1. Cynthia W. House, ASRi
Erika Andrews, ASRi
Organization Development Specialists
Office of Human Capital
Marshall Space Flight Center
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Used with permission

2. 1. Organization Development and why it is important to Project
Management
2. The Tuckman Model of Team Development and other learning
opportunities at the conference
3. The top five reasons for Project Team Failures
4. The Business Case for a Proactive Approach to navigating Tuckman’s
model
5. The Project Team Collaboration Agreement concept
6. The Sections of a Project Team Collaboration Agreement
7. The Importance of each section to avoiding Project Team Failures and
increasing the likelihood of team success
8. Potential Collaboration Agreement development and implementation
issues
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011 2

3. Organization Development / Effectiveness is …
“a strategically linked development effort designed to guide an
organization from a current state to a desired future state
utilizing business, organizational, and individual change
expertise”.
The Goal of OD Work …
… help organizations make the changes necessary to improve
and sustain health relative to its environment and purpose over
the long term by informing strategic decisions, optimizing
internal capacity, facilitating mission work, and increasing
individual, team, and organizational effectiveness.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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4. Organization Development in the form of
Change Management is joined at the hip
with Project Management to assess and manage
the people and culture impacts and associated changes
that result from Project Implementation and to
facilitate the healthy start-up and development of the Project Team.
Project Management manages the technical side of the project
while Change Management manages the people side of the
project.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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5. For the purposes of this presentation,
we will focus on the healthy start-up and
development of the Project Team.
According to research, Project Teams tend to
focus mostly on technical requirements at
start-up and do not give adequate attention
of teaming requirements which can lead to
both technical and people problems as the
project progresses.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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6. Much research has been devoted to why project teams fail.
A compilation of this research indicates that the main
reasons are:
1. Poor Project Planning and Administration
2. Inadequate Project Leadership
3. Inadequate Knowledge and Skills
4. Inadequate Team and Stakeholder Relationships
5. Inadequate Project Lifecycle Management
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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7. 1. Poor Project Planning and Administration
A Few Resulting Problems:
– Insufficient team and stakeholder communication
– Inadequate resource planning, allocation and management
– Unclear administrative procedures – how the project is
managed, role definition, reporting
relationships, responsibilities, plans of execution, work
agreements with other groups, hiring criteria, etc.
– Unclear or unrealistic expectations and goals
– Lack of prioritization of operational
activities, objectives
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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8. 2. Inadequate Project Leadership
A Few Resulting Problems:
– Poorly defined leadership structure, project owners, and
decision makers
– Indecisive and untimely decision making
– Insufficient communication with strategic stakeholders
– Poorly set and manage expectations
– Lack of a strategic vision
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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9. 3. Inadequate Knowledge, Skills, & Experience
A Few Resulting Problems:
– Inadequate project planning and management
– Inadequate interpersonal communication
– Inadequate leadership, team and individual performance
– Inability to manage a complex project or cope with changing
project realities
– Inability to establish appropriate metrics
and track and measure project results
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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10. 4. Inadequate Team and Stakeholder Relationships
A Few Resulting Problems:
– Interpersonal conflicts, trust issues, and low commitment and
morale within the project team and conflicts between project
managers and team members
– Inadequate integration and collaboration across organizations
and levels and with contractors and other externals
– Conflict between the project and impacted organizations
– Difficulty recruiting and bringing on needed talent
– Difficulty acquiring needed resources during
difficult times
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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11. 5. Inadequate Project Life Cycle Management
A Few Resulting Problems:
– Poorly defined requirements, resulting in wrong or incomplete
features
– Inadequate resource planning and management
– Unclear links between the project and the organizations
strategic priorities
– Scheduling and budget overruns
– Changing requirements late in the project and continuing to
accept change requests which cause the project to drift
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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12. What is a Collaboration Agreement?
The Collaboration Agreement is an innovative tool designed to account for white
space not addressed in NASA’s technical project documentation governance. It
provides a structured way for project members to think through and make
decisions about how members will operate together in several areas critical to
project success from start-up.
