Actionable Assessment of Team Integration

Actionable Assessment of Team Integration

An incomplete and inaccurate list of the last centuries advancements: 1910 s The Assembly Line 1920 s Market Segment Theory 1930 s Brand Management Theory 1940 s Competitive R&D 1950 s Lean Manufacturing 1960 s & 70 s New Management Concepts Balanced Scorecard Core Competencies Total Quality management Six Sigma 1980 s Reengineering / IT Integration 1990 s Global Outsourcing 2000 s? Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 2

Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 3

Network of Human Any large, complex project is a matrix of human commitments only very few of which are described in the contracts we sign, disclosed in project documentation, or discussed in team meetings. Project Success A powerful determinant of project success is the health and effectiveness of theses human commitments. Management Reality You cannot manage what you do not measure. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 -- 4

OUR CRITICAL MANAGEMENT CHALLENGE Utilizing the latest psychological measures, it is possible to identify a series of early indicators, not typically visible to traditional project management, that accurately monitor team integration and reliably predict project stress. OUR GOAL We intend to illuminate the network of human commitments, opinions, and attitudes that drive the performance of interdisciplinary of project teams. OUR SEARCH Super Conductors Back Holes Patterns of Success Participatory Leadership Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 -- 5

MEASUREMENT We employ leading edge psychological measurement techniques that are minimally invasive: 1) Industrial Psychology 2) Organizational Behavior 3) Behavioral Economics We utilize a series of web-based questionnaires that can be answered by selected team members in no more than 20 minutes. They can respond monthly from anywhere that is convenient. The indicators we measure become more powerful and predictive when monitored over time, and subsequently compared to traditional project outcomes. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 -- 6

WHY IS PROJECT TEAM INTEGRATION SO CRITICAL? PROCESS IMPROVEMENT Research and experience tell us that a truly integrated team will devise better ways to achieve project goals: Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 -- 7

CAUSES OF PROJECT DISSATISFACTION 279 AEC industry professionals from across the nation were surveyed by the Rice Building Institute, 2007 poor team relationships poor communication poor performance by one or more team members schedule issues budget poor management/leadership quality control function does not meet intent scope creep too many change orders the delivery method too much turnover safety issues lack of owner/user satisfaction poor profitability In those instances in which you have been completely or partially dissatisfied with the outcome of a project, what has usually been the most important cause of your dissatisfaction? 0.05.1.15.2.25 Percentage of mentions Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 -- 8

SIX DIMENSIONS OF TEAM INTEGRATION Shared Expectations Clarity of Roles and Dependent Measurable Interrelated Dynamic Upon Context Team Collaboration Active Project Team Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 -- 9

SIX DIMENSIONS OF TEAM INTEGRATION Shared Expectations Team Team Collaboration So how do we define and measure each dimension? Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --10

DENSITY OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS AND WITHIN PROJECT TEAMS Inter-team communication density is a measure of the extent of professional communications between the members of different projects. Intra-team communication is the same measure applied to the members within specific project teams. We expect the density of communication both within and across project teams to evolve and adjust over the life of a project. One of the most established results in the psychological research on responses to conflict is that individuals immediately stop communicating with each other. If this is happening our measures will reveal it. Communication patterns are highly context dependent. Active interpretation is required. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --11

MEASUREMENT STRATEGY Typical periodic report: Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --12

COMMUNICATION DENSITY OVER TIME: Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --13

EFFECTIVENESS OF TEAM COLLABORATION We see collaboration as the principal mechanism through which a wellintegrated team actually produces: o innovation o cost and process improvement o mechanisms for early detection of problems o mechanisms for early conflict resolution Our concept of collaboration overlaps with, but is distinct from, communication. Specifically, we see collaboration as two or more individuals working together on a specific task or activity with a well defined product or goal. Effective collaboration can only occur when the right group of people are working on the right task at the right time. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --14

