Social Media For a Future Fit

Project Management Practice

By Linky van der Merwe

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TOPICS

1. LANDSCAPE OF SOCIAL MEDIA 2. HONEYCOMB OF SOCIAL MEDIA FUNCTIONALITY3. SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY FRAMEWORK4. USE CASES FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ON PROJECTS5. SMARTPHONE APPS FOR PROJECTS6. BENEFITS AND BARRIERS7. FUTURE OUTLOOK ON SOCIAL MEDIA IN PM

My Story• Project & Programme

Management Consultant• Blogger, Author• Founder:

Virtual Project Consulting• Coach and mentor to new

project managers• Online PM training• Partner for PPM Software

Social Media JourneyTalk:

Project Managers are you socially switched

on?Published a SlideDoc on SlideShare: Social Media for Project Managers (2014)• Covering benefits, best practices, tools,

challengesContributing author to research book:• Strategic Integration of Social Media into

Project Management Practice

Landscape of Social Media• Application for Stakeholder Engagement & Team Collaboration• PM’s to understand regional & generational differences • Social Media is not a unified landscape

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CHINA

GERMANYAUSTRIASWITERLAND

Source: Analyzing the landscape of Social media by Gilbert Silvius

Honeycomb of Social Media Functionality

Source: Kietzmann et al

Social Media Strategy Framework

Global Size and Growth

Penetration of Use by Country

Use by Age Group, Gender

Source: Duggan et al

Use Cases for the use of Social Media on Projects

Source: Effects of Social Media on Project Management by Mark Sponselee

SM Functionality 1: Identity

1. Identity

Usage Area 1 Profile Pages on SM

Background, competencies ‘Define project organisation’ ‘identify stakeholders’

Usage Area 2 Recruiting Project Resources

LinkedIn: personal profile, working career, knowledge areas, educational history

‘establish project team’ and ‘estimate resources’

Usage Area 3 Research on (Potential) Stakeholders and Suppliers

Backgrounds, R&R of stakeholders, identity of suppliers, during public tenders, supplier selection

‘identify stakeholders’ and ‘select suppliers’

SM Functionality 2: Conversations

Usage Area 4 Short (Video) Chats

WhatsApp, Google Chat, Skype for Business

Video chats via Skype, Google, FaceTime

Usage Area 5 Content Related Discussions

Mitigation measures for project risks, design of a product

Desired design of a product

Usage Area 6 Online Solicitations

Video chat applications ‘establish project team’ and ‘estimate resources’

2. Conversations

SM Functionality 3: SharingUsage Area 7 Project Content and Status

Updates at one Central Location

Documents, presentations, photos, figures, etc. can be exchanged, distributed and received 24/7

Central Repository for all project related documentation

Central place for project team, stakeholders to stay up-to-date on progress, issues

‘direct project work’

Usage Area 8 Product & Document Reviews

Co-produce and review each other’s products and documents

‘perform quality assurance’ and ‘perform quality control’

Usage Area 9 Knowledge of the Crowd

Project risks and quality issues are shared

‘define scope’ or ‘treat risks’

3. Sharing

SM Functionality 4: PresenceUsage Area 10 Retrieving, Utilizing Availability

and Location of Resources

When project team members are available, who can be contacted

When questions, project risks and quality concerns

Location of Resources Where that person can be contacted

WhatsApp, Skype for Business, others; online, offline

‘distribute information’

Usage Area 11 Working Remotely, Independent of Time, Location, Device

Geographical, support working remotely

‘develop schedule’, ’control schedule’

4. Presence

SM Functionality 5: Relationships

Usage Area 12 Insight into Relationships

Provides detailed insight into which project team member is closely related to a (potential) client, stakeholder or supplier

‘manage stakeholders’

Usage Area 13 Engaging Stakeholders

Project information, progress and delivered products or prototypes are shared to keep project stakeholders informed, co-create

’manage stakeholders’

5. Relationships

SM Functionality 6: ReputationUsage Area 14 Project Pages

Install Project pages SharePoint, LinkedIn, Yammer, PPM tool like ITM Platform

Tell the world about the project, what you’re working on (and what not), what are you delivering, and when, if not confidential

‘manage communications’, ‘manage stakeholders’ or ‘distribute information’.

Usage Area 15 Project Ambassadors

People can act as project ambassadors. Especially people with many endorsements, likes, followers, recommendations

‘manage stakeholders’, ‘develop project resources’ and ‘distribute information’

4. Reputation

SM Functionality 7: GroupsUsage Area 16 Targeted Communication

Stakeholder groups can be formed and reached around products or subjects

WhatsApp, SharePoint, Yammer, LinkedIn, PPM tool

Messages can be differentiated and adapted per group.

‘plan communications’ ‘manage stakeholders’ and ‘distribute information’

Usage Area 17 Cooperation between Project Team Members

Allow users to form communities/groups;Create and share documentation, share status updates, start discussions on topics e.g. issues, progress, results, risks, quality

‘direct project work’, ‘define project organization’ and ‘develop project team’

7. Groups

Smartphone Apps for Project ManagementClassification framework for project management apps

1. Type of functionality – Educational, informative, executive, collaborative, administrative

2. PM processes supported – Initiate, plan, execute, monitor, closing

3. Methodology supported 4. Also accessible through a website? Language5. Project roles supported – PM, Sponsor, team

members, others6. Topics, how many team members,

simultaneous projects

Source: Smart Project Management: Smartphone ‘Apps’ for Project Management by Celine Silvius and Gilbert Silvius

Study Findings and Conclusions1. Apps availability is platform

dependent2. Professionalism, functional and

technical support of apps differ hugely

3. Many apps are additions to web based PM tools or platforms

4. Apps support roles of PM and team members

5. Collaboration & communication – most frequent function in apps

6. Process groups: planning/ organizing & controlling/monitoring

Conclusion:Functionality is focused on:

Support role of the PM Supporting team communication & collaboration

Benefits of Social Media on PM

1. Enable real time project information2. Support iterative and incremental project

management3. Improve project efficiency4. Simplify remote working5. Facilitate project and personal branding6. Stimulate content related discussions

Barriers to Adoption of SMBarriers

1. Lack of Overall Strategy2. Lack of Senior

Management Sponsorship

3. Lack of Proven Business Case

4. Concerns about Security5. Concerns about

Information Overload 6. Concerns about Personal

and Private Boundaries

How to address them

1. Allocate appropriate resources2. Sponsor to champion, support

initiative3. SM projects not required to track

benefits4. Access controls, backups, audit

trails, authorised software, system policies

5. Address root causes of feeling overloaded

6. Model acceptable behavior; lead by example

Source: Barriers to SM Adoption on Projects by Elizabeth Harrin, UK

Future outlook on Social Media in Project Management1. Support efficient, effective team communication2. SM communications strategy3. Learning curve in effective use4. Barriers to adoption – individuals or organisation5. Clear rules and absolute truths not available6. Fast and unforgiving7. Build community within or around projects8. Content rich, attractive, entertaining9. Contribute to better stakeholder engagement

Resources• Gilbert Silvius: Strategic Integration of Social Media in

Project Management Practice, 2016• Rohit Bhargava: Non-obvious Report 2017: How to think

different, curate ideas and predict the future • ITM Platform: Project & Portfolio Management cloud-

based software with built-in social media collaboration tools, Kanban Board

• www.virtualprojectconsulting.com• Connect with Linky on www.linkedin.com/in/linkymerwe