Project Team Building (Best Practice)

Working relations among a project owner, designer, and/or contractor frequently are characterized by mistrust, poor communication and cooperation, and an adversarial nature. However, while such relationships are frequent, they are not the norm. (RS37-1, p. 6) 

In the opinion of experienced industry practitioners, the most important causes are:

• Poorly defined scope of project
• Excessive change orders
• Changes not properly managed
• Lack of communication of objectives
• Unrealistic project schedule and unrealistic project budget

(RS37-1, p. 6)

The two causes cited as having the most severe impact on project costs and results are:

• Poorly defined scope
• Excessive change orders

(RS37-1, p. 7)

Project team building was used successfully regardless of the type of commercial relationship (lump sum or cost reimbursable contract) among the parties. (RS37-1, p. 7)

The costs associated with using team building are minuscule when compared to the benefits received. Those benefits may include reduced adversarial relationships, lower project costs, improved project quality, shorter project schedules, and a commitment to future use of team building. (RS37, p. 9)

Effective project teams are characterized by trust, shared goals, interdependence, a shared commitment to work together, a shared sense of accountability, pride in team members, open communication, and giving team members a lot of feedback. (RS37-1, p. 12)