After the project has been authorized through initiation and planning, it’s time to begin executing.

You will be directing and managing the project execution throughout the lifecycle of the project.
To perform the project work, you will also need to acquire physical and team resources, develop
the team, and manage the project team. Furthermore, your organization might not have the
resources to finish certain parts of the project work. You will need to conduct procurements for
those parts of the work. In addition to managing the overall project work to produce deliverables,
project execution will also include managing quality, the creation of knowledge in the project,
communications, and stakeholders’ involvement in the project. Of course, you will also manage
the implementation of the responses to the risks. You will learn all about that in this part of the
module.

After successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

 Understand the different project execution processes
 Identify the different tools and techniques used in each process
 Know the outputs generated by each process

Monitoring
Initiation Planning Execution and Closing
Controlling

After a project has been planned using the processes in the planning process group, it needs to be
executed using the processes in the executing process group. The goal of the execution stage is to
complete the project work specified in the project management plan to meet the project
requirements. To accomplish that, you will need to acquire physical and team resources and
develop and manage the team. Your organization might not have the resources to finish certain
parts of this work. You will need to use procurement for those parts of the work; i.e., conduct
procurement. You also need to ensure that all the planned quality activities are performed. This is
accomplished by using the quality assurance process. Planned risk responses will need to be
implemented, as well. Remember that some of the process mentioned in the planning stages are
performed in the execution stage. Table 10.1 summarizes the major processes that will be tackled
in this module as well as its outputs mapped to the different project management areas.
 Project Execution Areas of Project
Processes Management Major Outputs
1. Acquire resources Resource Management Project team assignments, resource
calendars
2. Develop team Resource Management Team performance assessment
3. Manage team Resource Management Project document updates
4. Conduct Procurements Procurement Management Selected sellers and agreements
5. Manage Quality Quality Management Quality reports, test and evaluation
documents
6. Implement Risk Risk Management Risk register
Responses
7. Manage Stakeholder Stakeholder Management Issues
Engagement
8. Manage Communications Project communications
Communications Management
Table 10.1 Processes of Project Execution Mapped to the Project Management Areas

