Enterprise Environmental Factors
The definition of project roles and responsibilities is developed with an understanding of the ways that existing organizations will be involved and how the technical disciplines and people currently interact with one another. Some of the relevant enterprise environmental factors involving organizational culture and structure are:
- Organizational. Which organizations or departments will be involved in the project? What are the current working arrangements among them? What formal and informal relationships exist among them?
- Technical. What are the different disciplines and specialties that will be needed to complete this project? Are there different types of software languages, engineering approaches, or kinds of equipment that will need to be coordinated? Do the transitions from one life cycle phase to the next present any unique challenges?
- Interpersonal. What types of formal and informal reporting relationships exist among people who are candidates for the project team? What are the candidates’ job descriptions? What are their supervisor-subordinate relationships? What are their supplier-customer relationships? What cultural or language differences will affect working relationships among team members? What levels of trust and respect currently exist?
- Logistical. How much distance separates the people and units that will be part of the project? Are people in different buildings, time zones, or countries?
- Political. What are the individual goals and agendas of the potential project stakeholders? Which groups and people have informal power in areas important to the project? What informal alliances exist?
In addition to the factors listed above, constraints limit the project team’s options. Examples of constraints that can limit flexibility in the Human Resource Planning process are:
- Organizational structure. An organization whose basic structure is a weak matrix means a relatively weaker role for the project manager
- Collective bargaining agreements. Contractual agreements with unions or other employee groups can require certain roles or reporting relationships.
- Economic conditions. Hiring freezes, reduced training funds, or a lack of travel budget are examples of economic conditions that can restrict staffing options.
Organizational Process Assets
As project management methodology matures within an organization, lessons learned from past Human Resource Planning experiences are available as organizational process assets to help plan the current project. Templates and checklists reduce the amount of planning time needed at the beginning of a project and reduce the likelihood of missing important responsibilities.
- Templates. Templates that can be helpful in Human Resource Planning include project organization charts, position descriptions, project performance appraisals, and a standard conflict management approach.
- Checklists. Checklists that can be helpful in Human Resource Planning include common project roles and responsibilities, typical competencies, training programs to consider, team ground rules, safety considerations, compliance issues, and reward ideas.
.3 Project Management Plan
The project management plan includes the activity resource requirements, plus descriptions of project management activities, such as quality assurance, risk management, and procurement, that will help the project management team identify all of the required roles and responsibilities.
- Activity Resource Requirements. Human Resource Planning uses activity resource requirements to determine the human resource needs for the project. The preliminary requirements regarding the required people and competencies for the project team members are refined as part of the Human Resource Planning process.