The Agreement saves the project team time, confusion, conflict, and wasted
energy and resources by eliminating trial and error efforts to work together
effectively. Many costly, resource intensive work problems and interpersonal
conflicts can be avoided by investing time up front when the cost is lowest and the
potential for return the greatest.
The Project Team’s Collaboration Agreement defines its
“operating white space” in the same way NASA 7120 defines the
technical management of a project and the Charter defines the scope.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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13. The Agreement
• Facilitates the discussion of how the team will work together
before the problems happen rather than after facilitating much
smoother technical and people operations
• Gives the team a language for talking about issues or
disagreements in the team when they do occur
• Creates a forum for mitigation of team issues that takes
personality out of the equation and encourages a much less
emotional discussion
• Prevents or diminishes the impact of many of the problems that
are associated with common project team failing
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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14. What is included in a Collaboration Agreement?
Defined critical issues about the organization and the
WHAT
work
Defines critical issues about the formal and informal
WHO
roles
Defines how the team will structure itself and
HOW
accomplish the work
Defines time frames associated with the work and
WHEN
the agreement
WHERE Defines space, facilities and equipment requirement
BOUNDS OF AUTHORITY Defines team member limits for independent actions
Defines how the team and individual members will
ACCOUNTABILITY
be held accountable for project performance
Defines how the team will manage non-compliance
AGREEMENT NON-COMPLIANCE
with the Collaboration Agreement
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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15. Topics Included
This section is
• Vision, goal, and purpose of the Project Team
worked by
• Strategy or broad actions used to achieve the vision Project Core
Management at
• Mission / Broad Deliverables
project start-up
• Goals / Objectives for Project Team accountability prior to on-
• Core Values – What is most important to the team boarding the
team.
• Plans & Products the team must produce
• Work Functions and Processes needed to accomplish the work Decision made
• Roles & Responsibilities needed to accomplish the work here are
foundational for
• Team Culture needed to be successful other sections
• Credentials / Skills Required for team membership of the
Agreement.
• Staffing Level (FTE/WYE) required to accomplish the work
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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16. Proactive Benefits of the What Section
• Clearly defined vision and direction for the project and team
• Clearly identified products, functions and processes needed
• Clear and realistic project team expectations and goals set
• Leadership structure, project owners, and decision makers well-defined
• Prioritization of operational activities, objectives, etc.
• Improved leadership, team and individual performance
• Improved internal and external integration and collaboration
• Improved recruiting and project team talent acquisition
• Clearly defined team culture needed to guide team development
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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17. Topics Included
• Project Team Name This section is
typically worked
• Project Team Type by Project Core
• Project Leadership Names and Roles Management at
project start-up
• Names of those assigned to each Project Role prior to
complete on-
• Process / Functional Owners or Leaders boarding of the
team, but can
• Product Owners or Leaders
be worked in
• Deliverables Owners or Leaders collaboration
with key project
• Process / Function and Product Experts (SMEs) team members.
• Coordination Activity owners
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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18. Proactive Benefits of the Who Section
• Increased project team identity
• Increased stakeholder communication
• Improved understanding of Team leadership, members, project
owners, decision makers, and stakeholders roles and responsibilities
• Clearly defined and established roles in place for (internal and
external) collaboration and coordination
• Improved leadership, team and individual performance because of
roles and responsibilities definition
• Realistic expectations are set regarding roles and responsibilities for
all team members
• Understanding of the integration across processes, functions,
organizations, and division boundaries
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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19. Topics Included
The How
• Organization Architecture / Design (Formal and Operational) Section is best
• Interaction and Conflict Management Norms completed using
• Prioritization Norms (Managing conflicts priorities) a collaborative
process that
• Coordination, Integration, Collaboration Norms (Internal & engages the
External to Project) energies of the
• Decision Making Norms entire Team.
• Performance Standards
Project
• Reporting Requirements & Process Leadership may
• Work Streams and Work /Process Flows retain the right
• Organizational Learning and Change of final approval
of decisions
• Policy and Regulatory Compliance made.
