Reflection on IT Project Management: Communication and Team Dynamics

This reflective report details a student's experience in an IT project involving Oracle Fusion Financial Clouds Service. The student's primary role was communication and stakeholder management within a team of five. The project aimed to develop and deploy a cloud-based financial system, including data migration. The report analyzes project management concepts, team dynamics, and the impact of communication. Key challenges included managing budget and data migration risks. The student emphasizes the critical role of effective communication, based on communication theory, in resolving misunderstandings with the client and ensuring project success. The report also covers team processes, learning analysis of client relationships, and the agile approach adopted. The student concludes that communication is the cornerstone of successful project delivery and team cooperation, more so than project planning and management tools.

Information Technology Project Management: Reflection
Name
Date

Executive Summary
This reflective essay is about my role in an IT project in which I was responsible for
communication details my learning and lessons from the project and team dynamics. The
risks inherent to the project included overshooting budget and data loss during migration.
Interpersonal relationships, communication, cooperation, and a positive working
environment were the important team dynamics during the project. My greatest lesson is
the value of effective communication, based on the communication theory, as being the
strategic tool for project success; the best plans and tools will not guarantee project success
without effective communication. This was made apparent when we changed tasks and
postponed data migration and there was a misunderstanding between the team and client;
using my communication skills, I was able to diffuse the situation through effective
communication.

Contents
Executive Summary.............................................................................................................................2
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................4
Project Management Concepts.............................................................................................................4
Team member Dynamics......................................................................................................................4
Team Composition and Processes........................................................................................................5
Detailed Learning Analysis..................................................................................................................5
Conclusion............................................................................................................................................6

Introduction
I was involved in an IT project, specifically Oracle Fusion Financial Clouds Service. I worked with
a team of five, where my main role was that of communication and managing the stakeholders. The
role of communication and dealing with stakeholders is crucial to the success of any project given
that poor communication with stakeholders can result in the project objectives not being met or
achieved. I was also involved in the risk management activities for the project, given that this is
also another important aspect of a project; I was required to communicate these risks to
stakeholders as well.
Project Management Concepts
The aim of the project was to develop and deploy an oracle Financial Services in the cloud for a
client. The aim was to achieve the deliverables of a working cloud system and safely and securely
migrate client data to the cloud instance. This was to be achieved within a set time limit and budget.
From the experience, I have learned how the use of a suitable project management methodology and
tools goes a long way in helping a project team achieve its objectives. Importantly, I have come to
the realization that effective communication is a pillar for any project success
While undertaking the project a major risk was overshooting the project budget and another risk
was loss of data and lack of continuity while migrating data to the cloud. To manage the risk of
overshooting the budget, I and the team decided to undertake accurate budgeting from the start and
strictly control the project scope. Further, the project was closely monitored and sufficient panning
done prior to initiation. The data loss risk was mitigated by planning and backups in such a way that
we had copies of the data in multiple locations, including the cloud, should anything go wrong and
we migrated from a backup and not the primary client data
Team member Dynamics
Interpersonal relationships, communication, cooperation, and a positive working environment were
the hallmarks of working with my team during the semester. We resolved to have regular meetings
where everyone was given a chance to air their progress on their portion of the project and raise any
concerns. The team because highly supportive of each other, and when one member had challenges,
all team members resolved to stop their tasks and aid the team member until they also completed
their tasks. We really did work as a closely knit team and this enabled u to get far and achieve our
aims and objectives for the project
Communication was a major team dynamic that impacted the team and the project execution
positively. Given that I was in charge of communication, I realized the difference tis can make in
project success. Effective and timely communication endeared the team together, enhanced

openness, promoted cooperation and really brought the best out of all team members. I feel that
effective and timely communication can make the difference that ensures team cohesion and project
success
Team Composition and Processes
The way we scheduled our regular meetings worked like a charm for the project even though at first
there was apprehension and missed meetings by team members, once everyone realized how much
it benefited them; it became the activity everyone looked forward to most. We developed a system
where each person would take turns and review the work the other team members were doing and
critique/ make comments. While it was meant to bring the best out of the team, most team members
did not take a liking to it, especially when other members because overzealous with their critiques.
Detailed Learning Analysis
Client relationship was an area of the project that I was closely involved in, given that I was
handling the communications for the project. There was an occasion when we had to leave out a
task and do it in the next iteration of the project and the client was no too impressed. During our
regular reviews on progress, this task was also ticked as having been done and the client through we
were taking corners. However, using my persuasive and interaction skills, I informed the client that
it was how we managed the project so as to achieve the critical objectives and milestones and
address such omissions at the next iteration/ stage. I informed the client that this was our default
way of handling project tasks and he was convinced
The event occurred because we adopted an agile approach in executing the project. We had adopted
an approach where we had to meet deadlines, even if bugs arose that we could not fox; this way,
such issues were postponed to the next iteration just to ensure we were on schedule. Because of
ethical concerns, I still ensured this change in the tasks would be undertaken in the next iteration
was communicated to the client in advance, even though I knew the client would become fussy
about it.
Communication theory: This theory forms part of the information theory that delves in technical
concepts of information and the human communication process. The theory of communication has
three steps namely; the clarification of a problem, gaining new insights, and treatment strategies,
according to Adigwe and Okoro (2016, p 2-4)). There is a strong correlation between
communication and psychology as people seek to improve their perceptual awareness and social
skills (Sleigh and Ritzer 2004). The issue would have spiraled out of hand had there been no
effective communication and social skills to handle it. The team had decided that all changes must
be communicated to all stakeholders and be recorded and this had caused friction with the client by
thinking that the team were not honoring contractual agreements and undertaking key tasks that

