project manager

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Announcement – New Course for Excel Project Managers

By Doug Hong

All over the world there are project managers with a preference to use Excel as a planning, reporting and communications tool. It’s well-known, easy to use and easy to communicate those plans with management. This article will introduce you to a course that will teach you how to use Excel as a new project manager.

Excel 2010 for the New Project ManagerThis course is meant to be a short but information rich introduction to learn how to use Excel as a new project manager. And if you are an experienced project manager, you may also pick up some tips that could help with your individual projects.

You may be running projects that require something to help manage or present information and usually a common tool is Microsoft Excel. Though it may not have the features of Project Management specific software, Excel is robust enough to use for project management.

Once you understand what Excel can do, you’ll find it is a very powerful tool that will probably do the majority of what you want. You just need to figure out how to use it. To really understand Excel you should probably start with the basics (and there is a lot to learn!).

This course is a lecture only format that gives just enough information to get you started to feel comfortable using Excel to run projects.

The course will cover the following:

• Explore the Excel 2010 User Interface
• Understanding the Ribbon
• A Look at the Backstage view
• Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)
• Workbook and Worksheet Basics
• Primer to Cells, Columns and Rows
• Exploring different views using Freeze Panes and Split Panes
• How to Create Formulas and use Functions
• Using Lists Filters
• How the Table Feature Works
• Basics of Charting
• Formatting Charts
• Using Styles and Text Formatting
• Tips on Printing
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• How to Create a Gantt Chart
• How to Create a Pareto Chart
• How to Create a Timeline Chart

There are a lot of things you can do with Excel and this course should give you the tools to really understand how it works. By the end of the course you should be familiar with using Excel and will also be able to create some charts to use in your work.

To access the course: Excel 2010 for the New Project Manager, please send a mail to: linky@virtualprojectconsulting.com
for a coupon for free access to the course.

About the author: Doug Hong is a business analyst for a Fortune 500 technology company. He was a former PMP certified practitioner and now focuses on metrics dashboards and visualization using advance Excel features. He shares his knowledge with training videos on his Excel Training 101 site. He also has an extensive list of training videos where you can subscribe to on YouTube.

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Are you ready to take your PMI Agile Certified Practitioner Exam?

This article is about identifying your eligibility to take your PMI-ACP exam.

Do you work in an environment where you use one or more Agile methodologies regularly? Do you have both general project experience as well as Agile project specific experience? If either of these scenarios apply to you and you are interested in earning your Project Management Institute Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® certification, then use these steps to discover if you are eligible to take the PMI-ACP® Exam.

Many people/companies see holding the PMI-ACP® certification as a demonstration of professionalism in one or more Agile methodologies. To determine whether you are eligible to take the PMI-ACP® Exam, just follow the simple 4-step approach outlined below.

Step 1: Read the PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Handbook

Click here to download the PMI-ACP® Handbook produced by Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

Pay close attention to sections that cover eligibility requirements and the application process. It is in the eligibility requirements section that you will find information regarding the exam requirements as they pertain to educational background, general project experience, Agile project experience, and Agile specific training requirements in order to take the PMI-ACP® Exam.

In the section covering the application process you will find out how your experience is counted when applying to take the PMI-ACP® Exam. The thing to remember about experience is you must account for Agile project experience and general project experience separately. You cannot record the same project under both Agile and general project experience, and you cannot count hours associated with general project experience towards your Agile project experience hours.

Step 2: Read the PMI-ACP® Examination Content Outline

Click here to download the PMI-ACP® Examination Content Outline produced by the Project Management Institute (PMI)®.

As you review the Tools & Techniques, Knowledge & Skills, and Domains & Tasks sections you should recognize many of them as those you use or have relied upon as part of your own activities when working on Agile projects. Half of the PMI-ACP® Exam covers Agile Tools & Techniques and the other half covers Agile Knowledge & Skills. Domains & Tasks are not specifically covered as part of the PMI-ACP® Exam; however, this section can provide you with insight as to how Agile project management is understood across different industries.

You may not have utilized all of the tools and techniques, or even have all of the knowledge and skills discussed within the outline; but you should have experience with or utilized the majority of the tools, techniques, knowledge, and skills listed in order to meet the eligibility requirements to sit for the PMI-ACP® Exam.