• Internal Communication & Info Sharing Norms & Bounds
• External Communication & Info Sharing Norms & Bounds
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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20. Proactive Benefits of the How Section
• Clear Administrative procedures
• Prioritization of operational activities
• Improved team and stakeholder communication
• Clear expectations and performance requirements
• More functional organization design
• Improved decision making
• Improved understanding of project requirements
• Fewer and better managed interpersonal and team conflicts
• Improved integration/collaboration across organizations, levels , contractors
• Improved recruiting and retention
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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21. Topics Included This Section is
• Timeframe for agreement best completed
using a
• Timeframe for projects related to this Agreement collaborative
• Timeframe for project team membership process that
engages the
• Timeframe for matrixed team membership energies of the
entire Team.
• Timeframe for maintenance of the Agreement
The team may
want to make
TIME a metric.
Project
Leadership may
retain the right
of final approval
of decisions
made.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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22. Proactive Benefits of the When Section
• Increased formal / informal project communication
• Timely and decisive decisions making
• Improved Project Management
• Improve management of changing project realities
• Ability to track and measure project milestones and progress
• Improved leadership, team and individual performance
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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23. Topics Included This section is
best worked
• Space Requirements using a
• Space Location collaborative
• Placement of team members based on work team process
because
• On-Site Requirements acceptance of
• Tele-work Allowances results is
• Tools and Equipment Requirements important to
team success.
• IT Requirements (hardware and software)
• Timeframe associated with space and equipment Project
requirements Leadership may
retain the right
of final approval
of decisions
made.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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24. Proactive Benefits of the Where Section
• Appropriate physical arrangement to facilitate team coordination
and integration and improved team performance
• Adequate hardware and software availability for team members
• Sufficient storage space
• Decreased team conflicts
• Improved integration and collaboration
• Improved Project Management
• Improved communication
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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25. Degree of Empowerment the team and individual The Project
members have to act independently regarding: Team should
use a
• Direction, Strategy, Plans, and Requirements changes
collaborative
• Responsibilities related to Role performance process that
• Workforce Concerns & Practices (FTE & WYE) engages them
in frank
• Organization Structure and Infrastructure changes discussions
• Work and Business Processes changes about needed
• IT and other tools and equipment selection and changes authority to
further the
• Internal and External Integration and Collaboration mission.
• Policy and Regulatory Compliance
• Innovation and Change Project
Leadership
• Leadership & Management Functions retains the right
• Cost and Schedule Tracking and changes to final
• Reporting and Interaction with Boards approval of
decisions made.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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26. Proactive Benefits of the Bounds of Authority Section
• Improved decision making
• Clearer expectations
• Improved management of technical and team changes
• Clearer expectations and performance requirements
• Improved internal and external collaboration and integration
• Improved individual, team and leadership performance
• Decreased conflicts within the team and with other organization
• Decreased leadership and team stress
• Improved team interactions
• Clearer administrative procedures
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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27. Formal and Informal Accountability Mechanism
The Project
Used to Ensure: Team should
• Organization Performance of Technical/Chartered use a
Responsibilities and Collaboration Agreement decisions collaborative
• Team Performance of Technical/Chartered Responsibilities process that
and Collaboration Agreement decisions engages the
team in open
• Individual Performance of Technical/Chartered discussion
Responsibilities and Collaboration Agreement decisions about true
• Leadership Performance of Technical/Chartered accountability.
Responsibilities and Collaboration Agreement decisions
• External Communication & Info Sharing Norms & Bounds Project
Leadership
retains the right
of final approval
of decision
made.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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28. Proactive Benefits of the Accountability Section
• Improved individual, team, organization and leadership performance
• On-going clarification of operational procedures
• Improved internal and external integration and collaboration
• On-going clarification of roles and responsibilities
• On-going informal performance feedback
• Improved decision making
• Improved setting and tracking of metrics
• On-going clarification of expectations
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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29. Formal and Informal Mechanism Used to
The Project
Respond to Non-Compliance with the: Team should
• What Section of the Collaboration Agreement use a
collaborative
• Who Section of the Collaboration Agreement process that
• How Section of the Collaboration Agreement engages the
energies of the
• When Section of the Collaboration Agreement
entire Team.
