Chapter 7 Setting Goals and Securing Committment

Objectives Developing goal statements Setting budget goals: time and money Managing goal conflicts Creating goal commitment

The Project Goal Project goal: A statement of the end result of the project, which will satisfy the major reasons why the stakeholders are undertaking the project, defined in terms of three critical dimensions: specification objectives, time objectives, and cost objectives. Project: A specific, unique plan or design. Goal myopia: Deliberate and careful consideration must be given to the formulation of goal statements. These statements have to capture the true needs which motivate the undertaking.

Developing Goal Statements The specific description of the goal should be simple – a single sentence description of the end result. Success: completion of a project with all the goals accomplished in the amount of time specified. Buy-in: all members of the cross-functional team agree and understand the underlying vision for the project’s development and marketing plan and that this is the best plan for the project. The project’s end user: will make or break your project’s chance of success. Set doable expectations: there is no honor in accepting goals that cannot be met. A realistic project must have: 1. People –enough with the right type of skills. 2. Money – enough to get the goods and services. 3. Time – enough for the project. It is the most overlooked aspect of many projects.

Setting Budget Goals: Time and Money Time line: You must see to it that the project has reasonable, known deadlines. This means that the project can be done in the allotted time. Make sure your team agrees to the deadline as well as to those for major project milestones. Cost Factors: A reasonable budget is one that will meet the project’s spending profile. Capital Budget: involves the purchase of the physical plant and the machinery required to make the product. Expense Budget: includes everything except capital – payroll, electricity, water, etc. Contingency Budget (fudge factor): There will always be emergencies and unforeseen expenses. Setting up a contingency fund of 5 to 15% of the total budget can save major headaches and embarrassment.

Managing Goal Conflicts Influence: involves many elements: salesmanship, barter, peer influence. Project managers who only take without giving back soon find their requests falling on deaf ears. Early Detection: It is in the project manager’s best interest to surface conflicts and resolve them as early as possible. Conflict Resolution: Project managers must guide the conflicts to a constructive conclusion. Training support team members in solving their own conflicts will mean that the project manager will have fewer fires to put out. Methods to diffuse goal conflicts: Have each side see the other’s position. Brainstorm creative and unconventional solutions. Use humor to ease tension. Negotiate over a meal. Use a professional arbitrator. Move the discussion away from the workplace.

Creating Goal Commitment Securing the commitment: In fostering commitment you must analyze what gain there is for your workers and connect the goal to the gain. Bonuses for reaching goals are one of the more popular incentives. Maintaining the commitment: Continually update everyone on the progress being made. Create lots of little celebrations and milestones.

Summary Project goal: A statement of the end result of the project, which will satisfy the major reasons why the stakeholders are undertaking the project, defined in terms of three critical dimensions: specification objectives, time objectives, and cost objectives. Project: A specific, unique plan or design. Buy-in: all members of the cross-functional team agree and understand the underlying vision for the project’s development and marketing plan and that this is the best plan for the project. The project’s end user: will make or break your project’s chance of success. A realistic project must have: 1. People –enough with the right type of skills. 2. Money – enough to get the goods and services. 3. Time – enough for the project. It is the most overlooked aspect of many projects. Influence: involves many elements: salesmanship, barter, peer influence. Project managers who only take without giving back soon find their requests falling on deaf ears. Securing the commitment: In fostering commitment you must analyze what gain there is for your workers and connect the goal to the gain. Bonuses for reaching goals are one of the more popular incentives.

Home Work 1. Define project goal. 2. Define buy-in. 3. Explain the three requirements for a realistic project? 4. Explain contingency Budget (fudge factor). 5. Explain influence.