Project Management Dilemma Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions
Private Limited
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Author: Kumar Mukul, Ruchi Mishra

Pub. Date: 2022
Product: Sage Business Cases
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529797091
Keywords: project management, teams, dilemma, firms, customers, team management, clients, leadership
styles, software, team diversity
Disciplines: Business & Management, Operations Management, Organization Studies, Strategic
Management, Project Management, Teamwork in Organizations, Culture & Strategy
Access Date: September 11, 2023
Publishing Company: SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals
City: London
Online ISBN: 9781529797091
© 2022 SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals All Rights Reserved.
Sage Sage Business Cases
© Kumar Mukul and Ruchi Mishra 2022
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Abstract
It has been almost 15 months since Prateek Patil joined Alpha Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (hereafter re-
ferred to as Alpha Tech). Before joining Alpha Tech, he was working for an IT startup called Crudle
Labs and was doing well. On the insistence of his former course mate and close friend, Sachin Kulka-
rni, Prateek left Crudle Labs and joined Alpha Tech. Over time, Prateek realized that his passion and
dedication levels differed significantly from the other team members of Alpha Tech. He recently be-
came involved in an ambitious research project that demanded software development for offering chat-
bot services in regional languages. Initially, the team members of Alpha Tech were quite optimistic
about the project. But soon, things began to deteriorate. Team members were unable to understand
the clients’ requirements. Whenever they consulted with clients to discuss the deliverables, they would
receive divergent views that led to ambiguity with regard to client requirements. The project manager
blamed the project delay on the clients. Comprehensive discussions with team members revealed that
they found it difficult to understand the clients’ needs. Given the current circumstances at Alpha Tech,
urgent action is required to deal with this scenario.
This case focuses on team formation and diversity, the role of communication, and agile project man-
agement concepts.
Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

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Case
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this case study, students should have a better understanding of:
• the practical application of team management concepts;

• how conflicts emerge in startup teams;
• how team diversity may prove dysfunctional if not managed properly;
• the significance of leadership and communication in startup team management;
• the importance of the application of agile project management in handling project-related uncertain-
ties.
Background
It had been almost 15 months since Prateek Patil joined Alpha Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd. 1 (hereafter referred
to as Alpha Tech). Prateek was an engineer with a degree in computer science from a college based in Hubli,
a tier-2 city 2 in the north of the state of Karnataka, India. Though coming from a humble background and
educated in a small town school and college, he had earned a reputation as a ‘tech maverick’ and a ‘genius’
in his domain. He landed a placement opportunity (through his college placement drive) at an IT startup com-
pany called Crudle Labs. He performed exceptionally well there, and the founder of the company, Ganesh
Sanmukh Rao, offered him a portion of the equity holdings to ensure he continued working there in the long
term. Prateek was passionately interested in the work he was doing, as well as the offer made by Mr Rao.
However, during the same period, his close friend Sachin Kulkarni was planning a new venture—a startup
firm— and requested Prateek to be part of it. Due to the insistence of his friend, Prateek left Crudle Labs to
join Alpha Tech.
Alpha Tech was an entrepreneurial venture based in Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. Bengaluru was considered
to be India’s Silicon Valley and the country’s leading startup hub. Alpha Tech was founded in 2015 by second-
generation entrepreneur, 3 Sachin Kulkarni, along with his friends, Siddharth Deshpande, Raghvendra Shetty,