• where Section of the Collaboration Agreement
• Bounds of Authority Section of the Collaboration Agreement Project
Leadership
• Accountability Section of the Collaboration Agreement retains the right
• Non-Compliance Section of the Collaboration Agreement of final approval
of decision
made.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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30. Proactive Benefits of the Non-Compliance Section
• Sends a clear message that the Agreement is to be taken seriously
• Sets a high standard for technical and interpersonal performance
• Gives appropriate weight to the “white space” issues facing the team
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31. • Will the Agreement work for a team already in place?
• Do the Agreement sections have to be worked in a
certain order?
• Since all projects and teams are different, can the
Agreement be customized?
• Does the Agreement work equally well for working
groups and non-7120 projects?
• Does the Agreement work equally well for short term
and long term projects?
• How much time does it take to develop the Agreement?
• Does it take a lot of time to maintain the agreement?
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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32. Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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33. Center OD Lead Phone # Email
ARC Linda Jensen 650.604.6985 Linda.M.Jensen@nasa.gov
DFRC Paul Condon 661.276.2656 Paul.D.Condon@nasa.gov
GRC Adam Ross 216.433.2941 Adam.P.Ross@nasa.gov
GSFC Kathy Doyle 301.286.8319 Kathryn.L.Doyle@nasa.gov
HQ Kim Haney-Brown 202.358.0433 Kim.R.Haney-Brown@nasa.gov
JSC Paul Cruz 281.483.1158 Pablo.Cruz-1@nasa.gov
KSC Laura Gallaher 321.867.6830 Laura.C.Gallaher@nasa.gov
LaRC Myisha Tucker 757.864.6084 Myisha.Tucker@nasa.gov
MSFC Jim Andrews 256.544.6846 James.G.Andrews@nasa.gov
SSC Anita Douglas 228.688.3698 Anita.W.Douglas@nasa.gov
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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34. Teams go through
Forming
phases of development
on their journey to
becoming a high
functioning unit. This
process can be linear
and orderly or can jump
Performing Storming around.
Key Learning:
Intentional, Proactive
Management of Project
Team Development will
net the Project the best
Norming results.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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35. The goal of the project team is to navigate the phases
of team development in ways that promote team
health and project success and minimize potential
technical and people problems. To achieve this goal
requires a “proactive approach” to team development
and managing the white space of the organization.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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36. WHAT section questions
• What is the clear mission that gives meaning and direction to this project? Where is
the project team headed? How will be know we have reached our milestones and
end result?
• How will the project team be managed?
• What is the team going to look like when it grows up?
• What will the team deliver? What is the team responsible for producing? What is
the team accountable for achieving?
• What broad strategies will the organization use to achieve its vision?
• What things are important to the Project Team?
• What are the core values for the team? What is important to them for operating as
a team? What won’t they compromise?
• What are the roles and responsibilities needed to realize the vision and accomplish
the mission, goals, and objectives? What responsibilities will fall to each of those
roles?
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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37. WHAT section questions
• How will the Project Team choose Project Team membership?
• What are the credentials and/or experience needed along with the skills required to be
a member of this team?
• What staffing level (FTE/WYE) or resource allocations are required to accomplish the
work of the project team?
• What are the priorities that will drive long-term plans and guide daily activities?
• What strategic and related business or operational planning the Project Team will do
and how they will do it?
• Is professional development encouraged? If so, what will be req’d/expected, etc.
• What do we want the personality of the team to be?
• What policy and regulatory compliance requirements are needed for the team to work
and function within its larger organization?
• How will new members be communicated regarding the team, how it works, etc.
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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38. WHO section questions
• Who will be involved in the formal and informal leadership functions of the organization
or team, which roles and people who fill those roles? Who is responsible for making
decisions?
• Who will the determine the team structure or design?
