Semester Report

Mid-Semester Report During the life of a project, from concept to close out, there are countless steps on numerous levels that must take place. They have both individual importance and importance as a part of the whole, every piece. One of the main processes is the management of the project team. People may be viewed as social entities, but the reality of the matter is that people are individuals first. This can complicate things when people are chosen to be part of a group as is usually the case in project management. There are certain benefits and detriments to grouping people based solely on their skills. They may or may not work well together because of personality differences or similarities. The same goes for styles, preferences, optimal methods of learning, optimal environments for working, habits, tolerances, and many other idiosyncrasies. Since people can be extremely different in nearly every way imaginable, managing the team can require an entirely different set of skills that cannot be quantified as easily as “skills,” and can be the most difficult part of a project manager’s job. Having the necessary traits to be able to handle people and their differences is a lifelong improvement process and is one reason it is a competency rather than a set skill. According to Steven Flannes, today “project completion often relies too strongly on technical tools and methodologies, often at the expense of a consideration of the people issues that are always involved.” (Flannes) This is where project managers differentiate the most from regular IT professionals. A good project manager will be able to keep a handle on the progress of the project while keeping the team members on track, content, productive, and working in sync. One methodology that aids in the management of project teams is the concept of deliverables. Deliverables are useful in many ways, such as the measurement of progress on the part of the project team, as well as a tool for