Creating Collaborative Culture

Project sponsors can help integrate systems engineers and program managers by nurturing an environment that thrives on collaboration:

CO-LOCATE. Whenever possible, even if only temporarily, put systems engineers and program managers in the same location, says Bill Pupura, PMP, Boeing, Anaheim, California, USA. Face-to-face interaction allows both groups to pick up each other’s unspoken nuances, as well as know immediately if one party understands what the other is saying. “Co-location can give you 20 percent to 30 percent increase in efficiency”, he estimates.

BACK THE EFFORT 100 PERCENT. Sponsors must reinforce their support of the two disciplines working together. “They can do that by repeating on any occasion that both groups must be focused on common targets: customer satisfaction and profitability”, says DidierLebouc, PMP, Schneider Electric, Grenoble, France.

FOSTER SECONDARY SKILL SETS. By encouraging systems engineers to become secondarily trained in program management, and vice versa, sponsors can produce better synergy between the groups. “It allows each person to have a better understanding of the challenges faced by the other person’s role”, Mr. Purpurasays.

ELIMINATE BARRIERS. Where possible, cut out process, rules and procedures that impede the flow of information between the two functions, suggests JosefOehmen, PhD, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

ENCOURAGE INTERACTION. Sponsors should push both functions to interact at multiple levels: informal as well as formal, and on-site as well as off-site settings, saysAshish Vijay Borikar, PMP, Capgemini, Pune, India.

Fonte: PM Network, edição de Agosto de 2002, pág. 41