• Who will be assigned to the roles established in the “What” section of this agreement
• Who will be responsible for the processes or functions which run across the
organization, crossing role and division boundaries so that horizontal integration
happens? How will the expert in each of these processes or functions be identified?
• Who will be responsible for the development and delivery of the products which run
across the organization, crossing role and division boundaries so that horizontal
integration happens? How will the expert in each of these products be identified?
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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39. WHO section questions
• Which members of the team are primarily responsible for coordination of activities,
meetings, and administrative demands?
• What other groups do we need to interact with to implement the “WHO” section of this
agreement?
• Who will have signing authority?
• Who will be responsible for communicating the team structure, team progress, the
reporting structure, etc.?
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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40. How section questions
• How will the organization or team be designed? What will the reporting structure, etc.?
• What will be the team’s interaction norms?
• How will the team manage conflicts between and among members?
• How will the team prioritize its work? When conflicts arise, what norms will guide the
reasoning and decision making of team members?
• How will team members share information internally and what information can be
shared externally and with whom?
• How will the organization or team members integrate and collaborate with each other
and with groups external to the team?
• How will the organization or team members make decisions? What will be the degrees
of freedom – empowerment – each role will have to make decisions?
• What standards will be established for the organization, the team and for individual
members – both technically and interpersonally?
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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41. How section questions
• What are the reporting requirements within the team, with project management and
with groups external to the project?
• How will the work be conducted or flow through the organization? What are the major
work or value streams for which the team is accountable and how will these be
monitored? What work processes will be put in place to manage the chartered work?
• How will the organization, team, and individuals grow and improve professionally,
culturally, and personally?
• How will the organization ensure that it is monitoring and responding to changes in the
internal and external environment? Staying adaptable?
• How will the project, team, organization meet and maintain procedural, policy, and
regulatory requirements?
• How will communication with entities outside the team, project or organization be
handled? Other Centers Organizations? Other NASA Centers? Level II, HQ? Primes
& Partners? Public/Media? HR Information Requests? Other?
• With what other groups, organizations or individuals must we integrate to implement
the decisions we have made in this section of the Agreement?
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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42. When section questions
• Where will the team reside? Is it commiserate of the organization’s / project team’s
structure or design?
• Where will the team reside in correlation to its customer?
• Where will any formal documentation take place?
• Is there space for a war room, team meetings, training, etc?
• Is the location accessible to all core and matrixed team members?
• Is there space available for confidential and SBU project documentation?
Office of Human Capital, Organization and Leadership Development Office, Marshall Space Flight Center, February, 2011
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43. • Project Success and Failure: What Is Success, What Is Failure, and How Can You Improve Your
Odds for Success? Robert Frese, System Analysis and Dr. Vicki Sauter, UM-St. Louis,
December 16, 2003.
• My Management Guide - MyMG | Project Management Failure or Steps to Fail a Project
Copyright - Mary Lewinson qwarh@ukr.net.
• Gov't failures: Engineering brain drain and bad leadership. Michael Krigsman | June 27, 2008.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/projectfailures/govt-failures-engineering-brain-drain-and-bad-
leadership/863
• Using Audits to Prevent Catastrophic Project Failure Paul Dorsey, Dulcian, Inc.
• Project Management Failure: Why Projects Fail. Project Management Best Practices Release
4.1 Chapter 4. http://www.databasedesign-resource.com/project-management-failure.html
• The Project Start-up Conundrum Authors: Lynda Bourne and Patrick Weaver
www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_003.ht
• Failed IT Projects (The Human Factor). Sheila Wilson. University of Maryland Bowie State
University. 16 May 1998
• Project Failure—The Numbers, Why, and What It Means. Featured Authors - Jim Brown &
Thompson - June 11, 2005. Originally published - September 20, 2004.
• Office of Government Commerce, Trevelyan House, 26-30 Great Peter Street, London SWIP
2BY. http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/cp0015.pdf
• IT Cortex Research. Project Failure Statistics http://it-cortex.com/Stat_Failure_Cause.htm
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