Acquiring Resources
Project resources, both team and physical, are obtained and selected using the Acquire Resources
process. The project work will be executed by the project team, and therefore the role of the team
in the success of the project is crucial. Therefore, it is critical to acquire the right project team for
your project. After identifying roles and responsibilities in the planning stage, it is now time to
acquire resources. In selecting the right resources, the following tools and techniques are used:
 Negotiation. The project manager and the project management team should effectively
negotiate and exert influence in a positive way to obtain the best possible team to complete
the project work. The failure to acquire an effective team can result in missed deadlines,
cost overruns, poor quality, and eventually a failed project. You will most likely need to
negotiate with functional managers for the staff assignments for your project. In these
negotiations, you have a two-prong goal—to obtain the best available person for an activity
and to obtain the person for the required timeframe.
 Virtual Teams. The process of working for an organization from outside its physical
location was called telecommuting and is now e-commuting. Teams composed of e-
commuters are called virtual teams because the team works together on the same project
with little or no face-to-face interaction or meetings. It is not difficult to find people who
have been or are working on virtual teams and have never seen the other team members
face-to-face. Note that because the virtual team members are not at the same location and
do not have regular face-to-face meetings, effective communication is that much more
important for the success of the project being performed.
The main outputs of the acquire resources process are the project team assignment and the resource
calendars. The project team assignment document contains the name, roles and responsibilities of
each team members. The resource calendar, on the other hand, contains the type, quantity,
availability, and capability of each resource, including the skills of a human resource.
Developing the Project Teams
Your project team can consist of members from different departments and disciplines, regular
employees and contractors, and experts from different disciplines. Some of these individuals might
not have much appreciation for others’ disciplines. You have the challenge of developing this
diverse group into a cohesive and efficient team that will perform the project on time, within
budget, and with quality. The single goal of team development is to maximize project performance.
This is accomplished by improving the competencies and interaction among team members and
the overall team environment. The following tools and techniques are used to develop project
teams:
 Establish Clear Expectations. A very important management technique is to establish
clear expectations at the very beginning of a project. The expectations can be established
by setting ground rules. Early commitment to these guidelines will increase cooperation
and productivity by decreasing misunderstandings. Once the rules are clearly established,
all team members are responsible for enforcing them.
 Co-location and Virtual Teams. This technique keeps all (or most) of the project team
members in the same physical location to improve communication and to create a sense of
community among the team members. In this age of virtual teams, discussed in a previous
section, this is not an increasingly popular technique, but when most of the team members
are in the same location, this technique is a default choice. Also, when the project is being
executed by a virtual team, the collation technique can be used to put together some team
members at crucial times of the project. Some virtual teams can also manage to co-locate
for a specific period during the project through virtual meetings and conferences.
 Interpersonal and General Management Skills. General management skills, especially
interpersonal skills, are necessary in order to develop an effective team. You and the project
management team can minimize problems and maximize cooperation by understanding the
sentiments of each team member, anticipating their actions, acknowledging their concerns,
and following up on their issues. This is accomplished by practicing interpersonal
management skills such as: effective communication, ability to influence, leadership,
motivation, negotiation & conflict management, and problem solving.
 Team-building Activities. In general, team building involves activities that encourage team
members to know each other better and to create a collaborative, cooperative, and
supporting team—hence work—environment. While planning such activities, you should
keep in mind that the team members might have different interests and different levels of
tolerance for games and icebreakers. Although team building is an ongoing process, it’s
crucial in the beginning and it should start as soon as possible.
 Training. The goal of training is to improve the competencies of the project team members,
which in turn helps in meeting the project objectives. It might be aimed at the individual
members or at the team as a whole, depending upon the needs.
 Recognition and Rewards. Generally speaking, people feel motivated if they feel that their
contributions and efforts are recognized and valued. Rewards are effective methods to
express recognition. Remember that, only desirable behavior should be rewarded and any
member should be able to win the reward.
You should also know that team development is not an instant process. Generally speaking, when
you form a team it goes through five stages of development (according to the Tuckman model), as
explained in the following list:
 Forming. This is the orientation stage, with high dependence on the leader (the project
manager, in this case) for guidance and direction. Individual roles and responsibilities are
unclear, and there is little agreement on the team goals other than those received from the
leader. This is the stage where ground rules and clear expectations are established. The
leader directs in this stage.
 Storming. This stage represents the struggle for control and power as team members work
to establish themselves relative to other team members. The clarity of the team goals
increases, but some uncertainties persist. Compromises might be required to make
progress. Coaching and training can play effective roles during this stage.
 Norming. This is the routine stage during which consensus and agreement about team goals
generally prevails among the team members. Roles and responsibilities are clear and
accepted by the team members. Major decisions are made by group agreements, and
smaller decisions can be delegated to the appropriate team members. During this stage, the
leader facilitates.
 Performing. This is the productivity stage in which the team knows what it’s doing and
why. The team is functioning in a cohesive mode and working toward the common goal in
a more autonomous fashion. Disagreements might arise, but they are resolved within the
team in a constructive way. During this stage, the leader delegates and oversees.
 Adjourning. This is the closure stage. When the mission for which the team was formed is
accomplished (or cancelled), the team is adjourned to free the team members to move on
to other things.
The major output of this process is the team performance assessment. This document includes
information about improvement in individual and team skills, overall team spirit or cohesiveness,
and the staff turnover rate.

