Strategies to Control Budget

It is crucial for project managers to develop and put into practice budget control measures. The goal of budgeting is to lower and keep operating expenses under control during all project phases. First, by determining the objectives, anticipations, and deliverables on both sides, I will establish a thorough grasp of the needs and wishes of all the stakeholders (Owens et al., 2007). Budget overruns can disappoint everyone, thus the manager must maintain strong communication with the team, sponsors, and vendors prior to the start of the project in order to spend resources wisely. Secondly, I will plan for surprises by taking care of issues such as the external environmental which can affect the pricing of the supplies, labor, financing, resources, currency exchanges and the product shortages.

Thirdly, I will develop the appropriate key performance indicators (KPIs) that will aid in ascertaining the amount of money spent or resources used in relation to the estimated costs. The relevant KPIs to consider includes’ the Actual Cost, Cost Variance, Earned Value, Planned Value and Return on Investment. Moreover, I will review and re-forecast to help keep the project on track to enhance full utilization of the available resources and further allow the identification of extra work that needs additional funding (Yin, 2010). I will ensure that the team members are accountable and always informed of their duties and responsibilities together with the budget status towards successful execution and implementation of the project.

Other plans of actions to take include enhancing awareness and creativity as a way to continuously evaluate the possible adjustments towards the changing circumstances because projects are not static but dynamic. I will equally seek the outside help by hiring an objective and independent firm that would assist in benchmarking and assessing the current costs to determine whether the project is on the right track in cases where the internal resources are not adequate for efficient budget control or not.

Team Member Accountability Plan

The project’s success depends on the responsibility of every individual, and the full participation will rely on the set expectations, the track progress and integrate every activity with the performance management processes. During the first meeting, it is crucial to address accountability as the foundational principle. The team members should maintain the respect towards others, professionalism and focus on meeting the expected goals and objectives. Also, highlighting the interconnectedness of the tasks is fundamental to improve the high-quality performance (Prabhakar, 2008).

Another step in accountability planning will include getting the public commitments on the action items and document them in the meeting notes. It is important to confront the poor performance which relies on the strong leadership that outlines the benefits, expectations, and commitments for successful project implementation. Adopting the philosophy of accountability where members have the feeling of personal obligation of delivering success. Increasing the accountability will also require the project manager to effectively communicate the results to create a motivating effect through recognition and celebration of the team members’ commitments (Ryan & Jason, 2015).

The cooperation and collaboration during the planning improves the team decisions making process, and sharing the challenges Above all, this will motivate individuals to remain focused towards delivering the best. The project manager should aim at ensuring the team members are committed in working together, bringing high performance and succeed in the achievement of the individual assignments.

In summary, this version of the team members’ accountability plan focuses on establishing a strong leadership, promoting the philosophy of accountability, effective communication of the measured results and creation of the sense of urgency when fulfilling the commitments. Equally, there is a need to be specific concerning the desired results, resource budgets, and the time frames.

Leadership Strategies to Motivate a Team

A motivated project team will always strengthen their commitments towards its successful execution. Thus, the first plan includes clarifying the project’s benefits and encouraging persistence through demonstrating the feasibility. Also, I will share and communicate the project goals and vision with the staff to aid in the successful organization of the necessary activities (Anantatmula, 2010). Moreover, it is helpful to make project team to feel appreciated by supporting their ideas and giving them challenging tasks to encourage the development of new skills and knowledge within the team. Inviting feedback from everyone will keep them motivated and deliver the best from the initiation phase to the closure stage.

Furthermore, I will perform informal review sessions to enhance the improvement and focus towards completing the assigned tasks on time. Regular update of where the people are going is part of the continual reinforcement and will show appreciation of the projects manager value all individuals. For instance, an increase in the compensation and rewarding the team after completing their part is a show of appreciation for members’ contributions, and it is a confirmation that the desired results have been achieved as expected.

