Project Human Resource Management

Based on PMBOK® Guide – Fifth Edition

PMBOK is a registered mark of the Project Management Institute, Inc.

Project Human Resource Management 1 © Simplilearn Solutions

 Agenda

 What is human resource management

 Functional manager vs. project manager
 The project human resource management processes
o Plan human resource management
o Acquire project team
o Develop project team
o Manage project team
 Conflict management
 Powers of project manager
 Organization theories

Project Human Resource Management 2 © Simplilearn Solutions

 What is Human Resource Management

 Project human resource management includes the processes that organize,

manage, and lead the project team.

 Project team is composed of the people with assigned roles and

responsibilities for completing the project.

 Project management team is a subset of project team and is responsible for

the project management and leadership activities such as initiating,
planning, executing, monitoring and controlling, and closing the various
project phases.

Project Human Resource Management 3 © Simplilearn Solutions

 Functional Manager vs. Project Manager
Functional Manager
 Manages and owns resources in a
specific department like “Engineering”
or “HR”
 Generally, the subject matter expert of
the functional area that he/she heads
 Exact role and responsibility of a
functional manager depends upon the
organization’s products or services
 Assigns specific individuals to the
project team and negotiates with the
project manager regarding resources
Project Human Resource Management
Project Manager
 Is accountable for project failure;
however, the project success belongs to
the whole team
 In charge of the project but not
necessarily the resources
 Is not the technical expert
 Negotiates with functional manager for
the best available resources
 Is responsible for the project quality
4 © Simplilearn Solutions
 The Project Human Resource Management
Processes

Sl. No. Project Human Management Done During

Process
1 Plan Human Resource Management
2 Acquire Project Team
3 Develop Project Team
4 Manage Project Team
Planning Process Group
Execution Process Group
Execution Process Group
Execution Process Group

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 Plan Human Resource Management

 Plan human resource management is the process of identifying and

documenting project roles, responsibilities, reporting relationships, and
creating a staffing management plan. This process is part of the planning
process group.

Inputs Tools and Techniques

 Project management plan  Organization charts and position
 Activity resource requirements descriptions
 Enterprise environmental factors  Networking
 Organizational process assets  Organizational theory
 Expert judgment
Outputs  Meetings
 Human resource management plan

Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project
Management Institute, Inc., 2013, Page 258.

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 Organization Charts and Role Descriptions
Organization Chart Responsibility Assignment Matrix (RACI Chart)

Activity J K S T
o r a I
Project
Manager
h i l n
n s l g
h y
Administrative n
Assistant a
Project Plan A R R R
Financial Domain Technical Team
Analyst Expert Lead
Configuration Management C A R R

Test Plan C R A R
Development
Team Lead Design C I R A

Team Budget C A R R
Quality Team
Lead Customer Liaison A C R I

Team Building R R A C

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 Resource Histogram

Staff
Hours
Required

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3
2013 2014 2015 2016

Time

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 Acquire Project Team

 Acquire project team is the process of confirming human resource availability

and obtaining the team necessary to complete project assignments. This
process belongs to the executing process group.

Inputs Tools and Techniques

 Human resource management plan  Negotiation
 Enterprise environmental factors  Pre-assignment
 Organizational process assets  Acquisition
 Virtual teams
Outputs  Multi-criteria decision analysis
 Project staff assignments
 Resource calendars
 Project management plan updates

Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project
Management Institute, Inc., 2013, Page 267.

Project Human Resource Management 9 © Simplilearn Solutions

 Develop Project Team

 Develop project team is the process of improving the competencies, team

interaction, and the overall team environment to enhance project
performance. This process belongs to the executing process group.

Inputs Tools and Techniques

 Project staff assignments  Interpersonal skills
 Human resource management plan  Team-building activities
 Resource calendars  Training
 Co-location
Outputs  Recognition and rewards
 Team performance assessments  Personnel assessment tools
 Enterprise environmental factor  Ground rules
updates

Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth Edition, Project
Management Institute, Inc., 2013, Page 273.