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Vaibhav Kulkarni, and Ashutosh Naik. It was a private limited firm 4 with Sachin at the helm as CEO and oth-
ers in leadership roles. On joining the firm, Prateek became a pivotal part of it. Alpha Tech was involved in
IT-related product development: they offered software solutions to a wide range of business areas like banks,
e-commerce, customer support, media and entertainment, and informational web portals in India. Its primary
products and services included project management systems, ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems,
CRM (customer relationship management) systems, application of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, web
applications, application testing, and maintenance. However, it specialized in chatbot 5 -, web application-,
and mobile application development, machine learning, web design, and cloud services.
Entrepreneurial Team at Alpha Tech
While Siddharth and Raghvendra had been Sachin’s friends since their higher secondary school days in Ben-
galuru, Vaibhav was his cousin whom he been compelled to include at the insistence of his family. Siddharth
had completed an accredited course in AI 6 and machine learning 7 from the UK and had worked on several
projects related to AI, the Internet of Things 8 (IoT), machine learning, robotics, ERP, 9 CRM, 10 and project
management during his college internship days and later as a part-time consultant in the UK and in Ben-
galuru. Vaibhav was Sachin’s cousin; Mr Guruprasad Kulkarni, Sachin’s uncle, was a chartered accountant
who had helped the Alpha team with their tax returns and who regularly offered legal advice. Ashutosh was
a friend of Vaibhav and, coming from an affluent family, he had invested a significant portion of Alpha Tech’s
seed capital. 11 Ashutosh was a commerce graduate who was pursuing an MBA along with his involvement
in the Alpha Tech. He had managed Alpha Tech’s accounts in its initial days. Raghvendra had completed a
BTech and diploma in computer science in Canada and had also worked in a startup firm, Foresight AI (a
robotics technology developer that was building a platform to host data and AI globally), based in the city of
San Jose, California—Silicon Valley. 12 He had a sound domain knowledge and contributed a lot of human
capital in the form of intellect and skill set. Raghvendra was also outstanding in the domains of AI, big data,
13 and robotics. While working at San Jose he became interested in startup firms and starting his own firm
and that was one of the reasons he returned to his native country and joined his friend’s startup venture.
Sachin’s family members were involved in their own business for generations: they processed and packaged
edible oils. However, while studying for his degree in computer science, Sachin realized that his interests lay

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elsewhere and he did not want to continue working in the family business. After completing his degree, he
worked for the family business for a year, all the while nursing his dreams of starting his own business, and
began saving money for this future venture.
Sachin’s father and other family members were initially disappointed with his decision to leave the family busi-
ness, but with time, Sachin was able to convince them of his entrepreneurial dreams, and on seeing his pas-
sion, hard work, and commitment to his venture, they began to support Alpha Tech. His father even agreed to
be on the board of advisers for the firm. Coming from a family that were in business had distinct advantages
for Sachin: he already had strong contacts and access to a network of pertinent, business-related members
through his family ties.
Team Members’ Orientations
It was at Sachin’s insistence that Prateek had left an exciting and flourishing job (with great potential for career
progression, personal growth, and a leadership role) at Crudle Labs. While the initial tenure at Alpha Tech
was relatively smooth and productive for Prateek, things began to turn sour and it had now reached the stage
where Prateek was contemplating quitting the company.
Prateek found the work culture and team environment at Alpha Tech to be entirely different to that of Crudle
Labs. At his previous workplace, most team members had internalized the vision of the founder and shared
similar levels of passion and dedication: this maintained a strong morale and work ethic. Even the few un-
engaged team members got transformed and engrossed in the Crudle Labs’ work culture due to the positive
work environment and “team synergy.” It was very different at Alpha Tech. After the initial period, Prateek
started to sense a lack of direction, drive, and goal congruency among several team members. He found the
team environment to be lacking in commitment, passion, and motivation compared to that of Crudle Labs. He
also had his doubts about the role allocations within the team.
Prateek started to observe and reflect on the personality traits and work styles of the team members at Alpha
Tech: the passion and dedication levels differed significantly among the team members. While Sachin and
Siddharth were determined to make their venture a success, Raghvendra, Vaibhav, and Ashutosh did not
share the same level of commitment. They differed on the vision of the company. While Sachin and Siddharth
seemed to agree on most things, there were also some differences in opinion between the two: Siddharth