Step 3: Compare Your Agile Education and Experience with Your Resume

After working through steps 1 and 2 to gain a clear understanding of the education, experience, and Agile specific training requirements required to sit for the PMI-ACP® Exam, grab a copy of your resume and look for areas of overlap. If you are like many people who don’t typically update their resume at the completion of each project, take some time to create an experience list to document all of your project experience since your last resume update. Remember, you cannot overlap your general project and Agile project experience; so you may want to make to separate lists.

If you have copies of project charters or similar documents from the projects you have worked on and they have a clearly defined responsibilities section they can be very helpful when trying to recall and accurately document your experience. Plus you will need all of this information to complete the application for the PMI-ACP® Exam. Next, based on your resume and/or experience lists you need to ask yourself a few questions:

  • Do I have the required experience hours on both general projects and Agile projects?
  • Do my resume or experience lists reflect experience with the majority of the tools, techniques, knowledge, and skills in the outline?
  • Do I honestly meet the criteria?

If your answer to all three is “Yes”, then you are most likely eligible.

Step 4: Contact PMI Customer Care

If you have any doubts concerning your eligibility, contact the Customer Care department at PMI. They have knowledgeable and helpful staff who will be happy to answer your questions.

Following the simple 4-step approach outlined here will allow you to determine for yourself if you are eligible to sit for the PMI-ACP® Exam. In addition, all of the information you have gathered such as education, general project experience hours, Agile project experience hours, and Agile specific training hours will all be very valuable when you start the application process.

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How to Overcome Challenges of Upgrading Legacy Systems

Success Stories SharedRecently we spoke to a project manager, Jason Ingel, who shared a story about a complex multi-year legacy application upgrade project. This is part of the Success Stories Shared initiative whereby experienced project management practitioners share project stories and lessons learnt.

A Credit Card Decision Engine Upgrade

It was a multi-year project for a Credit Card Decision Engine upgrade for a Tier 1 Financial Services company. The upgrade was for a legacy application that was never upgraded since its inception, 10 years before.

What made it complex, is the fact that much in-house customisation was done on the system, which was mostly undocumented. The technical teams had to do a deep dive analysis to decide what parts had to be upgraded and which had to be decommissioned. All new customisation had to be supportable, under warranty. It was a 2-year project that was fully outsourced with 20 off-shore team members as well as an in-house team.

Agreement and Commitment

During the Analysis and Design Phases, extensive analysis was done and the project manager (PM) ensured that the business signed off on each part of the required functionality. No development was started until sign-off was obtained. This covered the project team if the business changed their mind later on.

The project team had a strong technical lead and a 100% commitment across a very technical team, consisting of outstanding senior analysts, with great skills.  This made it much easier to manage such a big project team.

The PM also worked with a client project manager who cooperated very well and was very professional, and had a very good depth of knowledge for a Business PM.

Challenges

Much over-time work was required towards the end for User Acceptance Testing (UAT) due to business users not being available when required.

About 3 months’ worth of business user testing was required. The project team had to work over week-ends to make up lost time. There was an external deadline that had to be honoured. There were also dependencies on this project from other projects.

The technical resources including off-shore based team members, needed to have face-to-face workshops with the client while doing analysis. Much preparation was required for bringing offshore resources to South Africa. They had to stay from 2 weeks to 3 months and some found it hard to adjust to local circumstances.

Read more …

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How to Understand the Dynamics of a Project Team

By Natalie Athanasiadis

Understanding project team dynamicsThe saying “no man is an island” becomes especially true on a project. Working on a project usually means working within a team. Whenever two or more people are put together, the potential for issues and conflict cannot be ignored. The dynamics of a team are difficult to predict and are shaped by team members’ similarities and differences. Understanding and working with group dynamics is key to ensuring positive project results.

Communication

Clear communication is the cornerstone of a successful team, and absolutely vital to the success of a project. It is a project manager’s responsibility to give clear direction and advice and to empower each team member to execute his or her tasks confidently. The lines of communication should be kept open at all times. Team members need to feel comfortable raising any issues with their management team. This helps to foster a flexible team that’s able to respond swiftly to crises or unexpected changes. On the other hand, if communication is unclear and team members are not encouraged to give feedback, the team becomes dysfunctional and results suffer.

