Project Execution: Coordinate HR, Assure Quality, Manage Communications and Conduct Procurements

Execution is the third phase of the project lifecycle to implement a project according to project management plan (PM plan) and subsidiary plans. The phase involves the project manager in coordinating people and resources, managing communications, assuring quality, and arranging procurements. The descriptions of PM practices listed in the PMBOK Guide regard the execution phase as the Executing Process Group that is to be performed to reach the scope and content of work identified in PM plan and satisfy project goals and expectations. It aims to implement the project by integrating and performing all the activities determined by PM plan. The execution phase can be divided into several high-level processes that focus on integrating and performing activities related to HR, quality, procurement and communications. In this context, it’s convenient to complete the phase by stepping through the following activities: Coordinate HR Perform Quality Assurance Manage Communications Conduct Procurements These high-level activities can be divided into a series of simple tasks and jobs to be assigned to a group of performers involved in the project. Using VIP Task Manager allows you to create to-do lists and assign individual and group tasks to people involved in your project. Let’s find out how to execute your project in accordance with the PM practices defined by the PMBOK Guide and see how to use VIP Task Manager for managing simple tasks and jobs of the execution phase. Coordinate HR When your project reaches the execution phase the project manager needs to start this phase with coordinating all the people involved in doing the work determined in PM plan. Such people will form the project team. The process of forming and coordinating the project team includes three steps: Acquire the project team Develop the project team Manage the project team Here’s what the project manager needs to do to carry out this process and take all of the steps. First of all, this person will use the HR management plan to confirm availability of HR and acquire team members who have enough skills, knowledge and experience required to complete project assignments. Secondly, the project manager will work with each team member to develop his/her competencies and abilities in order to improve the overall team environment and enhance project performance. Meetings, workshops, training sessions are several ways of developing the team. Thirdly, the manager will keep track of the team’s performance, provide feedback, resolve issues, and respond to changes made to the project environment. Perform Quality Assurance The quality management plan is the primary source of information on how the project should be executed at appropriate quality levels. Your project manager needs to use this document to get quality requirements and compare actual results of the project against these requirements. Also this person needs to use quality metrics and organize quality control measurements to make sure quality levels are reached and any changes made to the project are responded efficiently. In case there is a need to make any improvements, the project manager will develop an improvement plan and specify procedures required for enhancing project activities. Manage Communications During the execution phase, members of your project team need to communicate with each other and share information. If they cannot communicate efficiently the project gets under the risk of failure. In this context, the project manager needs to manage communications through distributing information and managing stakeholder expectations. Distributing information means a process of implementing certain rules of sharing relevant information between the team and other stakeholders. Managing stakeholder expectations means a process of communicating and collaborating with the key stakeholders in order to meet their needs and address any issues. Both processes are managed under the communications management plan. Conduct Procurements Your project can’t be executed and delivered without having necessary supplies and materials defined in the procurement management plan. That’s why your project manager needs to conduct procurements and arrange deliveries. The process of conducting procurements includes such activities as obtaining vendors’ responses, choosing the best sellers, and establishing procurement contracts. The manager needs to negotiate the best conditions of delivery and payment and ensure that every delivery is done on time and under budget. This person can cooperate with your purchasing department to settle all the procurement issues. Using VIP Task Manager All the activities of the execution phase can be managed with help of VIP Task Manager. You can divide the processes into simple tasks and then use the software to assign these tasks to your project team. The project manager can use Task List view to design to-do lists and create separate tasks. Due Date, Assignment, Priority, Time Left, Complete and other task attributes will help plan and track tasks of the execution phase. For instance, below you can see an example of tasks that can be used to execute a typical project. All the activities, such as Coordinate HR, Perform Quality Assurance, Manage Communications and Conduct Procurements, are divided into a series of simple tasks assigned to a number of performers. VIP Task Manager lets users collaborate and share tasks. This capability makes it easier for your project team to do collaborative assignments. Please view the screenshot below. Project Execution Coordinate HR Arrange meetings with candidates to project team members Confirm HR availability Start the kick-off meeting Share staff assignments between the team Arrange training workshops for team development Design a feedback report form and share it with the team Perform Quality Assurance Review quality metrics and share them with the team Audit quality requirements against current results Develop quality control measurements Register change requests (if any) Present change requests to project manager for approval List change requests approved/abandoned Manage Communications Design a statement of rules for communicating Share the statement with the team Define reporting rules Generate performance reports Review performance reports for approval List issues addressed/cancelled
Conduct Procurements List potential sellers Choose between the sellers to find best ones Negotiate 10-% discount with the vendors Sign procurement contract with the vendors Place purchase orders according the procurement item lists Report on delivery status to project manager.

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