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(along with Raghvendra) wanted to focus on application of the latest technologies (i.e., AI, robotics, IoT) given
his interest, skill set, and experience in these areas. Unfortunately, he could not instill the same level of in-
terest in Sachin or the other team members about AI or machine learning. However, Raghvendra did support
him in this regard.
Raghvendra was wondering whether he had done the right thing leaving the United States to join the startup.
He was not getting enough time to work toward his own startup dreams. Vaibhav was not as dedicated to the
venture as Sachin, Siddharth, or even Raghvendra. Vaibhav held a BBA degree (Bachelor of Business Ad-
ministration), but while at university he was more interested in online gaming and socializing than his studies.
He lacked management skills, despite spending three years in a good business school. He lacked profes-
sionalism and needed to develop a more relevant, work-specific skill sets. Though he had helped launch pro-
motional campaigns for the firm through Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and other popular online networking
sites, he was not able to fulfill the coordination and follow-up work. Sachin felt that Vaibhav’s online socializing
abilities could potentially be tapped for marketing initiatives but, overall, he felt disappointed with Vaibhav’s
contribution to the team, particularly his attitude and approach to work.
Ashutosh was a commerce graduate and was pursuing a part-time MBA along with his involvement in the
Alpha Tech venture. He had initially managed the accounts, but because of recurring accounting mistakes,
Sachin had to hire a competent accountant. Ashutosh was good in sales and public relations activities; he
possessed good analytical abilities, could be powerfully convincing, and had an excellent command over lan-
guage, so in addition to sales, Sachin wanted him to manage Alpha Tech’s external relations, get involved in
business negotiations, and contribute to marketing campaigns. His commerce, as well as MBA knowledge,
benefited the engineering-dominated startup team. Ashutosh, however, was too immersed in his MBA course
and could not give enough time and energy to the firm’s work. Ashutosh had been drawn into the venture by
Vaibhav; and Asutosh’s father had also invested capital in the firm, and that retrained Sachin from taking any
serious action against him. Prateek discovered these latent but influential dynamics of the team quite soon
and was disappointed.
Leadership
Sachin Kulkarni, founder and CEO of Alpha Tech, was a polite, soft-spoken person and was not very author-
itative. He aimed to command authority and respect through his knowledge, work, and genuine concern for

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people. What he lacked in terms of communication skills and understanding of management processes, he
tried to compensate for with his eagerness to solve others’ problems, affable nature, commitment to the firm,
and his ability to mobilize resources for the firm through his networks. He wanted to keep his teammates hap-
py, which sometimes had negative consequences for the work of the team.
During discussions between Prateek and the other teammates about Sachin’s leadership style, Raghvendra
once stated, “He does not interfere much with our work or personal affairs. He doesn’t get into confrontations.
He is a nice person to work with. Only thing is he should understand the strong points of his colleagues and
leverage them.” Siddharth had some advice for Sachin, “Being nice doesn’t work all the time. Sachin needs to
understand that and assert himself to curb certain unproductive elements in the team. Work should not suffer
for the sake of relations or friendship.” Ashutosh also expressed his concerns, “Often we fail to understand
what is going on in his mind. We don’t get to know exactly what he thinks about us and our work.” Another
team member, Vaibhav, pointed out, “Sachin helps others in their work and gives everyone the freedom to be
their own selves and work in their own ways. He has great skills and knowledge and is supportive and kind
hearted. He is a bit of an introvert, so don’t be surprised if at times you feel slightly ignored.”
Project Selection
Sachin, with the help of Prateek, recently secured an ambitious research project from MyApparel.com (here-
after referred to as MyApparel), which required software development to offer chatbot applications in regional
languages. The opportunity came through Ganesh Sanmukh Rao, Prateek’s former boss at Crudle Labs, who
had close associations with the leadership team (especially the Vice President, Operations, Aashish Agrawal)
at MyApparel. The MyApparel team was looking for software solutions related to the chatbot interface system
for their firm, so the founder contacted Ganesh Rao for his recommendations of people who could develop
such an application. MyApparel was an e-commerce company that sold women’s and men’s clothing on an
online platform. Previously, Prateek and Sachin had been involved with MyApparel in one of the latter’s pro-
jects: Sachin had been involved in its platform management, where he worked closely with the company’s
product management team. MyApparel also had positive experiences working with Prateek on a project while
he was with Crudle Labs and had been impressed with his technical competencies. They wanted Prateek to
be involved in their new project and contacted him through Ganesh Rao. Aashish Agrawal, a close friend of
Ganesh Rao, was pleasantly surprised to learn that Prateek now worked for Alpha Tech. He soon shortlisted

