Chapter 11

Making task assignments clear is such an important part of a successful and efficient team. There is nothing more destructive than a team that doesn’t listen to the speaker and isn’t able to comprehend instruction. Unfortunately, in this day and age, respect has become less and less of a priority. Some people don’t take instruction seriously enough to handle the task and meet the deadlines. It is important to clarify what is being asked of them and how they should carry this out, and most importantly, when it is due.

The formal change management process is a crucial part of any big project or team. Changes occur regardless of what the product may be. These changes need to be documented and revisited to ensure everyone is satisfied and nothing goes unmentioned. A great example of how not using the formal change management process may have a negative effect can be evident in a dental office’s scheduling. For example, if a patient has scheduled 2 hours of the dentist’s time to prepare a tooth for a crown and does not show, 1-he wastes valuable time the dentist could have used for production, 2-the patient doesn’t get charged a cancellation fee, and 3-the patient has another appointment to cement the crown that wasn’t cancelled. All three facts make the office loose money. In fact, the 3rd mentioned point will cause the office to lose even more money because the patient will not show up again due to the fact that he/she doesn’t have a tooth prepped yet to crown.

Assigning configuration management is important. Sometimes these chores are not fully recognized and the authority is not respected. This will cause the project to be late and of poor quality. That is why I will stress again how important it is that the team be on the same page in terms of respecting each other and having the maturity to follow direction and instruction.