Project Human Resource Management 10 © Simplilearn Solutions

 Manage Project Team

 Manage project team is the process of tracking performance, providing feedback,

resolving issues, and managing changes to optimize project performance. This process
belongs to the executing process group

Inputs Tools and Techniques

 Project staff assignments
 Team performance assessments
 Human resource management plan
 Organizational process assets
 Work performance reports
 Issue log
 Observation and conversation
 Project performance appraisals
 Conflict management
 Interpersonal skills

Outputs
 Change requests
 Project management plan updates
 Project documents updates Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project
 Organizational process asset updates Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth
Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013, Page 279.
 Enterprise environmental factors updates

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 Team Dynamics and Conflict Management

Stage of Team Formation

 Forming (formal coming together) --> Storming (disagreements may emerge) -->
Norming (trust develops) --> Performing (start delivering) --> Adjourning (completes
work and moves on)

 Conflict is an inevitable consequence of organizational interactions.

 Conflict can be avoided by:
o Keeping team informed of the exact project status;
o Clearly assigning work with no overlapping responsibilities;
o Continuously motivating the team about the work challenges.

*Sources of Conflict: Conflict Resolution Technique:

 Scarce resources  Withdraw/Avoid
 Scheduling priorities  Smooth/Accommodate
 Personal work styles  Compromise/Reconcile
 Force/Direct
Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project
Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Fifth  Collaborate/Problem solve
Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2013, Page 283.

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 Powers of the Project Manager

Here are some of the forms of power that a project manager can use to
influence and manage the team:
o Legitimate (formal)
o Reward
o Penalty
o Expert
o Referent

 Penalty is the worst way of influencing and managing the team.

 The best forms of power are expert and referent. These are based upon the
project manager’s knowledge and personality.
 Legitimate, reward, and penalty are the powers derived from the project
manager’s position in the company. Expert power exists when the project
manager is an expert on the subject matter.

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 Organizational Theories

 How can a project manager reward team members if he or she does not
understand what motivates them?
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
McGregor’s Theory of X and Y:
All workers fit into two categories
(either X or Y).

 Theory X: People should be

watched every minute. People
avoid work whenever possible.

 Theory Y: People are willing to

work without supervision and
they want to achieve something.

Herzberg’s theory: Classifies factors into hygiene factors (e.g., adequate pay, working
conditions, etc.) and motivating agents (recognition, responsibility, etc.)

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 Leadership Styles

 A project manager needs to establish a leadership style that matches the

needs of the team

McKinsey’s Seven-S
 Authoritarian/Autocratic: Gives clear Management needs to focus on hard
direction and expects compliance elements as well as soft elements.
Hard elements
 Participative/Democratic: Offers o Strategy
guidance to team members but also o Structure
encourages participation o Systems
Soft elements
 Delegative (laissez faire): Offers little o Shared values
or no guidance to the team and o Skills
believes in “letting them be” o Style
o Staff

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 Summary

 The project human resource management processes

o Plan human resource management
o Acquire project team
o Develop project team
o Manage project team
 Conflict: A disagreement or dispute; Can be healthy
o Techniques for conflict resolution
 Powers of project manager
o Formal, expert, reward, penalty, referent
 Organizational theories
o Maslow’s hierarchy, X and Y theory, Herzberg theory
 Leadership theories
o Leadership styles, Mckinsey 7-S

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 Quiz – 1

1. Which conflict resolution technique is best for a long lasting solution?

A. Smoothing
B. Forcing
C. Problem Solving
D. Withdrawal

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 Quiz – 1

1. Which conflict resolution technique is best for a long lasting solution?

A. Smoothing
B. Forcing
C. Problem Solving
D. Withdrawal

Answer 1: The right answer is C. Problem solving is the best way to resolve
conflict, because it has the greatest probability to reach a permanent solution.
All other methods may at best lead to temporary solution.