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Alpha Tech as the firm most likely to undertake the project. Sachin was also very keen to grab this oppor-
tunity, which he felt would significantly contribute to Alpha Tech’s business growth. Aashish met Sachin and
Prateek and concluded that Alpha Tech was the right choice to develop a quality chatbot interface system for
his company in a short time frame and at a reasonable cost.
MyApparel
MyApparel was an emerging online marketplace for clothing based in southern India. The firm initially focused
on online sales of women’s clothing before expanding into other product categories such as lifestyle, fashion,
sportswear, and home essentials. Sellers on MyApparel offered good quality (local/regional/seller-branded)
clothes that provided value for money to customers, similar to what they could get in local markets, shopping
malls, and independent city outlets.
MyApparel emphasized developing supply chain capabilities to ensure the best value to its customers. The
firm employed very efficient ERP systems to carry out its efficient supply chain operations, which helped firms
ship small subsets of orders within a few hours. MyApparel was doing very well in this respect. However, re-
cent feedback from customers based in tier-2 cities had raised concerns among management about improv-
ing customer support services. Customers from tier-2 cities often contacted its customer care representatives
with queries and complaints related to orders, products and payment, and customer support. The customer
support services were available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday to Friday. A recent customer satisfaction sur-
vey revealed two significant concerns raised by customers. First, service hours needed to be extended as it
was difficult for customers to contact customer care representatives during office hours, especially on work-
ing days of the week. Second, customer care representatives could be offered training to speak in regional
languages. A fraction of customers was uncomfortable speaking in English or Hindi, Kannada 14 being their
mother tongue. Therefore, an option to interact in regional languages could be given to customers to improve
the effectiveness of customer care support.
Aashish Agrawal, came up with an idea to integrate chatbot applications into the company’s website to resolve
the issue of customer support and language barriers. Chatbot would benefit the company in two ways. First,
integration of chatbot was a competitive priority as its competitors had recently adopted chatbot application
in their e-commerce website. Second, chatbot applications streamlined interactions between people and ser-
vices, enhanced customer experience, created opportunities for customer engagement, and increased effi-
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ciencies by reducing customer service costs. Aashish Agrawal wanted the chatbot to offer three regional lan-
guages: Kannada, Telugu, 15 and Tamil 16 (along with English). The concept of integrating chatbot and the
potential benefits that it would bring to the firm were discussed in a monthly group meeting with top manage-
ment and the product management team. After doing an initial feasibility analysis, top management approved
the chatbot project. Since MyApparel was primarily a supply chain company, it had less exposure to the tech-
nical side of the software platform: the majority of the software applications used by it were developed through
outsourcing. Therefore, it was decided that the company would outsource the chatbot project to a software
firm that could create the application within six months and would take care of the platform’s maintenance
with an annual maintenance fee. MyApparel started inviting project proposals from software firms. Within 15
days, the firm had received seven competing project proposals and had started thinking about the selection
criteria for choosing a software firm that could develop a quality chatbot application system.
Aashish Agarwal was convinced that Alpha Tech would be the best choice for this project for several reasons.
His rationale was that, since Alpha Tech had developed the initial MyApparel platform, they were familiar and
comfortable working with the team members. Furthermore, Alpha Tech had a track record of successfully
delivering similar projects, therefore, MyApparel could rely on the firm for timely project delivery. The small
size of the Alpha Tech team made their processes quite efficient, and the chain of communication was short.
MyApparel could directly approach the leadership for any support and for handling any grievances, more so
because they had worked together previously. Aashish Agarwal also believed that MyApparel could easily
negotiate and overcome time, budget, and scope constraints because Alpha Tech was a startup firm, which
usually charged low fees for services when compared to well-established enterprises. Being a startup firm,
Alpha Tech would want to establish themselves in the market, therefore, timely delivery of the project would
also be a priority. Also, it was logical to assume that it would be easier to demand and get through some cus-
tomizations during the product development stages when working with a startup. Considering all the favorable
reasons, MyApparel decided to outsource this chatbot project to Alpha Tech.
Chatbot Project
Alpha Tech developed a wide assortment of software applications for e-commerce, financial services, and
logistics firms. Typically, a client approached Alpha Tech with a list of problems they wanted to solve and/or
features they wanted to include in their software applications, which typically involved organizational improve-

