Without a strong and capable project team, effective project management is useless. It is the project team that is responsible for bringing any project to a successful finish, so it does not matter which technique you choose to apply for your project. In this article, we are going to uncover the definition of project team and the best practices to build the dream team for your upcoming project!

What is The Project Team? #

The project team is people who responsible for performing the tasks and producing deliverables indicated in the project plan and timeline, as directed by the project manager.

The project team consists of the project manager and the individuals who collaborate on a project to accomplish its goals. It is made up of the project manager, the members of the project management team, and other individuals who may or may not be involved directly with management but are responsible for the work that is associated with the project.

This team is composed of individuals from multiple teams that possess specific subject matter expertise or the requisite skill set to complete the project. Typically, the form and qualities of a project team change, but the position of the project manager as the team’s leader remains consistent. However, the scope and nature of the project manager’s control over team members can vary.

Responsibilities of Project Team #

To guarantee that the project is a success, it is the responsibility of the project team to make a significant contribution to project objectives as well as particular team deliverables. This is accomplished through the project team’s participation throughout the plan of project activities and the completion of assigned tasks and work in accordance with the expected quality standards.

To give you better examples, these following would be what the project team will do for the project in general;

1. Provide the project manager with information, estimates, and input during project planning.
2. Execute project tasks by providing business and/or technical knowledge (work).
3. Consult with stakeholders to verify the project satisfies business requirements.
4. Analyze and document existing and future systems and processes (functional and technical).
5. Determine and map information requirements.
6. Defining and documenting specifications is essential.
7. Support and train end-users Report issues and their status to the project manager.
8. Collaborate with other teams to accomplish shared project goals and objectives.

Project Manager (PM) #

The project manager is the key player in the endeavor and bears primary responsibility for its successful completion and high standard. His responsibility is to ensure that the project moves forward and is completed on schedule and within budget, while also ensuring that it achieves its objectives. In addition to making sure the project has enough resources, project managers also keep in touch with the project’s various contributors and stakeholders.

A project manager has different jobs and responsibilities, such as:

1. Putting together a project plan.
2. Managing deliverables based on the plan set up.
3. Taking charge and running the team.
4. Choosing the methodology for the project.
5. Creating a project timeline and determining each step.
6. Task distribution among team members.
7. Keeping upper management up-to-date on a regular basis.

Team Member #

People on a project team are mostly the ones who work on different parts of the project. They could be people who work for the company or outside consultants, and they could work full-time or part-time. Their roles can change from project to project. Usually, team member share their obstacle and challenge in 15 minutes of daily scrum meeting.

To give you better view, all of the members’ duties can be summarized as follows:

1. Help reach the overall project goals.
2. Complete individual deliverables.
3. Provide expertise when needed.
4. Work with business users to figure out and meet their needs.
5. Write down the steps to do certain task.

Project Sponsor #

The project’s sponsor acts as both the project’s primary driver and an internal champion for the endeavor. He is invested in the effective completion of the project. Typically, they are top management personnel with an interest in the project’s outcome. Project sponsors and the project manager work closely together. They validate the project’s objectives and engage in project planning at the highest level. In addition, they frequently contribute to the resolution of disagreements and the removal of impediments that arise throughout the project life cycle, and they sign off on permissions that are necessary to continue to the next phase.

For example, these are the project sponsor duties:

1. Make crucial business choices for the project.
2. Approving the budget and ensuring the availability of resources.
3. Spread the project’s objectives throughout the organization.

Business Analyst (BA) #

The Business Analyst identifies the organization’s needs and provides solutions to difficulties. In a project team, members ensure that the objectives of the present project can resolve current problems and create value to the firm. They can also assist in optimizing project deliverables.

A Business Analyst’s responsibilities include:

1. Contributing to defining the project
2. Collecting the requirements from various consumers or business units.
3. Documenting business and technical needs.
4. Ensuring that the deliverables of a project satisfy the specifications.
5. Validating solutions for objectives.

Subject Matter Expert (SME) #

The subject matter expert (SME) offers the project with knowledge and skills in a particular field, business area, or technological area. The SME is responsible for ensuring that the facts and details are accurate in order for the project’s/deliverable(s) program’s to satisfy the needs of stakeholders, regulations, policies, standards, and best – practice.