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 Quiz – 2

2. As a project manager, you are deciding the inputs that you need to use on
your project. Which process uses an issue log as one of the inputs?
A. Plan Human Resource Management
B. Manage Project Team
C. Manage Communications
D. Control Communications

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 Quiz – 2

2. As a project manager, you are deciding the inputs that you need to use on
your project. Which process uses an issue log as one of the inputs?
A. Plan Human Resource Management
B. Manage Project Team
C. Manage Communications
D. Control Communications

Answer 2: The correct answer is B. The manage project team process uses an
issue log to manage and close all team member related issues.

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 Quiz – 3

3. What type of power would a project manager have if others believe he or

she is highly knowledgeable in their technical area?
A. Reward
B. Coercive
C. Referent
D. Expert

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 Quiz – 3

3. What type of power would a project manager have if others believe he or

she is highly knowledgeable in their technical area?
A. Reward
B. Coercive
C. Referent
D. Expert

Answer 3: The right answer is D. The forms of power of a project manager are:
Reward power: The power to give incentives, rewards, bonuses, etc.
Coercive: The power to hire and fire.
Referent: The power that comes with admiration and respect.
Expert: The power that comes with expert knowledge.

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 Quiz – 4

4. You have just been assigned as the project manager of an existing project
involving 50 company employees and 10 sub-contractors. You want to
know who is assigned to do what. Where should you look for this
information?
A. Responsibility assignment matrix
B. Project organization chart
C. Pareto chart
D. Resource histogram

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 Quiz – 4

4. You have just been assigned as the project manager of an existing project
involving 50 company employees and 10 sub-contractors. You want to
know who is assigned to do what. Where should you look for this
information?
A. Responsibility assignment matrix
B. Project organization chart
C. Pareto chart
D. Resource histogram

Answer 4: The right answer is A. Who is assigned to work on what is listed in

the responsibility assignment matrix.

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 Quiz – 5

5. While assessing the performance of your team members, you found that
some of them are not strong enough to handle the tasks assigned. You will:
A. Communicate the improvement needs and establish a performance
review and monitoring schedule
B. Assign double the work and tell him to report the progress each at the
beginning and end of the day
C. Return the team members to the functional department and warn the
functional head
D. Wait for them to fail so that you can prove your point and in the mean
time start hiring additional resources

Project Human Resource Management 25 © Simplilearn Solutions

 Quiz – 5

5. While assessing the performance of your team members, you found that
some of them are not strong enough to handle the tasks assigned. You will:
A. Communicate the improvement needs and establish a performance
review and monitoring schedule
B. Assign double the work and tell him to report the progress each at the
beginning and end of the day
C. Return the team members to the functional department and warn the
functional head
D. Wait for them to fail so that you can prove your point and in the mean
time start hiring additional resources

Answer 5: The correct answer is A. It is the most complete answer in terms of

the performance management life cycle. You need to first communicate the
needs (plan), and then ensure that these are being met (review and
monitoring).

Project Human Resource Management 26 © Simplilearn Solutions

 Quiz – 6

6. Your software project is in the critical system testing stage when two of
the senior members of the team come to you with a conflict on usage of
the simulation software during testing. One senior member claims that
the other person keeps the software engaged nearly all of the working
hours of the project. You decide to change their working schedules so that
they no longer overlap. You are using which of the following techniques
for conflict resolution?
A. Forcing
B. Smoothing
C. Compromising
D. Collaborating

Project Human Resource Management 27 © Simplilearn Solutions

 Quiz – 6

6. Your software project is in the critical system testing stage when two of
the senior members of the team come to you with a conflict on usage of
the simulation software during testing. One senior member claims that
the other person keeps the software engaged nearly all of the working
hours of the project. You decide to change their working schedules so that
they no longer overlap. You are using which of the following techniques
for conflict resolution?
A. Forcing
B. Smoothing
C. Compromising
D. Collaborating

Answer 6: The correct answer is D “Collaborating.” This is the collaborating or

problem solving approach for conflict resolution because it solves the real
problem in such a way that the problem itself goes away.

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 Thank You

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