SOCIAL MEDIA FOR A FUTURE FIT PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE

By Linky van der Merwe

TOPICS

1. LANDSCAPE OF SOCIAL MEDIA 2. HONEYCOMB OF SM FUNCTIONALITY3. SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FRAMEWORK4. USE CASES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ON PROJECTS5. SMARTPHONE APPS FOR PROJECTS6. BENEFITS AND BARRIERS7. FUTURE OUTLOOK ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN PM

My Story

• Project & ProgrammeManagement Consultant

• Blogger, Author• Founder: Virtual Project

Consulting

Social Media Journey

Talk: Project Managers are you socially switched on?Published a SlideDoc on SlideShare: Social Media for Project Managers (2014)Mainly:§ Benefits§ Best practices§ Platforms/channels§ Social media tools§ Challenges

Landscape of Social Media

• Stakeholder Engagement & Team Collaboration• Understand regional & generational differences

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CHINA

GERMANYAUSTRIASWITERLAND

Honeycomb of Social Media Functionality

Social Media Strategy Framework

Global Size and Growth

Penetration of Use by Country

Use by Age Group, Gender

Use Cases for Social Media on Projects

SM Functionality 1: Identity

1.Identity

UsageArea1 ProfilePagesonSM

Background,competencies ‘Defineprojectorganisation’‘identifystakeholders’

UsageArea2 RecruitingProjectResources

LinkedIn:personalprofile,workingcareer,knowledgeareas,educationalhistory

‘establishprojectteam’and‘estimateresources’

UsageArea3 Researchon(Potential)StakeholdersandSuppliers

Backgrounds,R&Rofstakeholders,identityofsuppliers,duringpublictenders,supplierselection

‘identifystakeholders’and‘selectsuppliers’

SM Functionality 2: Conversations

UsageArea4 Short(Video)Chats

WhatsApp,GoogleChat,SkypeforBusiness

VideochatsviaSkype,Google,FaceTime

UsageArea5 ContentRelatedDiscussions

Mitigationmeasuresforprojectrisks,designofaproduct

Desireddesignofaproduct

UsageArea6 OnlineSolicitations

Videochatapplications ‘establishprojectteam’and‘estimateresources’

2.Conversations

SM Functionality 3: Sharing

UsageArea7 ProjectContentandStatusUpdatesatoneCentralLocation

Documents,presentations,photos,figures,etc.canbeexchanged,distributedandreceived24/7

Central Repositoryforallprojectrelateddocumentation

Centralplaceforprojectteam,stakeholderstostayup-to-dateonprogress,issues

‘directprojectwork’

UsageArea8 Product&DocumentReviews

Co-produceandrevieweachother’sproductsanddocuments

‘performqualityassurance’and‘performqualitycontrol’

UsageArea9 KnowledgeoftheCrowd

Projectrisksandqualityissuesareshared

‘definescope’or‘treatrisks’

3.Sharing

SM Functionality 4: Presence

UsageArea10 Retrieving,UtilizingAvailabilityandLocationofResources

Whenprojectteammembersareavailable,whocanbecontacted

Whenquestions,projectrisksandqualityconcerns

LocationofResources Wherethatpersoncanbecontacted

WhatsApp,SkypeforBusiness,others;online,offline

‘distributeinformation’

UsageArea11 WorkingRemotely,IndependentofTime,Location,Device

Geographical,supportworkingremotely

‘developschedule’,’controlschedule’

4.Presence

SM Functionality 5: Relationships

UsageArea12 InsightintoRelationships

Providesdetailedinsightintowhichprojectteammemberiscloselyrelatedtoa(potential)client,stakeholderorsupplier

‘managestakeholders’

UsageArea13 EngagingStakeholders

Projectinformation,progressanddeliveredproductsorprototypesaresharedtokeepprojectstakeholdersinformed,co-create

’managestakeholders’

5.Relationships

SM Functionality 6: Reputation

UsageArea14 ProjectPages

InstallProjectpages SharePoint,LinkedIn,Yammer,PPMtoollikeITMPlatform

Telltheworldabouttheproject,whatyou’reworkingon(andwhatnot),whatareyoudelivering,andwhen, ifnotconfidential

‘managecommunications’,‘managestakeholders’or‘distributeinformation’.

UsageArea15 ProjectAmbassadors

Peoplecanactasprojectambassadors.Especiallypeoplewithmanyendorsements,likes,followers,recommendations

‘managestakeholders’,‘developprojectresources’and‘distributeinformation’

4.Reputation

SM Functionality 7: Groups

UsageArea16 TargetedCommunication

Stakeholdergroupscanbeformedandreachedaroundproductsorsubjects

WhatsApp,SharePoint,Yammer,LinkedIn,PPM tool

Messagescanbedifferentiatedandadaptedpergroup.

‘plancommunications’‘managestakeholders’and‘distributeinformation’

UsageArea17 CooperationbetweenProjectTeamMembers

Allowuserstoformcommunities/groups;Createandsharedocumentation,sharestatusupdates,startdiscussionsontopicse.g.issues,progress,results,risks,quality

‘directprojectwork’,‘defineprojectorganization’and‘developprojectteam’

7.Groups

Smartphone Apps for Project Management

Classification framework for project management apps 1. Typeoffunctionality–

Educational,informative,executive,collaborative,administrative

2. PMprocessessupported–Initiate,plan,execute,monitor,closing

3. Methodologysupported4. Alsoaccessiblethrougha

website?Language5. Projectrolessupported– PM,

Sponsor,teammembers,others6. Topics,howmanyteam

members,simultaneousprojects

Findings and Conclusions

1. Apps availability is platform dependent

2. Professionalism, functional and technical support of apps differ hugely

3. Many apps are additions to web based PM tools or platforms

4. Apps support roles of PM and team members

5. Collaboration & communication –most frequent function in apps

6. Process groups: planning/ organizing & controlling/monitoring

Conclusion:Functionality is focused on: 1. Supporting role of the PM 2. Supporting team

communication & collaboration

Benefits of Social Media on PM

1. Enable real time project information2. Support iterative and incremental project management3. Improve project efficiency4. Simplify remote working5. Facilitate project and personal branding6. Stimulate content related discussions

Barriers to Adoption of SM

Barriers1. Lack of Overall Strategy2. Lack of Senior

Management Sponsorship3. Lack of Proven Business

Case4. Concerns about Security5. Concerns about

Information Overload 6. Concerns about Personal

and Private Boundaries

How to address them1. Allocate appropriate resources2. Sponsor to champion, support initiative3. SM projects not required to track

benefits4. Access controls, backups, audit trails,

authorised software, system policies5. Address root causes of feeling

overloaded6. Model acceptable behavior;

lead by example

Future outlook on Social Media in PM

1. Support efficient, effective team communication2. SM communications strategy3. Learning curve in effective use4. Barriers to adoption – individuals or organisation5. Clear rules and absolute truths not available6. Fast and unforgiving7. Build community within or around projects8. Content rich, attractive, entertaining9. Contribute to better stakeholder engagement

Resources

• Gilbert Silvius: Strategic Integration of Social Media in Project Management Practice, 2016

• Rohit Bhargava: Non-obvious Report 2017: How to think different, curate ideas and predict the future

• ITM Platform: Project & Portfolio Management cloud-based software with built-in social media collaboration tools, Kanban Board

• www.virtualprojectconsulting.com– www.linkedin.com/in/linkymerwe