Innovative thinking

How innovative a team is, depends to a great degree on the atmosphere of their working environment. A team that feels stifled cannot be creative, no matter what the credentials or talents of its individual members. Criticism should be structured in a constructive manner, a positive, supportive atmosphere that rewards innovation needs to be fostered, one which encourages team members to take creative and calculated chances. This also enhances the problem-solving capabilities of the team.

Motivation to succeed

Leaders who try to intimidate their team members into performing are barking up the wrong tree. Motivation is what makes team members excited to contribute and even go above and beyond the call of duty. On the other hand, unmotivated team members will try to get by doing just the bare minimum, which will have a huge impact on quality. Understanding what motivates team members will enable leaders to find the right incentives.

Trust

Team members need to trust each other to be able to work well together and it takes time to build a cohesive team. Observe your team members closely and you will find that some might try to conceal their weaknesses from their colleagues, while others might lack the confidence to let their abilities shine. A project manager needs to understand the strengths and weaknesses of his or her team in order to build a climate of trust and mutual respect.

Team dynamics are not only complicated but can also have a huge impact on the success of a project, regardless of the abilities of each individual team member.  A good project manager should be able to help a team to reach its maximum potential in terms of efficiency and ability.

 

About the Author: Natalie Athanasiadis is a PR and digital marketing guru specializing in working with large organisations in the project management field including Unispace. Get social with her on Twitter @natalieathana

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The Professional Project Manager

Project Manager (PM Level 1)

As a follow up from the previous article about project management as a profession, this article will discuss the levels of project managers in more detail.

Project Management South Africa (PMSA) have registered three designations for project managers.

A project manager has earned this designation when fulfilling the full spectrum of responsibilities associated with project management being the core focus in their working environment. A PM will have obtained an appropriate first degree / qualification or accreditation and built up the required years of experience performing the role of project managers taking multiple projects through the life-cycle over the required period of time. Project managers maintain a high ethical standard and a minimum endeavour to comply with the principles of the Code of Conduct.

Awarding Criteria

Knowledge: An industry relevant tertiary qualification or a certification/accreditation plus five years of relevant experience. Practical experience should show skills, experience and commitment. Three years of managing projects of low complexity through full life-cycle. Signs and adheres to the prevailing PMSA Code of Conduct Competence: In the process of developing ability in each competency area.
Commitment Member of a professional body for a minimum period of one year.Engage in activities required to maintain registration and further their professional development and current knowledge

 

Senior Project Manager (PM Level 2)

A senior project manager earns this designation when they have actively chosen to pursue a career in project management within the field they originally qualified. They will have the technical knowledge associated with their first degree / qualification and related experience. They will have made the professional commitment to obtain one or more, further qualifications, certifications or accreditations related to project management.

A senior project managers will have applied their knowledge to deliver projects through the complete life-cycle on multiple projects of varying complexity for a period of at least 6 years.

Senior project managers will have membership with a relevant professional body to gain knowledge into current trends and best practices and to share their knowledge with peers. They maintain a high ethical standard and comply with the principles of the Code of Conduct.

The awarding criteria

Knowledge: An industry relevant tertiary qualification and any formal short learning in Programme / project management of 120 hours or certification, accreditation in a recognised methodology at the advanced level (PMP, IPMSA and completion of one renewal cycle of such. Practical experience demonstrated ability to practice in a chosen PM methodology. Experience will include 3 years low complexity, and three years moderate complexity taking projects through the complete life cycle. Members of at least one relevant project management association and participation in activities, like presenting.
Signs and adheres to the prevailing PMSA Code of Conduct.		 Competence: Developed ability in each competency area.
Commitment Adopted and conform to Code of Ethics of professional body.
Member of a professional body for a minimum period of one year. Engage in activities required to maintain registration and further their professional development and gather required number of points.Engage in activities required to maintain registration and further their professional development and current knowledge.

 

Professional Project Manager (PM Level 3)

A professional project manager earns this designation when they reached a level of proficiency associated with an expert in the practice of project management.

This designation is awarded based on an individual’s portfolio of evidence as well as peer interviews in which proficiency, namely knowledge, skill, attributes and emotional intelligence, are analysed. It reviews a candidate’s past work in terms of consistent excellence across multiple projects of a required size and complexity, ongoing professional development and contribution to the growth of the discipline.

