Chapter 2

Exercises

Download all

Skills Practice 2.1: Developing a Team Charter

Skills practice worksheet 2.1

Objective

To develop skill in creating a team charter to support the planning and implementation of a successful team project.

Procedure

As a team, discuss the various elements of a team charter as indicated on the attached worksheet.

Elements of the Team Charter (see attached sheet)

Team Name – The final name you selected for your team.
Date – The date that the team charter is being created.
Team Member Information.
Name of Team Sponsor – This is the name, position title, and contact information of the primary person who you are working with at the organization that is being studied for your project.
Name of Team Mentor – This will be the name of the individual who is responsible for providing general advice and counsel for the team.
Purpose/Objectives of the Project – This specifies what you are trying to accomplish through the completion of your project.
Scope of the Project – This specifies the parameters of your project (e.g., which issue, work unit/organization you will include in your analysis).
General Schedule/Meeting Days and Times – Describes the team's basic plan for meetings in terms of when meetings will be held, how often, length, time, locations, and so on.
Deliverables – These are the key outcomes that the team will provide to the sponsor and mentor.
Measures of Success – These are the specific and quantifiable measures that the team will use to evaluate the effectiveness of its process and outcomes.
Communication Plan – This indicates with whom (e.g., sponsor, mentor) the team will be communicating during the project, the media used to communicate (e.g., email, reports, meetings), and the dates and times at which these communications will take place.
Additional Resources Needed – This includes additional financial, equipment (computer, photocopying, etc.), and information needed to complete the project.
Key Milestones – These refer to significant dates for the team's progress on the project. These may include the completing the project proposal and related data collection, reaching the halfway point in the process, and completing the project.
Have all team members sign the last page of the team charter.

Skills Practice 2.2: Developing a Gantt Chart

Skills practice worksheet 2.2

Objective

To develop skill in creating a project timeline (Gantt chart) to support the completion of a team project.

Procedure

Identify your ultimate objective(s) for completing a team project.

Write each of your team objectives for the case analysis project on the last page of the Gantt chart template in the "Project Objectives" rows.

List the “Tasks” needed to complete the team project.

Important: The Gantt chart that you are creating can be modified as you develop a better sense of the nature of the tasks that the team needs to complete and its progress on the various parts of the case analysis. The key is to use the Gantt chart as an ongoing framework for managing the team's process and for keeping the team "on track" in order to achieve your ultimate objectives for this project.

Identify the tasks needed to perform to support the achievement of the objectives identified in Step 1. Insert each of these tasks under the relevant part of the timeline in the column labeled as “Tasks” in the Gantt Chart.

Estimate the number of weeks required to complete each of the tasks listed in the Gantt Chart.

Even if you are currently not sure how long it may take to complete a given task, make your best guess but add at least one week to the estimate. This will help build a time cushion into the team’s process. Draw in an unshaded bar in the cells that correspond with the number of units of time (e.g., weeks, months) allocated for completing a given task under the “Time” section of the Gantt chart. Be sure to order your tasks so that they follow the process that you want to implement for completing the project.

Important: When you evaluate progress on the project against the Gantt chart created for your team, you should shade in the relevant bars to show the degree to which you have completed that task. This will enable you to see where you are “on track” with your project and where you are behind schedule.

Follow these guidelines for implementing your Gantt Chart:

Once the pages (if you use multiple pages) of the Gantt chart template (at the end of this handout) are completed, stack them vertically in order and tape them together. This will show the overall process and how all of the tasks fit together. You can also transfer this information to Excel to provide an electronic version of your chart as well.
Monitor your team’s progress on the team project against the process documented on your Gantt Chart on a weekly basis. This will enhance the team's ability to focus on its objectives and to work in a systematic and efficient manner. Again, when you do this, you will need to shade in the part of each bar that shows how much of that task has been completed at that point. You can compare this against where your chart says that you should be at that point.
Feel free to modify the Gantt Chart whenever you feel it is appropriate to do so!!
Note:The Gantt chart is NOT designed to make your team process rigid, inflexible, or unable to adapt to changes that may occur during your team process/
The key is to always have a roadmap or process in place to support the achievement of your objectives.

Skills Practice 2.3: Developing a Role Responsibilities Matrix

Skills practice worksheet 2.3

Objective

To develop a role responsibilities matrix that defines the individual and shared responsibilities of the members of a team.

Note: You must complete the Gantt Chart in Skill Practice 2.2 before completing this exercise.

Procedure

Based on the tasks listed in the Gantt chart, decide who will be responsible for completing each of these activities. In some cases, everyone may be responsible for a given task (a shared responsibility), but for others, only a subset of the overall team. Write the names of the team members who will be responsible for completing each of the tasks in the Gantt chart on the far right column of the Gantt Chart called a “Team Roles Responsibility Matrix.”

Skills Practice 2.4: Developing a Team Dashboard

Skills practice 2.4

Flashcards

Teamwork Case Studies

Case Study #1: Franklin Enterprises: The New Division

Note: This case study focuses on the use of a team dashboard. It can be accessed through online databases such as ProQuest.

