement estimates.
Each task should include:
- A definition of what will be delivered, and in what form it will be delivered.
- Time estimates expressed as start and completion dates based on some fixed point in time.
- A list of required precursor information and its expected source
- A cost estimate including all staff-hours, materials, capital and expense funds.
- Identifying Probable Task Leaders (Core Team)
- The initial task list should be used to identify what skill sets from different functional departments will be needed to achieve the project objectives. Representatives from some of these departments will become the task leaders for the project and will make-up the core team for the project. Not every function that will be involved on the project will be represented on the core team. The project manager will go through three steps in identifying members for the core team:
- The project manager should review the list of the general work functions generated above and identify which skills will be required and the level of assets needed.
next page...
|