Awarding criteria

Knowledge: An industry relevant tertiary qualification and a qualification in project management. Practical experience would show a skill level of advanced or expert ability to practice in a chosen PM methodology. Experience would equal ten years in managing moderate to highly complex projects. Membership and active participation in a professional project management association.
Signs and adheres to the prevailing PMSA Code of Conduct.		 Competence: Attributes would demonstrate traits required of an expert including emotional intelligence, leadership, decision making and problem solving. Developed expert or advanced ability in each competency area.
Commitment Adopted and conform to Code of Ethics of professional body.
Member of a professional body and made a tangible contribution for a minimum period of one year.
Made a contribution to the Body of Knowledge or future project managers through active engagement, research, sharing of best practices and mentorship.
Engage in activities required to maintain registration and further their professional development and gather required number of points.

 

What should you do next

If you are based in South Africa, you are encouraged to visit the Designations FAQ.

Once the system is available, you can activate membership and populate your member profile.

Once you understand the designation criteria, you need to upload all relevant documentation. When invited to do so, make an application for the relevant designation.

Welcome to the world of Professional Project Managers!

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Project Management as a Professional Designation

The purpose of this article is to look at project management as a profession, the characteristics of a professional, the career path and levels of project managers and how to register it as a designation.

A Profession would have the following elements:

project management as a profession

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Project Management South Africa

When we talk about a professional project manager, what does that really mean?

Characteristics of a Professional

In a profession, people would be expected to have certain characteristics. Here are some of those:

  • Advanced education and expertise
  • Membership to professional bodies
  • Implicit adoption of that organisation’s ethics
  • Commitment to continual professional development and learning
  • Sense of responsibility to the wider public
  • Consistent exercise of discretion and judgement

Professionals would have a qualification, an accreditation and/or certification. Let’s look at the definitions to be clear on what each means.

Qualification – A learning outcome as a result of formal tuition. In South Africa it is what is recognised on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) at the different levels.

Accreditation – Recognition provided to a candidate in accordance with the criteria of a specific organisation or institution typically based on a combination of knowledge and demonstrated ability.

Certification – Certification is often needed to work in some trades. It usually means an individual has passed a trade test administered by a recognised authority. Possessing a certificate of completion of a course is typically not the same as being certified.

Registration – A Professional Registration gives a license to operate and to practice within a scope of operation and to take responsibility for the work. It provides authority to perform a certain scope of work without supervision. The registration is typically a statutory requirement.

Designation – In the South African context designation is a job title. It’s the title conferred by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA) recognised professional body that could be statutory or non-statutory, based on certain criteria defined by the professional body.

SAQA aims to work with professional bodies towards:

  • Progressing professions by working with those professional bodies that meet the criteria for recognition and with these bodies, regulate professional designations.
  • This promotes public awareness of these professional designations, inspiring pride in the profession, and sets the scene for public protection by requiring adherence to a code of professional conduct.

By recognising and formalising designations, professional bodies contribute to the development of career paths as well as promoting continuous professional development within the profession.

Project Management Landscape

The South African Department of Higher Education and Training named Project/Programme Management the 5th most scarce skill in South Africa. Project Management South Africa (PMSA) aims to provide a career path framework through qualifications, training, accreditation etc. The following designations have been registered:

  • Project Manager
  • Senior Project Manager
  • Principal Project Manager

Ongoing professional development is also enabled. The following image depicts a typical career path:

PM career path

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please subscribe not to miss the next article in this 2-part series about project management designations.

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Project Manager – How to Integrate Social Media with your Projects

When considering social media for use as a communication tool on projects, there are many things to think about:

  • the purpose of using social media to manage projects
  • the benefits of adopting social media on projects
  • best practices when integrating social media with projects
  • privacy and security concerns
  • which social media channels to select
  • challenges in the workplace

Project Management SocialThis can be quite over-whelming. The purpose of this article, is to answer some questions about social media for project managers and to direct you to good resources for more information, education and implementation.

A fellow project management blogger, Tony Adams, summarised it very well when he said:

“social media is about investing the time and energy into developing long-lasting, personal relationships with your network.”

This applies whether we want to position ourselves as Thought Leaders or to connect with our project teams and stakeholders.

Let’s look at the questions that people need answers to before they will consider social media for projects.

How do you manage the information overload?