would ensure the objectives of the project were met. Initially, the client had been adamant that it
was a deliberate way of cutting corners and he was concerned the final output would not meet his
requirements. However, using my skills in communication, I calmed the client down and explained
at length that we had just ‘postponed’ the task to the next iteration. This explanation did not make
things better either as I had to explain what iterative deployment was. However, being a good orator
who understood the client concerns, I went flat out to explain what iterative implementation meant,
citing a good example using an artist and a painting.
Communication basically entails who says what, to who this information is sent, and the channel
used for sending this message, as well as the effect of the communication (Hendling 2014).
Communication in project management entails exchanging information from a given point within
the project to another efficiently. The life blood of any project is the communication as almost
everything about the successful execution of a project depends largely on how effectively and
efficiently communication is undertaken (Rajkumar 2010). The incident reiterated the perspective
that the communication network within a project team and with stakeholders in the project largely
determines its success and ability to meet set objectives (Carroll, 2015, p 17). Communication is
crucial in projects and its success since most projects experience breakdowns in communication and
jeopardize the ability to meet the project objectives ( Rajkumar 2010). The price of poor
communications in project management can be very costly, as I have practically learned, and can
lead to loss of support by key stakeholder (West 2017). My new learning is the centrality of
effective communication in project success; I had previously known that communication within a
project is important, but I believed how the project is managed (the technical aspects) such as
having a work breakdown structure, having the right project team, and understanding the
deliverables along with using tools such as the Gantt chart were alone sufficient for project success.
Research shows that ineffectual communication within a project has a negative impact in the
successful execution and completion of a project (Hignett 2017), (Xu 2013, p 743-744).
Conclusion
Team dynamics of cooperation and communication were very important and stood out in ensuring
the successful delivery of the project and seamless interaction among the project team members. In
all tasks we undertook, communication remained central. I was in charge of communication and an
incident with the customer reinforced that based on the communication theory, the ability to
efficiently and effectively pass or share information is crucial for the success of projects. I managed
to eventually effectively communicate the reason for the change inn tasks and why we postponed
data migration to the client verbally. This also made me realize that communication channels are
important in their effectiveness and that communication must be continuous. Having had believed
that project success depended on the team, project planning, and use of various project management

tools, this project has taught me that communication is the glue that holds everything together and
ensures successful project delivery and cooperation within project teams.

References
Adigwe P, Okoro E (2016) Human Communication and Effective Interpersonal Relationships: An
Analysis of Client Counseling and Emotional Stability. International Journal of Economic
Management Science 5:336. doi:10.4172/2162-6359.10003. pp 2-4
Carroll, J. (2015). Effective project management in easy steps. Leamington Spa, Warwickshire,
United Kingdom, In Easy Steps Limited.. pp 17
Hendling, D. (2014). Effective Communication and Conflict Resolution in Project Teams. [online]
Pmi.org. Available at: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-communication-conflict-
resolution-project-teams-9277 [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].
Hignett, T. (2017). Poor Communication Leads to Project Failure One Third of the Time. [online]
Coreworx.com. Available at: http://www.coreworx.com/pmi-study-reveals-poor-communication-
leads-to-project-failure-one-third-of-the-time/ [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].
Rajkumar, S. (2010). Art of Effective Communication in Project Management. [online] Pmi.org.
Available at: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-communication-better-project-
management-6480 [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].
Sleigh, M. and Ritzer, D. (2004). Beyond the Classroom:Developing Students’ Professional Social
Skills. [online] Association for Psychological Science. Available at:
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/beyond-the-classroomdeveloping-students-
professional-social-skills [Accessed 25 Nov. 2017].
West, C. (2017). Four Common Reasons Why Projects Fail. [online] Projectinsight.net. Available
at: https://www.projectinsight.net/white-papers/four-common-reasons-why-projects-fail [Accessed
25 Nov. 2017].
Xu, B. (2013). 2012 International Conference on Information Technology and Management Science
(ICITMS 2012) proceedings. Berlin: Springer. pp 743-744