Case study $-$ Managing Difficult Project Team: How to improve and retain talents in a project.

Roy has been with Company XYZ$,$ a renowned Fintech based in Malaysia, for about nine $(9)$ months

and has faced challenges related to the project team, especially software developers. Roy is the

leader of a new group. To form a bond with the rest of the team, he had to earn their trust and make

them feel comfortable around him. It wasn't always easy for Roy at first because members of this

team also had an affinity towards their former boss.

While he was aware that he was striving to unite the group, the team proved to be challenging to

manage. The laid$-$back working atmosphere is impeding their capacity to perform their duties; it's

tough to get them to finish a task, communicate with other team members, or meet deadlines.

When he came to the project's monthly review, he was bombarded by stakeholders for being six $(6)$

months behind schedule. The feedback from the project stakeholders also revealed that there are

too many unresolved defects and older bugs that haven't been taken care of$.$ He reacted to the

meeting feedback with an immediate team meeting and asked if the team could follow his new

restructuring plan to catch up$.$ Nobody responded to his worries or straightforwardly accepted his

suggestion. Roy felt emotionally exhausted and stressed by the scenario, his disappointment,

and his wrath at the team's responses. There was no consensus that the group was falling behind in

bug tracking because they were not adhering to his plan. He started to lose motivation and feel

powerless, as though his efforts were in vain. Roy launched a new project, which ultimately caused

him to start making plans to quit the organization.

The Project Director, Roy's employer, became aware of Roy's unhappiness and was forced to feel

bad for not backing Roy's strategy for overcoming the project's difficulties. When Roy's employer

approached him, Roy accepted his offer of support for his approaches and proposition. They

attempted to analyse the project schedule and backlogs, and identify team dynamics $($NeuroSYS$,$

$2022).$

The Project Director then realizes that the team$$s $(1)$ lack of communication skills, $(2)$ work in silos,

$(3)$ no pro$-$activeness in asking questions for better understanding, $(4)$ poor time management

and laid back $(5)$ scepticism and long$-$reserved frustration $(6)$ being difficult and throws tantrums

$(7)$ toxic environment from other departments $(8)$ burnout from long working hours and no holiday

leave in $9$ months since the project started; given all of them are highly skilled and intelligent.

Upon reflection, the project director brought in a Scrum Master to help Roy resolve his

team's problems and to provide long$-$term improvements for the project $($Simplilearn$,2022).$

Reaching out to the team member, the scrum master begins casual chats, frequently involving Roy.

That was awkward at first, but Roy's credibility and trustworthiness grew. The Scrum Master has

implemented processes to help the team measure their difficulties, improve their communication,

conveying their challenges and solutions to be taken $($Grey$,2022).$ The team will be able to identify

and discuss roadblocks that can obstruct their progress at the Daily Standup Meeting. Discussions

about private matters, how to resolve disputes, or other topics unrelated to the project are not

appropriate topics for this meeting.

Stakeholders are aware of the team's opinions during the daily standup meeting. The scrum master

will ask the team members about their skills, limitations$,$ and thoughts on how well their teammates

are doing. The team uses this information to guide their work and pinpoint areas for growth. The

Daily Standup Meeting led by the Scrum Master and included the entire Development Team. The

goal of this meeting is to allow each team member to have a chance to share information

regarding impending tasks and potential roadblocks, offer suggestions on how tasks should be

prioritized throughout an iteration, and talk about roadblocks the team has already faced. With that

implemented, the team has more time and can complete their tasks promptly. The

relationship between Roy and the team improved significantly. The group's methods started

to become more open and proactive. They increased their output and efficiency dramatically.

Question:

$1.$ To improve the scenario, what action should be taken to improve the damages to avoid

project failure? $(5$ marks$)$

$2.$ What are the steps taken during hiring process to avoid such difficulties when putting in a

new member in a project team? $(5$

marks$)$