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ment targets. The majority of Alpha Tech’s clients were not very tech-savvy: they were heavily dependent on
Alpha Tech to diagnose their problems, integrate new features, and implement the software applications. The
industry for software applications was highly competitive, wherein the prime requisites for winning orders were
the quality of the applications and competitive pricing. Low pricing was vital to winning contracts. Therefore,
effective project management was essential for project success, as loosely managed projects could delay the
project and increase costs. Hence, it was crucial for Alpha Tech to apply effective project management tech-
niques to ensure project success.
After being awarded the chatbot contract, the team members of Alpha Tech were having mixed responses
about their roles and the nature of the work they would be undertaking in the project. The project demanded
the application of novel digital technologies such as IoT, big data, cloud computing, and machine learning.
Prateek was the natural choice to head the project, but he did not relish holding such a responsible position
and politely declined. Prateek felt that positions of high accountability and responsibility restricted his creativ-
ity. He assured Sachin that he would treat the project as his own and would be the brain behind it without
formally heading the team. He agreed to lead the design team while Sachin took the role as project head. Pra-
teek and Sachin were quite enthusiastic about this ambitious project. In a group meeting, Sachin stressed that
this project would be special—a milestone in the firm’s evolutionary journey. Prateek exuberantly exclaimed,
“if we are able to deliver this project to the client in a timely fashion, there’s a high chance we’ll be able to
secure similar, quality projects from big, multinational corporations in the future. Therefore, we must ensure
timely delivery of this project.”
The new project received mixed responses from the employees. Sachin was obviously excited as it was his
initiative, and he considered it to be a major milestone in the firm’s growth. Prateek also felt quite excited
and engaged. Prateek had taken the prime responsibility of designing the chatbot platform and was driving
the software coding and programming elements. He was completely engrossed in the project and expected
similar involvement from the other members; however, this was not forthcoming—the other teammates were
not equally excited.
Raghvendra was initially enthusiastic as the project work was related to his area of interest and he was able
to implement his skills. However, he started generating his own design suggestions, most of which were not
practical and were hence rejected by Prateek and Sachin. This led to Raghvenra developing a grudge against
Prateek primarily and even Sachin. On one occasion, he told Vaibhav, “Sachin has allowed Prateek too much
freedom; he’s hijacked the project. Prateek doesn’t allow others’ ideas to be incorporated. If I’d been in charge

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of the project, I would have done a much better job than Sachin.” His dreams of starting up on his own firm
so that he could be his own boss were further fueled by these interactions.
Ashutosh had his own concerns: that the project would demand more time than he felt he could afford with
his MBA semester exams approaching. He was handling the accounts part of the project. Sachin was keen
to attract similar projects from both existing and new clients, which he succeeded in doing. However, some
of the team were concerned that handling multiple orders simultaneously could result in confusion, a lack of
focus, and ultimately delays. Sachin was adamant this would not be the case, “Lets challenge ourselves, grab
these opportunities, and leverage them.” He saw social media as an effective medium to inform their clients
about their “new offering,” keeping track of their responses and expectations and also creating new leads.
Vaibhav was given the task of handling the social media platforms during the project but was unsure about
Sachin’s expectations, the relevance of his role, and how he could actively participate and make a meaning-
ful contribution to the ongoing MyApparel project. For his part, Sachin wanted Vaibhav, Ashutosh, and other
key members to take on additional responsibilities but was not sure whether engaging them in multiple tasks
would yield good results. Sachin kept postponing discussions on the issue of precise team members’ roles.
Each time the matter was raised during meetings, he would give his standard response, “We have a talented
team with diverse skill sets; trust yourself and the team, start working hard, let the project roll on and things
will automatically take shape in due course.”
Problems in the Chatbot Project
During the first few weeks, everything went smoothly. Everyone was equally engrossed and were informally
discussing the project and its elements with each other. Everyone was well aware of each other’s work and
kept track of the progress of the diverse elements of the project. Soon, however, things started to deteriorate:
team members lacked consensus on several aspects of project work; they were unable to understand the
client’s requirements; whenever they consulted the client’s representatives to discuss deliverables, they often
had opposing views that led to ambiguity.
During this period, Alpha Tech’s management team noticed an upsurge in project operating costs and a re-
lated drop-off in profitability estimates. The project manager and a few senior members of the team blamed
project delays on the clients; this tendency to transfer responsibility to the clients was their generic response.
Sachin decided to have an informal weekend meeting with the team members over lunch to learn where

