Project Management

PAEE 2009Project Approaches in Engineering Education

”The Added Value of Teamwork”University of Minho, Portugal

21-22 July, 2009Project Management and Teamwork

Arvid AndersenCopenhagen University College of Engineering

[email protected]; [email protected]

1PAEE´2009

mailto:[email protected]

Project Management

• All projects are carried out by people – success is achieved through people working in teams

• People management is the most important element of project management – it is people who get things done, not objectives, not plans, not machines and not schedules (althouhg all these are important)

2PAEE´2009Arvid Andersen

Creativity and Innovation

• A benign atmosphere showing openness and trust will motivate, stimulate and promote development of creative ideas and innovation.

• Ideally, teams promise to promote synergy where results outweigh the sum of individual contribution.

PAEE´2009 3Arvid Andersen

Working in Teams

• A Team is:- a task-tuned group of people- a group of people working together to chieve ocjectives which are shared- a social unit deliberately designed


Teamwork

• Is more than just teambuilding.• Is the ability to work together towards a

common vision.• Is the ability to direct individual

acomplishment.• Is the fuel that allows ordinary people to

attain extraordinary results.• Is less I and more We.


Working on Projects• A good project :

- Emphasizes application of theory- Involves engineering design work- Is innovative and necessitates a team

approach- Is important to the provider- Is not routine- Has not to many constraints over confidenti allity


Team Development

• Stage 1 – Forming - The team gets to know each other

- The team begins to understand each others views, ideas, expectations and objectives- The team members test each other out- Individuals begin to create a personal identity - The team is guarded about issues raised and opinions given


Team Development• Stage 2 – Storming

- Opinions more openly and forcefully presented- Group leadership may be challenged- Some infighting as allegiances are ques- tioned- Nature of the task and programme Challen ged- Some members feel demotivated and leave


Team Development• Stage 3 – Norming

- More organised with procedures and sys stems to achieve particular goals- The skills level, competences and behavi oural norms for each member become app arent- Interpersonal barriers fall into the backgr ound- Increased co-operation and exchange of views, ideas and opinions”The sooner the group attempts to fulfill certain task goals, the sooner it will break of the infighting stage”


Team Development

• Stage 4 – Performing– Team matured and working well together– Increased cohesion with members supporting one

another and sharing information and ideas– Tolerating each others differences– Able to marshal its full resources to persue the

common goalHow quickly the team progresses depend on the leader´s skill in reconciling differences, developing cohesion and assisting the group in identifying with each other


Teamwork is

• Group performance with regard to:- The product produced- The process excuted- The people involved


Barriers to Communication

• Language• Cultural behaviour• Speaking skills• Listening skills


Peer and Self-Assessment Techniques

• Weekly meetings with supervisors• Regular meetings with company

representatives• Project and people review meetings• Collaborative agreements• Improvement reports• Personal improvement plans


Integrated Engineering

• Integrated engineering involves the interrelated work of several disciplines

• The disciplines involved in a given project are chosen according to the need of the project provider and the academic world

• Working in an integrated engineering context emphasizes development of personal competences


Steps in environmentally sound design• Evaluate materials and processes.• Make sure that the product is easy to take apart in order to reuse.• Make the design simple and eliminate painting and dangerous

solubles .• If packing is necessary, make sure that it is reuseable or biologically

degradeable.• Design a long life into the product.• Design a long life into the product.• Make sure that the end user can repair and reuse components.• Sustainable engineering development and environmental concern.


Statements

• Why do fewer students take engineering education? (SN36-1990)

• Engineering students suffer factural overloads (SN36-1990)

• Looking ahead to 2020, what will be the most important skills, knowledge and behaviors for students to acquire to provide Ohio with competitive advantages in the global economy? (ASEE 2. Jan. 2009)

PAEE´2009 18

Learning in Teams• It´s not enough to tell and show students, they

must be involved to learn• Don´t spoon-feed students• Don´t overfill syllabusses• Allow time to wonder• Provide time to develop knowledge, insight and

skills• Help students to develop critical thinking

skills,which will improve their confidence and their ability to dare

PAEE´2009 19

First team-meeting agenda

• Attitude test, group work• What is your level of ambition?• What is required of you by your home

university?• What is your opinion of working long hours?• Problem/project formulation exerciseNB: A minute of the meeting should be placed in

the team log book.PAEE´2009 20

Education should be changed

• Engineers commonly describe themselves in terms of a single discipline, a convention increasingly misleading. Therefore reasons to adjust or change education should be considered.

PAEE´2009 21

Reasons to change education 1• Very few engineers work totally within the confines of a single

discipline or industry.• Fundamental changes in working attitudes, and greater

emphasis on multidisciplinary and multinational environments, highlights the need for a radically different approach to education and training.

• Traditional specialism no longer apply in the world dictated by a bigger overlap of engineering and science.

• The accelerating evolution of technology accompanied by a growing amount of knowledge, much of which continuously become redundant, require a new approach to education and training and changes of the curriculum.

PAEE´2009 22

Reasons to change education 2• We have to provide a “deep” learning environment in

which acquiring insight will take precedence over conventional specialist courses.

• Continuing education has become a more determinant factor in career development and is part of a through-career education and training.

• Easier access to knowledge through the ongoing advances in information technology should be coupled with improvements in teaching and assessment techniques.

• Accreditation boards should be aware of the changing conditions and adjust accordingly. They should appreciate the new professional equipped with a broad range of entrepreneurial skills.

PAEE´2009 23

Documents

Project Management