Too many communication tools can result in more interruptions and therefore more distractions, so you need to think about how to manage the various streams of information that social media tools open up to you in order to avoid information overload. It is a matter of trusting your team members and not having to monitor all conversations that are going on.

When it comes to instant messaging, you can store the output from chats. Your IM tool may have settings that sends the chat to you as an email after the session ends, so check if this is turned on and use it if it is available. These can then become project documents and can be stored and archived in the same way as meeting minutes.

Then there’s the matter of email (present on all projects) and then adding more social media channels on top of that. Consider using social media channels as pull communication where teams need to visit the project site in order to find and share project information that would benefit all. And publish the messages that are discussed on the social site, because people often need to hear/see the same thing several times before they believe it; so using several channels to repeat the same (consistent) message is appropriate. Don’t create confusion by saying different things on different channels.

What about the security implication concerns that many companies have?

Most people have smartphones with internet access and they can access social media whether the company allows it or not. It is better for a company to monitor and control access through policies and education by training them about the purpose of using selected social media channels.

Manage security by using tools that you can host in-house behind your firewall so they are not available to external audiences e.g. Yammer, Wikis. Also use tools that enable you to export your data when you need to or when the project is over.

However, if you cannot address security concerns adequately, don’t use social media tools if it doesn’t make sense or puts you in breach of agreements or policies.

How will you activate project managers to integrate social media onto their projects?

PM Social

Based on a better understanding of what platforms are available and how to use them for projects, you can determine and select the most appropriate tools to bring social software onto your projects.

Then make social media part of your communications plan and use it consistently with your team members to achieve the expected results.

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10 Characteristics of a Good Project Manager – Infographic

Much information exists about the qualities and skills you look for in a good project manager. Allowing for the fact that a different combination of skills would apply for different projects in different industries, I think the Infographic below provides a good summary of the typical characteristics you will find in a good project manager with a dose of humour. Remember that the consistent application of good project management skills will help you grow as a professional.

Let us know in the comments if you agree. Add more characteristics you believe good project managers should have.

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Tips for Passing your PMP Exam

By Scott Coonrod and Cornelius Fichtner

Do you have as a personal or career goal to obtain your Project Management Professional (PMP)® Certification? Are you wondering about what materials might be the most helpful in studying and where is a good place to start?

If you are interested in the experiences and insights of those who have been there and who have recently passed the PMP Exam, there’s a forum you need to explore on The PM PrepCast website. There are comments from individuals like you who are full of questions and concerns, and looking for a place with information and answers. They also share tips and information concerning their study methods and experiences taking the PMP Exam.

Here are some tips and lessons learned from Scott Coonrod soon after he obtained his PMP certification.

Tips and Lessons learned when preparing for the PMP Exam

  1. Find others who are also studying to obtain their PMP Certification and review key items in the PMBOK® Guide together. Studying with others is a great support system during the exam preparation process.
  2. Go through The PM PrepCast lessons and take notes on the material being presented. Even if you do not go back and refer to the notes later they will serve as a good method for retaining the material.
  3. Take the quizzes after each PM PrepCast Lesson. If you feel as if you missed too many answers, you can always go back and listen to the presentation again or review the notes you had taken.
  4. Answer many, many, many practice questions. The study guide mentioned below comes with a CD with two 200 question sample exams and an option to obtain a third sample exam.
  5. Download free PMP Exam question apps. The great thing about these apps is that many have 25-50 questions each that you can answer whenever you have a free moment.
  6. As you are nearing your PMP Exam date create a data dump sheet with key formulas, definitions, and other items you want to make sure you remember for exam day. Practice recreating it; because that is what you are going to need to do on your exam day.

Tips and Lessons Learned related to PMP Exam study materials

  1. Read the most current version of The PMBOK® Guide together with others who are also looking to pass the PMP Exam if possible.
  2. Include additional study materials like the PMP Prepcast from Cornelius Fichtner, an exam prep video workshop; the “Project Management Professional Study Guide (Fourth Edition)” by Joseph Phillips. This study guide provides you an interactive quiz that indicates not only ‘if’ you answered correctly or incorrectly, but also ‘why’ the answer was correct or incorrect, as you answer each question. Also consider the PMP Exam Prep System from Rita Mulcahy.