Managing the Project Team

You manage the project team by using the Manage Team process, which is aimed at improving
and optimizing the project performance by resolving issues and conflicts, coordinating changes,
tracking the performance of each team member and of the team as whole, and providing feedback
to the team members individually and to the team as whole. The following tools and techniques
are used to manage project teams:
 Influencing. Influencing means getting individuals or groups to do what you want them to
do without necessarily having the formal authority to mandate an outcome from them.
Influencing skills include listening actively and effectively; clearly explaining your points
and perspective while demonstrating consideration and understanding for the other
perspective; having the ability to persuade; and reaching an agreement without damaging
the ongoing working relationship.
 Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence, in general, is the ability to sense and
manage one’s own and other people’s emotions, where manage means to understand the
 emotions and their impact and control the impulse to adapt in order to change the situation.
You and your team can use emotional intelligence to reduce the tension among team
members to create an environment of collaboration by anticipating and understanding each
other’s reactions and emotions.
 Conflict Management. The purpose of conflict management is to nourish positive working
relationships among the team members so they result in increased productivity. Initially,
the project team members who are parties to a conflict should be given the opportunity to
resolve it themselves. If the team members fail to resolve the conflict and it becomes a
negative factor for the project, you, the project manager, should facilitate the conflict
resolution, usually in private and using a direct and collaborative approach. If the conflict
continues, you might have no option other than to use formal procedures, such as
disciplinary actions. There are also different management strategies to resolve conflict
including:
 Avoidance. In this strategy, also called withdrawal, at least one party to the conflict
ignores (or withdraws) from the conflict and decides not to deal with the problem.
However, this might not be the best strategy as you are only avoiding the problem
and not dealing with it.
 Direct. In this approach, also called force, one party uses any available means to
get its way, often at the expense of the other party. This is a win–lose situation. This
strategy can cause the conflict to escalate, and the losing party might attempt to
retaliate.
 Compromising. In this strategy, also called reconcile, both parties gain something
and give up something. This is a lose–win/lose–win strategy. The downside of this
approach is that both parties can look at the solution as a lose–lose situation and
can be distracted from the merits of the issues involved.
 Accommodation. This strategy, also called smoothing, is opposite of the direct or
force strategy. One party attempts to meet the other party’s needs at the expense of
their own.
 Collaboration. This strategy, also called problem solving, is based on reaching
consensus among the parties in the conflict. Both parties work together to explore
several solutions and agree on the one that satisfies the needs and concerns of both
parties. This is a win–win strategy and is generally considered the best of all the
strategies because it helps build commitment and promotes goodwill between the
parties involved.
The output from this process includes recommended corrective and preventive actions and updates.

Conducting Procurement
As you have already learned, procurement refers to obtaining (purchasing or renting) products,
services, or results from outside the project team to complete the project. The implementation is
largely done by the Conduct Procurement process, which involves seeking out sellers, getting
responses from them, selecting sellers, and reaching an agreement with them. The following tools
and techniques are used to conduct procurement:
  Advertising. The request for seller responses can be advertised in the public media or in
relevant professional journals. Whether to use advertising depends on the organization’s
policy. However, some government jurisdictions require public advertising of pending
government contracts.
 Bidder Conferences. This refers to meetings with prospective sellers prior to the
preparation of a response to ensure that the sellers have a clear understanding of the
procurement details, such as the technical and contractual requirements.
 Proposal Evaluation. Using this technique, you will check if a proposal is complete
according to the bidding document requirements submitted. You can also compare the
proposals submitted by the sellers to independent estimates. The purpose of independent
estimates is to have a check on the proposed pricing/cost by the seller.
 Contract Negotiation. This includes clarifying the terms of the purchase, such as the
structure and the rights and obligations of the parties in the contract, and reaching an
agreement. The conclusion of contract negotiations is a document, the contract, which must
be signed by both the buyer and the seller.
The main outputs of conducting procurements include the list of selected sellers and the
agreements (contracts) with those selected sellers.

Managing Quality
The Manage Quality process implements the quality plan by executing some quality activities in
light of the organization’s quality policies to examine quality measurements. Performing
organizations typically have a department called quality assurance (QA) that oversees the quality
assurance activities and fosters continuous process improvement, which is an iterative method for
improving the quality of all processes. The project management team can work with the QA
department. The following tools and techniques are used to manage quality:
 Process Analysis. This is a technique used to identify the ways a process can be improved.
It examines the problems, constraints, and unnecessary (nonvalue-added) activities
identified during the implementation of the process.
 Quality Audits. A quality audit is an independent review to check whether project activities
comply with the policies, processes, and procedures of the project and the performing
organization. Audits can occur as scheduled or at random and can be conducted by a third
party or by properly trained in-house auditors of the performing organization. Audits can
reduce the cost of quality on subsequent projects and increase customer satisfaction.