Additionally, I will create and maintain the team spirit through mutual support and trust in every circumstance to enhance the achievement of the project’s strategic direction. The effectiveness of this program will be seen through the creation of a better working environment that enhances the extra motivation among the employees. As a manager, I will utilize the cloud-based software of project management to give a real-time overviews together with updates to the individuals and the groups regarding what has been done and areas which require more efforts (Bernhard & Jonathan, 2010). Lastly, I will create a healthy competition and make sure that there is a celebration of each success.

Strategies for Long-Term Relationship with Subject Matter Expert

As a project manager, I will verbally recognize and give credit to the subject matter expert’s (SME) knowledge to enhance proper planning and solving the problems more efficiently. I will effectively communicate to facilitate individuals understanding their roles and the objectives accompanied by documented instructions on the meeting’s agenda so that the SME can have an in-depth understanding of the contributions and value to add to the project. I will ensure there is a constant administrative support to the SME to enable them to become familiar with the test procedures, question and answer standards, shared drives and database information that is only known to the project stakeholders especially managers and team members and sponsors (Scott, 2011).

I will gain agreements, define risks and make long-lasting connections with the SME through building rapport, establishing credibility and earning trust. Aligning the focus of both the project manager and the subject matter expert will necessitate listening reflectively, synthesizing and validating the content discussed in meetings and reiterating the goals as a way to minimize the targets. Consequently, it is significant to set the specific expectations of the content review. Moreover, I will get the SME involved to find them quickly when needed and become flexible and prepared by doubling efforts to avoid losing credibility. When mining the expert’s knowledge, it is necessary to be efficient, organized and creative and does not let the SME carry out the heavy lifting but they should help in answering the technical questions (Scott, 2011).

Conclusion

In summary, managing of projects requires the application of a broad range of knowledge, tools, skills, and techniques to ensure that all the activities from the initiation to closure meet the requirements and expectations laid down in the start. It is indisputable that coming up with appropriate strategies to control the budget is an essential task to avoid misuse of the resources set to run the project until its completion. Establishing the key performance indicators is a better strategy to make sure that the operations are on track and the team members remain focused towards the achievement of the set goals and objectives. A manager needs to implement a team member accountability plan and establish strategies to enhance long-term working relationships with the subject matter expert.

Therefore, it is apparent that the project management compels the organization as well as planning of the available resources to enhance successful completion of the tasks. The project manager has the responsibility of ensuring that project activities runs smoothly and if there are third parties involved one has to double efforts to enhance efficiency and credibility of the desired results. It all ranges from defining the scope, activity and resource planning, developing schedules, estimating time and costs, budget development and documentation.

References

Anantatmula, V.S. (2010). Project Manager Leadership Role in Improving Project Performance.Engineering Management Journal, 22(1), PP. 46-80.

Bernhard, S. & Jonathan, A. (2010). Motivation in Project Management: The Project Manager’s Perspective. Project Management Journal, 39(2), PP. 97-99

Owens, J., Burke, S., Matthew, K. and Mance, D. (2007). The project cost control tools and techniques. Retrieved on August 11, 2017, from

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2c20/294dfe4552d2281bc39ca1b07a81a8363bd5.pdf

Prabhakar, G. P. (2008). Teams and Projects: A Literature Review. International Journal of Business and Management, 3 (10), pp. 3-7. ISSN 1833-3850.

Ryan, M. & Jason, M. (2015). Building Effective Projects Teams and Teamwork. Journal of IT and Economic Developmen,t 6(2), 20-30.

Scott, L. (2011). Subject Matter Expert: Working Toward Ensuring the Value In A Project Organization. Master of Science in Organizational Dynamics Theses, 45. Retrieved on August 11, 2017, from

http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1046&context=od_theses_msod

Yin, G. (2010). Project Time and Budget Monitor and Control. Journal Management Science

and Engineering, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2010, pp. 56-61.