MEASUREMENT STRATEGY 1 Given our concept, our basic measure of collaboration must be task specific. Thus, we first record, for each team member, what project tasks and activities that individual has been working on during the reporting period. 2 Once we know what the team member has been doing, we use a variety of methods to probe who (if anyone) he or she has worked with on that task. 3 Once we know who is working on a task, we then explore the perceptions of all collaborators on the effectiveness of the collaboration and the net contribution of each collaborator. 4 Finally, we will systematically record specific instances in which team members report a gain (i.e., innovation, problem avoided, cost saving, etc.) from collaboration. What can we do with this information? Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --15

REVEALS 1 If there is a lack of appropriate collaboration in some domain of activity 2 Whether work groups for some task are too large and inefficient 3 Whether work groups that include the right people are nevertheless ineffective (for reasons that will likely be identifiable from our measures on the other dimensions) Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --16

REPORTS Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --17

ILLUMINATING TURNOVER Active Project Team Turnover of personnel has long been recognized as an impediment to project success and a number of studies have shown it to be particularly damaging to schedule and quality. The kind of turnover highlighted in such studies consists of more or less permanent changes in key personnel at the management level, and is already monitored closely by project managers. Another kind of turnover, more important to team integration and project success which is typically not systematically monitored: Destructive Short-term Turnover This is caused by: 1) Shuffling of key personnel to a variety of projects 2) Crash completion efforts Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --18

MEASUREMENT STRATEGY A cascading survey methodology in which core team members identify support members and each respondent reports not only on whether they have actively worked on the project in the reporting period, but who else in their immediate project team has participated. We dynamically follow-up on everyone mentioned by respondents and identify who they are, what their role in the project is, and whether they should be added to our sample of respondents. Active Project Team Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --19

REPORTS core active project team from the period ending March 1, 2008 to the period ending March 15, 2008. Number of core Team Members working on project within last year Number of core Team Members working on project within last two weeks newly inactive newly active % turnover Total 67 52 3 5 8% Architectural Team 13 13 0 0 0% Structural Engineering Team 5 4 1 1 25% Active Project Team MEP Engineering Team 7 5 1 0 12% Civil Engineering Team 12 5 5 2 50% Surveying Team 3 8 0 3 100% Construction Management Team 10 11 2 1 30% Medical Equipment Team 5 19 0 0 0% Critical to monitor: 1) Continuity of Original Team Leadership 2) Destructive Short-term Turnover Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --20

PREDICTORS OF PROJECT SUCCESS TEAMS WITH MUTUAL o Trust o Respect o Project Vision o Project Values = PROJECTS THAT ARE o Less Expensive o Finish Sooner o Have Fewer Disputes o Have Fewer Post-Project Litigation o Higher Owner Satisfaction While our other measures of communication and collaboration capture some of the results of the health of interpersonal relationships, we will also attempt to measure this concept more directly. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --21

MEASUREMENT STRATEGY We will measure trust, respect, and willingness to cooperate with one another for relevant pairs of individuals on the project team. This is possible because we have developed an interface that allows us to get a respondent s evaluations of many individuals very quickly We use the latest techniques in organizational and social psychology, like the measurement of response-time latencies, that allow us to measure attitudes even when the respondent has an incentive to dissemble. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --22

REPORTS: Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --23

ASSESSMENTS OF PROJECT TEAM S EXPECTATIONS 1 Process Expectations Legal Environment - Who is contracting for what with whom? Risk Management Environment - Who is accepting risk for what? Extent of Project - Who should be working together on what? 2 Project Expectations Project Characteristics - What is actually going to be built? Project Outcomes - How important are different dimensions of project outcomes? 3 Analysis Highlight: Alignment of Owner s and Project Team s understanding of project characteristics, legal and risk environment, and expectations of collaboration levels. Different dimensions of project outcomes. Extent of heterogeneity within the Project Team of process and project understanding and expectations. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --24

DYNAMIC ASSESSMENTS OF SIX-DIMENSIONS OF TEAM INTEGRATION Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --25

1 Project Team Integration is the second most powerful issue we can address to positively impact the quality of our projects. 2 Historically, there has been no way to measure the effectiveness of project team collaboration. 3 Traditional project management metrics typically don t provide enough warning to allow for corrective action or preemptive problem resolution. 4 Process Metrics is designed to illuminate the network of human commitments that drive the performance of the most effective interdisciplinary project teams. Process Metrics Corporation, LLC 2008 --26