Tips and Lessons Learned related to taking the PMP Exam

  1. Know where your exam site is. Allow for plenty of time to get to the Prometric Test Center without causing yourself unnecessary additional stress.
  2. Remember to have your two forms of identification because you will need to prove who you are in order to take the exam.
  3. Do not bring too much stuff with you. You will have to lock everything up because you can’t take anything into the exam room with you.
  4. If you are nervous about taking a computer based exam, don’t worry because there is an optional 15 minute tutorial at the beginning of the exam that does not count toward your PMP Exam time. If you are comfortable taking a computer based exam, use this time to recreate your data dump.
  5. If you start to feel nervous or overwhelmed, take a few deep breaths, tell yourself “you’ve got this”, and keep going.
  6. Answer all of the questions you know and mark those you don’t for follow up. Some questions/answers later in the exam may help you answer those you had marked.

These are just a few examples of the PMP Exam related lessons learned and other tips offered in The PM PrepCast Forum.

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Project Management Software: How to manage Project Issues better?

By Sharon Thomson

project issuesDuring project execution there are typically a number of issues that need to be resolved. It is important to involve like-minded individuals who can share their knowledge and experience and provide valuable inputs for a breakthrough in resolving an issue.

Why is there a need to hold a discussion over an issue?

An issue that is creating a problem for the project needs an in depth understanding and analysis. Some issues are too complex to come up with an easy solution. Some issues are specific to individuals working in a particular department like marketing, procurement, etc.
For example, a marketing project that is launching a new product into the market require input from people who have the experience in the marketing field to resolve issues. These type of issues need to be addressed fast enough, so as not to delay the implementation of a project.

With many modern day projects having virtual teams who are distributed geographically, it poses a challenge as to how to bring them together on the same platform in order to have a discussion accurately and timely.

Technology comes to the rescue here. Project management systems are specifically designed to enable team members to collaborate over a common issue instantly and spontaneously. The centralized structure of a project management system allows a project issue to be discussed actively by the project members and in a fool-proof manner.

A project management tool allows people to be looped into the project. They can receive email notifications about their expected role in a project and how they can contribute to the project. They can express their willingness to join a project through email. Once their reply is received, they get connected to the project automatically and can start contributing to the discussions. Since certain stakeholders will only participate to help resolve project issues, their security access will be limited. The discussions feature promotes communication amongst small teams comprising of some selected members who are involved in discussions over an issue.

Project discussions can be categorised into two types. The first category is where every member of a project is involved and the other category is where only a few selective and knowledgeable individuals can participate. By applying this structure overloading of shared information can be avoided. Any type of discussion can be initiated depending on the need, scope and sensitivity of the issue.

The facilitation of issue discussions is done effectively by a project management system like ProofHub allowing users to deal with issues faster, contributing to a successful execution of a project.

About the Author:
Sharon Thomson is an author who likes to write on themes and issues related to project management. Through her write-ups she provides tips and suggestions for businesses, so they can better manage their projects and duly achieve their business objectives.

Please subscribe, top right so that you don’t miss future updates!

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How to Overcome Culture Challenges on Projects

Success Stories SharedRecently we spoke to a project manager, Richard Price, who shared one of his many success stories which focuses around some interesting challenges he experienced delivering to a complex customer. This is part of the Success Stories Shared initiative whereby experienced project management practitioners share project stories and lessons learnt.

Convergent CRM and Billing Solution Project

It was a CRM and Billing project to deliver an end to end solution that ran almost 9 months with a company called Cerillion, a convergent billing specialist company based in the United Kingdom.

What made this project complex, is the fact that a complex system had to be implemented in Africa, in a country called Mauritania, close to the Sahara desert. It posed challenges with regards to the surroundings, the work culture and the language.

Culture and Customs Mauritania Desert

Many challenges had to do with the country culture and the territory (3/4 consisting of Sahara semi-desert), hot and dry climate with frequent sandstorms and power cuts, that contributed to the project taking longer.

Mauritania consists of two main ethnical groups who are both Sunni Islam. Cultural differences could have derailed the project, but it was handled well by the team members, respect to all peoples ethnic and cultural differences was essential. As an example of the challenges the custom dictated the way women were treated; men were not allowed to shake their hands and needed to be very respectful of how to talk to them. A woman could talk to woman and a man to other men. This made project communications challenging to manage.

Read more …