Project Management
Certification & Training

Team Assignments: Achievements vs. Activities

Managing by Seeing the End Results

Example #1:  Assignment to a Teenager

With the first assignment, all we've done is tell the child to perform an activity:  cleaning up the room. Odds are that the work will not live up to our standards when the child reports the task as finished. It's even possible, though highly unlikely, that the child will do too much work, exceeding our standards. The key flaw in an activity assignment is that we do not create a clear performance expectation. As a result, we cannot gain commitment to the assignment, nor can we reasonably dole out consequences for good or bad performance. Aside from some vague and arguable expectations about what a "clean room" is, there is no performance standard to measure against.

If, on the other hand, we assign the child the achievement above (with all the cans gone), we have the potential for better performance. We have made the performance expectation clear and have an opportunity to develop some commitment to it. Last, if we still gag upon entering the room everyone will agree that the standard has not been met. Rewards and punishments, as a result, have a much better chance of being perceived as fair because the standard was clear.

Example #2:  Assignment to a Project Team Member

With the activity assignment, the PM takes on the burden of checking the work at each step to guide the effort because the project team member doing this work has no guidance on the achievement the PM wants at the end. Thus the person doesn't know whether to develop 200 recommendations to eliminate all turnover or just a few to bring it down a little.

We wind up playing the "Did we get the right answer" game, where the team member does some work and then brings the recommendations to the PM and asks, "Is this what you wanted?" Usually, the answer to this question is no. The bad PM blames the person who did the work, saying, "You didn't understand." Then the PM sends them back to the drawing board.

Hold People Accountable for End Results

The achievement-based assignment solves these problems. The project team member knows what's expected and we do not have to play games. We have a better opportunity to gain commitment and positive or negative consequences can be made clear. We also create a situation where the team member can derive some intrinsic satisfaction from the job.

So why do PMs and other managers assign activities rather than achievements? The answer is because it's much easier than assigning achievements for three reasons. First, by assigning activities the PM does not have to commit to exactly what he or she wants (there is wiggle room). Second, it is impossible for the PM to make a mistake when assigning activities, only the person doing the work can be wrong. This last issue is particularly devastating because the PM does not insulate the person doing the work from changing political winds. Weak PMs always use activity assignments because it's safe and always leaves them wiggle room.

This technique is a key to our Achievement-driven Project Management. It pays important dividends in managing projects to their successful ends. When we assign a project team member an achievement, we have a much easier time of clarifying expectations, gaining commitment and fairly doling out rewards or consequences based on performance. 

Excerpt from book: Project & Program Management: People, Budgets & Software
by Dick Billows