Implementing Risk Responses

The Implement Risk Response process is the process to make sure that all the planned risk
responses are executed as planned. Remember, the goal here is to minimize the impact of threats
and maximize the impact of opportunities on the project. When dealing with risks−both positive
and negative, the company have several options on how to respond to it including:
 Escalate. The risks that are out of the scope of project or project team authority are
escalated to a higher level; e.g., program, portfolio, or some other part of the organization.
  Accept. This strategy is usually applied to low-priority risks or risks for which there is no
viable response. Here, the risk is accepted without taking any proactive action. In passive
mode, nothing except periodic review is done until the risk priority gets higher. In active
mode, some contingency resources are reserved to handle the situation if the risk occurs,
called a contingent response.
 Avoid. This is used for high-priority threats with high impact and a high probability of
occurring. The goal is to eliminate the risk or impact on the project; e.g., you avoid the risk
by changing your project management plan in such a way that the risk is eliminated.
 Transfer. Risk transfer means you shift the responsibility for responding to the risk (the
ownership of the risk) and the negative impact of the risk to another party. Note that
transferring the risk transfers the responsibility for risk management and does not
necessarily eliminate the risk. Some examples include buying an insurance policy, and
outsourcing the tasks involving risk.
 Mitigate. Mitigation in general means taking action to reduce or prevent the impact of a
disaster that is expected to occur. Risk mitigation means reducing the probability of risk
occurrence, reducing the impact of the risk if it does occur, or both. A good mitigation
strategy is to take action early on to first reduce the probability of the risk happening, and
then to plan for reducing its impact if it does occur, rather than letting it occur and then
trying to reduce the impact or repair the damage.
 Share. Sharing a positive risk that presents an opportunity means transferring the
ownership of the risk to another party that is better equipped to capitalize on the
opportunity.
 Exploit. This is used for high-priority opportunities with high impact and a high probability
of occurring. Exploiting an opportunity means ensuring that the opportunity is realized—
that is, that the positive risk that presents the opportunity does occur. An example of
exploiting is assigning more-talented resources to the project to reduce the completion time
and therefore to be the first to market.
 Enhance. This strategy means increasing the size of the opportunity by increasing the
probability, impact, or both. You can increase the probability by maximizing the key
drivers of the positive risks or by strengthening the causes of the risks. Similarly, you can
increase the impact by focusing on the factors that drive the risk impact. Whereas
exploiting refers to ensuring that the positive risk occurs, enhancing refers to increasing
the impact of the risk once it occurs.

Managing Stakeholder Engagement

Managing stakeholder engagement means communicating and working with stakeholders to stay
on the same page as far as project requirements by addressing their needs, expectations, and issues
as they arise. It is best done by getting them involved in project decision making and project
execution at the appropriate level at the appropriate time. The following tools and techniques are
used to manage stakeholder engagement:
 Involvement for Confirmation. Involve the stakeholders in project decision making and
project execution at the appropriate level at the appropriate time in order to ensure or
confirm their continued project support.
  Expectations Containment. Monitor and keep the expectations of the stakeholders within
the project scope and project management plan through active communication, including
negotiation.
 Risk, Concerns, and Issues. Address stakeholder concerns, including those that may not
yet have become issues—for example, anticipate problems in the near future. Addressing
such concerns may uncover some potential risks that will need to be addressed. An issue
is an item or a matter that is under discussion or dispute, and there are most likely opposing
views and disagreements about it among the stakeholders.

Managing Communications
Throughout the project lifecycle, you need to continually distribute the relevant information to the
right stakeholders at the right time by using appropriate methods. The process to make it happen
is called Manage Communication, the following tools and techniques are used to manage
communications:
 Active listening. This refers to paying attention to the speaker, acknowledging, asking for
clarification in order in understand, and removing any hindrance in understanding
communications.
 Sender–Receiver Models. To facilitate multichannel communication, feedback loops
should be incorporated to provide interaction, encourage participation, and remove barriers
to communication. The sender must (1) ensure that the information is clear and complete;
and (2) confirm that the information is received and properly understood. The receiver, on
the other hand, must (1) ensure that the information is received in its entirety; and (2) ensure
that the information is correctly understood.
 Communication Methods. There are a lot of different ways to get a message across. You
will need to know four different kinds of communication, and when to use them.
 Formal Written. Blueprints, specifications, and all other project documents are
examples of formal written communication. Any time you see anything that has to
do with a contract, you should always use formal written communication.
 Informal Written. If you drop someone a quick email or leave her a memo or a
sticky note, that’s informal written communication.
 Formal Verbal. If you ever have to give a presentation to update people on your
project, that’s formal verbal communication. Speeches and prepared talks are
formal communications.
 Informal Verbal. Just calling somebody up to chat about your project is informal
verbal communication. Meetings, hallway chats, and planning sessions are informal
communications.