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things were going wrong. Comprehensive discussions with team members revealed that they were unable to
clearly understand client needs. Even when they spent time trying to understand the clients’ requirements and
their vision for the product, clients was typically unable to clearly convey the scope to the team members of Al-
pha Tech. The ambiguities surrounding project scope subsequently led to delays. One team member pointed
out, “The amount of time we spend understanding clients’ requirements basically hampers our schedule for
delivering project milestones.” Another team member lamented, “We continuously work to satisfy the clients’
requirements, but every time we show them our work, they tell us clearly, ‘this isn’t what we asked for.’” As
their expectations are constantly changing, it’s really frustrating for us. We really don’t know how to proceed
with a project when our clients themselves don’t know what they want, and their expectations change after
every meeting with us.”
After patiently listening to the problem underlying the unsatisfactory progress of project work, Sachin strug-
gled to find a solution. Moreover, he was having a hard time convincing their clients that the company would
be able to deliver projects in a timely manner. He was going to have to take concrete action to deal with this.
Meanwhile, the aimlessly meandering MyApparel’s chatbot project was increasing Prateek’s restlessness.
Despite Prateek’s own high hopes of making it big with the project currently seeming unattainable, Aashish
and the MyApparel team continued to be impressed with his talent and future potential for success, and their
working relationship strengthened through this and their earlier collaborations. Although Aashish was not fa-
miliar with Prateek’s team management and working style, he had confidence in his technical competence
and ability to lead any such projects. Aashish therefore offered Prateek a senior manager position (to lead his
R&D department) with a really impressive pay package, much higher than his current one.
Kritika’s Inclusion in the Team
After much deliberation on the ongoing events, Sachin decided to relinquish his role as project head and hire
someone from outside the firm to help Alpha Tech effectively handle the chatbot project and bring it back on
track. Kritika Gupta joined Alpha Tech as the new project manager. Kritika was highly qualified with BTech,
MTech, and MBA degrees from some of the leading institutes in India and the United States. She also had
two years’ experience working in New Jersey, and three years in a startup in Bengaluru. She had undergone
training (during her engineering education) and had also worked in cutting-edge technology-related projects
involving AI, machine learning, IoT, 17 robotics, chatbots applications, virtual reality, 18 and augmented re-
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ality. 19 She had been interested in project management since her MBA days and had undertaken projects
both during her MBA and work experience where she was exposed to some of the latest project management
techniques. Agile methodology fascinated her the most. Given her qualifications and experiences, Alpha Tech
leadership, especially Sachin, was highly optimistic she would be able to do justice to her new assignment.
Based on her own analysis after taking charge as head of the chatbot project and on detailed discussions with
the team members about the ongoing challenges that the project was facing, Kritika realized that the initial
challenge was to streamline and structure the project with a focus on scheduling, monitoring, and meeting
timelines. She decided to apply Scrum methodology to address the problems of uncertainty and unpredictabil-
ity in the project. She discussed with the team members the benefits and challenges associated with Scrum
methodology and ensured members that Scrum would help this project address all the obstacles. The entire
project would be done in small cycles called “sprints,” and a team meeting would be held daily to discuss cur-
rent tasks and roadblocks. Kritika was a workaholic and very passionate about new technologies. She wanted
results and found it difficult to tolerate delays and substandard work. She expected everyone to follow her
pace and match her standards of work.
Team Differences Come to the Fore
While Sachin was happy to step down as project head to make way for Kritika, others in the team were ap-
prehensive, even negative about her inclusion and her ways of working. Some members did not like the idea
of someone from outside leading the team when capable people internally could have taken up the leader-
ship mantle. Kritika’s exemplary educational background, skill sets, and working style caused disruption and
invoked mixed responses from certain members. Sachin admired her devotion to work and had so much
trust in her abilities that he did not give much consideration to other team members who raised grievances
or doubts related to her working style. Soon, the team’s different educational and sociocultural backgrounds,
work experiences, work styles, mindsets, and career objectives came to fore after Kritika’s arrival. Siddharth’s
and Raghvendra’s global exposure helped them keep pace with Kritika’s approach. They (especially Sid-
dharth) seemed to dominate many of the group discussions, which others’ felt was creating a rift in the team.
Raghvendra’s involvement did not last long though. Initially, he was happy to gain new insights by working
with Kritika. But he found the new environment under the leadership of a woman (given his shy nature) quite
challenging and stressful. He started to feel isolated as he was an introvert by nature and took time opening