Ellis, Crystal, and Nathan Austin. "Franklin Enterprises: The New Division." Journal of Business Case Studies (Online) 7.6 (2011):71. ProQuest. Web. 25 Aug. 2015.

Discussion Questions

What benefits can you identify that resulted from Cody’s use of a team Dashboard in this case?

Sample Answer

The dashboard that Cody had access to enabled him to examine a variety of performance metrics related to the e-Business at different levels in terms of daily and monthly activities of the overall business as well as for his team.
Depending on the results shown in the dashboard, Cody could use this information as the basis for sending out an e-mail to one of his sales representatives or to the overall team to draw attention to the issue or to request a follow-up action from his team.
Cody’s manager could also access the dashboard so that he/she could use this information as the basis for discussing the performance of Cody’s team and the e-Business division.

What guidelines would you offer to Cody for effectively using the team dashboard?

In addition to what Cody is already doing, it would be a good idea for him to:

Consider giving access to at least part of the dashboard to all of his team members.
Make the dashboard more visual by incorporating “traffic light” gauges into the dashboard system. This will facilitate interpretation of the results.
Incorporate a review of the team dashboard with the team on a regular basis at meetings, retreats, and training sessions.
Use the dashboard to communicate other stakeholders such as senior management, customers, investors regarding the effectiveness and performance of the team.

What other tools would have been beneficial to Cody to help him design the team system?
A team charter would have helped to define the scope and objectives for the team and this would provide a basis for developing the team dashboard.
A Gantt chart could have been used to link the dashboard to a process timeline for maximizing performance on the key metrics.

What are some practical implications from this case for designing team systems in the workplace?
Team dashboards are useful tools that provide a formal measurement system for evaluating team performance. Team leaders and members should take a collaborative approach to creating team dashboards and incorporating them into the work processes of the team.
Team dashboards should include both process-oriented and results-oriented metrics so that teams can evaluate how they get things done as well as the degree to which they achieve their desired objectives.
Team dashboards must be integrated into other aspects of the team’s system such as a planning and decision-making processes) in order to be effective.

Case Study #2: Team Charters

Instructions: Please click on the link below, read the case study, and answer the discussion questions.

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Academy-Educational-Leadership-Journal/229228140.html

Discussion Questions

Evaluate the team charter that was developed in the case in terms of its design.

The charter includes a personnel section that provides useful information about each team member.
The charter includes an extensive processes section that clarifies task issues including roles and communication issues.
The charter asks for team members to reflect on the process for developing the charter itself that can be useful in supporting team learning an obtaining buy-in from team members.
It would have been helpful to include a list of key performance metrics for the team and measurable objectives.

Identify actions that should be taken to implement the team charter that was developed in the case.
The team leader should ensure that all team members have a copy of the charter and that they all read, understand, and support it.
The charter should be reviewed by the team leader and overall team on a regular basis. Adjustments to the charter should be made as needed with the updated version of the charter distributed to the team.
The charter should be the basis for planning and decision making in relation to all aspects of the team’s work and processes.

What are the key takeaways for utilizing team charters to design team systems in real world organizations?

When teams are working on new projects, a charter is necessary to define the “frame” or focus of the team and its objectives.
Team leaders should use an inclusive process involving all team members in the process.
Team charters need to be used in conjunction with an overall team system that includes Gantt charts, role responsibility matrices, and team dashboards.

Articles on Teams

MindTools: Team Charters – Getting Your Team Off to a Great Start: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMM_95.htm
Seven Components of an Actionable Team Charter: https://redbooth.com/blog/7-components-of-an-actionable-team-charter
What is a Gantt Chart?: http://www.gantt.com
MindTools: Gantt Charts – Planning and Scheduling Team Projects: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_03.htm
Use a Responsibility Matrix to Show Who Does What in Your Projects: http://www.techrepublic.com/article/use-a-responsibility-matrix-to-show-who-does-what-in-your-projects/
How the Right Measures Help Teams to Excel: https://hbr.org/1994/05/how-the-right-measures-help-teams-excel
Project Management Apps: Which is Best for Your Team?: http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2014/10/21/project-management-apps-which-is-best-for-your-team/

Books on Teams

Lewis, J.P. (2004). Team-based project management. New York: AMACOM.
Cobb, A. T. (2012). Leading project teams: The basics of project management and team leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Schmidt, T. (2009). Strategic project management made simple. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons., Inc.
Craig, J.C. (2012). Project Management Lite: Just enough to get the job done. North Charleston, SC: CreateSpace.
Horine, G. (2013). Project management absolute beginner’s guide. Newton Square, PA: Que Publishing.

Videos

Team Charter Meeting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UxZ_e2RQtU
Leadership Skills: Importance of Using a Team Charter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VV54rsHnOqg
Leadership Skills: Enforcing Team Charters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC6R8QOuZP4
Why I Love Gantt Charts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIAiWc2O0XI
What is a Gantt Chart?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIm8yWpBxFA
How to Use Gantt Charts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrtLig0yYrs
Dashboard Overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6lCrNnotiY
Creating High Performing Project Teams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QjwoNVI1uU

Additional Downloads

Chapter Review Questions