During the different project life cycle phases, task forces might be established by upper management to break through strict organizational boundaries. A task force is a temporary group, usually four to twelve people, formed to carry out a specific mission or to solve a problem that requires a multi-disciplinary approach. Usually, the task force will exist for a specific, time-limited purpose, lasting a few weeks.
Typically, a team leader is appointed, and team members are selected based on factors such as competency, position in the existing structure, loyalty, or ability to work with others. The team leader directs the activities of the team members. Upper management decides to disband the team/task force when it deems results have been achieved.
The PMWeb ready-to-use Action module will be used to document all actions associated with those task forces. For each task force, a new action will be created. The form allows defining the different tasks needed to complete this action and assigning responsibility for each action and due date. The action form will include fields for Task Force target completion date, action completion date, a status which could be active, dissolved, and completed, and the purpose of the task force.
The team leader will invite the task force team members to join this created action document. All inputs made by the team members will be captured online under the Collaborate tab of the action form. All comments and input made by the task force team members will be captured on this page.
In addition, relevant PMWeb records and imported emails will be linked to the active form. Those documents, records, and emails can be linked to each specific task or attached to the active form. The attached documents will be stored in the PMWeb document management repository to ensure that they are always accessible when needed. This will ensure that there is a single record that has all details relevant to the task force.
The Task Force Performance status report provides the organization with a consolidated view to monitor and track the performance status of all created task forces across the complete projects’ portfolio. The report provides real-time summary visuals on the number of created task forces per project, by task force manager, by priority, and by status.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and control services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education, and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, Telecommunication, and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and project management information systems that were featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), and Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) and Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Masters in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – Kuwait University, Kuwait and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA, and London Business School, London, UK.