Hosting a Project Status Meeting

Within your Communications Management Plan you ll define which people need what information, when they need it, and how they ll get the information. Communication can be both formal, like a report, and informal, like a hallway conversation. In project management, both methods of communication are needed. The type of communication you ll use should be appropriate for the message you send. In other words, communicate major decisions using formal means, such as reports , project plan updates, or memos.

When it comes to informal communications, project managers should be in close proximity to their project team. Managing a project where you and your project team are in separate buildings is not conducive to effective management. If you can be seated physically close to the project team, you should. This allows for informal meetings and conversation to pop up, and it lets you get involved with the team and really lead the work.

Regardless of where your office is, close to the team or in a different building, you will need to create a regular schedule to meet with your project team. Regular meetings, whether weekly, biweekly, or on your own custom schedule, will serve several purposes:

• Allows a team member to report on his activities

• Underscores the project vision

• Allows the team to resolve problems

• Allows the project manager to lead the team without hovering

• Creates a sense of ownership of the project

• Creates a sense of responsibility to the project for team members

To host a team meeting you need one thing: preparation. Create an agenda, even if it s a quick list of what needs to be discussed, and then follow it. Also, set a time limit for these meetings ”and make it snappy. Perhaps the number one complaint among project teams is WOT (waste of time) meetings. For every meeting, your agenda should include at least these points:

• The objectives accomplished since the last team meeting

• Discussion of any situations impacting the entire team

• Acknowledgment of major team member accomplishments

• Overall project status ”good or bad

• Pending risks, issues, and upcoming activities

• The objectives in queue before the next meeting

By starting with a review of the objectives of the past week, you are allowing team members to report on their activities and update the team on the state of the project. You are also allowing the team members to shine in front of their peers by reporting what tasks they have successfully completed. Don t be surprised if your team applauds when key events are finished.

Another aspect of having your team report what objectives were accomplished creates, again, a sense of responsibility. A team member who knows she ll have to report that an assignment was not completed on time in front of her peers may be inspired to complete the task. The goal is not to embarrass team members; it is a tactic to keep team members on schedule and committed to the project.

Should there be any outstanding issues left unresolved from the last meeting, for example the delivery of hardware, software, or other resources, the project manager, or the responsible party, should quickly update the team on the status. The issues discussed should only be those that affect the entire team.

If team members have completed a major challenge or task within the project plan, call attention to that in front of the entire team. Offering a public acknowledgment to the team members is simply giving credit where credit is due. Always acknowledge major completions and, when necessary, acknowledge team members who may not have major tasks but are doing a great job. This heartfelt thank-you is an excellent way to boost morale and show your team that you do care for them and their success ”not just the project s. As Figure 8-1 depicts, team morale has a huge impact on the project s success. Remember, acknowledgments, thank-yous, and kudos are not something you can fake ”develop a true sense of care and compassion for your team.

Figure 8-1: The morale of the team can impact the project s success.

Next on your agenda should be a quick capsule of the overall status of the project. If the project is on target and moving along swimmingly, this is easy. However, if the project is lagging and the team members aren t completing their assignments, you need to let them know. Being a tyrant and reprimanding a group is not the goal. The goal is to make adjustments to get the team back on track and focused on their duties , and to avoid a pile-up of work and a completion date that has to change. Don t be shy in expressing your discontent; just use tact and express your passion for the success of the team.

You ll also want to review risks that have passed, been mitigated, or are pending within the project. Risk management calls for a review of risks and a reminder to the risk owners of triggers that may signal a risk is coming into play. You re not micromanaging the project team over pending risks, but rather bringing everyone s attention to the identified risks, making them aware of the risk response plans you ve created, and assigning ownership to the project team.

Finally, hold a round-table discussion against your PND to review assignments in the queue for the upcoming week or weeks. Ideally, you should have each team member verify what tasks he is working on before the next scheduled meeting. This does not need to be a long, drawn-out discussion, just a confirmation of duties. It is also a way to ensure this team meeting ends with your team members knowing what tasks are required of them before they meet with you again.

The foundation for successfully implementing an IT project is not the project plan, the technology being implemented, or the speed of the network, processor, or disk. The foundation is the ability of the team to honestly communicate to the project manager how the actual work is going, the challenges the members are facing , and how they ve reacted to those challenges. That type of communication is going to come from their ability to trust you. You have to earn that trust, and hopefully, if you ve involved your team members in the planning phases and kept them informed of how the project will develop, you will have it.