Enhancing Productivity
of a Project Team
Overcoming the Challenges of Information Overload
Revision 3.0
October 2006
Enhancing Productivity of a Project Team
1
The Knowledge Gap in a Project Team
The Problem
It all seemed so straightforward at the beginning of the project. Sure, there were a lot of features
you wanted to build. And, at that time, the team had a clear understanding of how to build them,
their sequencing in the roll-out and how to help the marketing department. That is, until a lead
person left. Then the new marketing director repositioned the product. He added features that
were inadequately researched and discarded many current features. Key product research was
coming from an affiliate on another coast. And now, the project is one big mess. And, oh, did I
mention, the deadline didn’t change!
This story will strike a chord with most project team members. If you haven’t experienced this or
something very much like it, chances are, you soon will.
What do members of a project team actually do?
Product Managers spend time:
• Meeting with their team members to discuss tasks.
• Collecting and summarizing task status reports.
• Answering questions and clarifying issues.
• Updating management and customers about project progress.
Team members spend time:
• Understanding their assignments.
• Communicating with management about their progress.
• Working on building the products that represent their deliverables.
In business, this last function is considered the most important job of the team. A big key is keeping
the flow of knowledge moving throughout the project, with as little friction as possible. If the project
team is involved in repairing or tending to the knowledge flow, the chances are, they are
experiencing reduced productivity and probably a lot of frustration.
Enhancing Productivity of a Project Team
2
To recap, product development teams experience many challenges in the ways they deal with
information and knowledge:
•
Team leads and key devel