To accomplish this, SME will:

1. Provide process and policy definitions, corporate rules and procedures, and application contexts.
2. Represent their business unit’s requirements accurately to the project team.
3. Verify the specifications and deliverables that outline the product(s) or service(s)
4. Communicate project information back to their authority (PM or sponsor).
5. Contribute to the design and building of test cases-, and may also validate the outcomes of conducted tests.
6. Contribute to the development and execution of documentations and training materials.
7. Test the products (or services) at the conclusion of the project (user acceptance testing), evaluating its accuracy and usability and offering comments to the project team.
8. Guide other team members to guarantee the accuracy of the project’s material.
9. Resolve issues pertinent to the deliverables of the project inside their area of competence.
10. Obtain or obtain approval for rule, procedural, and policy changes.

7 Tips to Get Project Team Ready for a Project #

Having the correct project team in place from the start is critical to the success of a project.  And planning for this should begin as soon as the project planning process is completed. The project manager, the person in charge of the project, and the top leaders should all work together to make sure that new team members know about the project and what is expected of them. The following are seven techniques for preparing your team for a project.

1. Provides Clarity and Clear Communication #

Clarity on essential pieces of information, such as project objectives, the scope of the project and the manner of delivery, can help team members know what is required of them and how quickly they should work. If these elements are clarified at the outset, combined with a strong project start with a kick-off meeting, the team will synchronize quite well with the project, even if certain modifications are made.

2. Role Distinguishment #

It is critical that project team members understand their allocated duties and the levels of performance that are expected of them. Determine if they are working on this project part-time or full-time, as well as what occurs with their other day-to-day responsibilities. Explain the team how their role interacts with other members of the team and how they must collaborate to get the most out of each other. You can start with a RACI chart and have it approved by the project stakeholders before running the project.

After everyone agrees on the role scope and responsibility, the Project Manager (PM) then should list all the tasks and assign those tasks to each project team member. If you are using project manager software like FoxPlan, you can start by creating tasks and assign team members using the task planning feature.

You can also set up dependency of task if needed and allocate your resources based on the percentage of duration or based on the defined fixed workload that agreed upon.

3. Setting the Right Expectations #

From the start, you must define exactly what it will be like to work on this project. Because some projects will require strict training almost like the military, therefore you would not want the team members to frown in the middle of the project or even quit. A project may astonish you with many unexpected and challenging circumstances, but team members must be proactive in dealing with such challenges.

4. Developing the Productivity Habits #

Projects are not just a place to highlight individual heroics, but rather a space where teamwork is prioritized. The project’s success is entirely dependent on the team’s productivity habits. As a result, it is critical to develop the proper team habits through leading by example, encouraging the team, integrating new and old habits, and leveraging little victories to achieve larger victories. If done effectively, this helps to accelerate project development, identify difficulties quickly, and disclose any inconsistencies as soon as feasible.

5. Preparing Them For Organizational Red Tape #

Everything is not clear when a big company takes on a project, especially when there is office politics going on. There will be both support and opposition to the proposal. Because there are stakeholders with special interests in the project, these may have an impact on the project’s result, either positively or negatively. On occasion, initiatives are openly controversial, and team members must be prepared to confront these negative viewpoints through organizational politics.

6. Clarify the Uncertainty #

You would not like to begin the project with uncertainties on your team members’ concerns. Your team will become more effective all through the project life cycle if they have fewer things to worry about. The following are some of the most common issues expressed by project team members:

• Where will the collaboration take place? Is this from their usual location or a different one?
• Do they receive their former employment back once the project is completed?
• What might happen to their regular day-to-day employment activities while they are working on the project?
• How will their project performance be evaluated?

7. Team Members Should Serve as Project Ambassadors #

With multiple senior stakeholders having special interests in the project, make absolutely sure the project team members behave as project ambassadors and throw more light on the project’s occurrences. Any team member, for that matter, should be able to answer project-related inquiries correctly and improve the project’s visibility within the organization.

FoxPlan Project Dashboard provides 320 degree visibility of the project on portfolio level. Any team member can simply just log in to their account anywhere and access the up-to-date information of the project status when asked real-time. The real time project dashboard can be customized as well based on the project’s KPI and really useful for quick project monitoring.

FoxPlan: Collaborate with Your  Project Team Effectively! #

Having a strong, solid and experts on your team is a must because It does not matter which approach you use for your project, the project team is the key factor in determining whether a project succeeds or fails in the end. But, you also need to realize that the significance of technology in managing a worldwide project team cannot be underestimated, especially if some of your team members are working remotely.

Having project and portfolio management software (PPM Software) like FoxPlan could help you manage the project planning, resource allocation and streamline the progress of your project throughout the project life cycle.

So, what are you waiting for? Let’s create your FoxPlan’s account today for FREE or contact us to experience FoxPlan in action!