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up to people. Raghvendra therefore began focusing on his own startup idea more seriously. He wanted to
develop a business plan as soon as possible, and leave the firm to start up on his own.
Siddharth, in contrast, was very happy with Kritika’s inclusion in the chatbot project. He was thrilled to find a
good friend in Kritika and also the opportunity to get new ideas and learning from her in the domains of AI and
machine learning, which were his interest areas. They developed a good rapport and started having hour-long
discussions (even after office hours), which created the wrong impression among other team members. The
one point on which they differed was Kritika’s focus on the management aspects of the project, which did not
interest Siddharth at all.
Sachin and Vaibhav having a background of family-run businesses, they wanted the focus to shift to imme-
diate business concerns like sales, revenue generation, and profitability and felt that some members were
drifting away from core activities (i.e., generating business opportunities and revenue) with the overemphasis
on project management practices and unnecessary deliberations on the nitty-gritty of management concepts
and technology. Although Sachin adjusted to this, given his trust on Kritika’s abilities, Vaibhav found it annoy-
ing. Vaibhav was responsible for public relations, digital marketing, and social media aspects, and Kritika was
neither convinced of his profile nor his performance. Her orientation, involvement, and focus were more on
R&D and she did not find Vaibhav contributed much in these areas. She wanted Vaibhav to improve his digital
marketing work by undergoing training to enhance his skills and by incorporating the latest innovations in his
social media work. Kritika had also pointed out the lack of seriousness and involvement of Vaibhav during
some of the meetings.
Vaibhav was quite upset with these negative comments. Since Sachin was his cousin, Vaibhav’s frustrations
started to be expressed during family gatherings. Vaibhav discussed the new developments with his father
and uncle (Sachin’s father), which Sachin found to be very unprofessional: he did not like mixing official busi-
ness and family relations.
Another member who was disappointed in the new setup was Ashutosh. He was very upset that he was not
getting enough time to focus on his MBA because of the new sprints and daily meetings. Prateek was upset
with the apparent fissures and conflicts developing in the team: his ideas and ways of working often came into
conflict with those of Kritika. His out-of-the-box thinking often clashed with Kritika’s pragmatic, practical ap-
proach. Also, as Prateek came from a humble background, had been educated in a small city and in average
schools and colleges, he also had issues communicating in English. The frequent discussions and reports,
which had increased by multiples after Kritika taking over, had started to annoy Prateek. He thought these

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were deviations, and they needed to focus more on the core work of developing the application and less on
“managing” the project. Prateek had always been seen as a tech prodigy and authority in his work domains,
but Kritika believed this was not enough and his skills needed to be adjusted to the project requirements. She
felt Prateek was over-valued and needed to contribute collaboratively, to step down from his “high pedestal”
and behave like an obedient team member. Prateek was offended that his involvement and integrity were
being questioned. Kritika felt that motivating and engaging the project team was really challenging. Since
successful agile project management demands that team members have a common goal and strong commit-
ment to excellence, Kritika was in a dilemma regarding whether application of an agile project management
methodology like Scrum would be successful in the chatbot project?
Conclusion
Though Sachin had faith in Kritika and in the other team members’ abilities, he was not entirely convinced
with the way things were evolving in the chatbot project and was worried whether his firm would be able to ef-
fectively deliver a timely project to MyApparel. Given the recent changes in leadership, changing work styles,
members’ priorities, and the high level of uncertainty associated with the chatbot project, Sachin was some-
what confused and pondered where things had gone wrong and how to proceed.
Another person who was unclear about the future of the project, and his own career path, was Prateek.
Though he wanted to contribute to Alpha Tech’s success, remaining there meant making difficult sacrifices.
As well as the job offer from MyApparel to join their R&D team, Guruprasad continued to try to entice Prateek
back to Crudle Labs. In one recent meeting, Guruprasad proclaimed, “I have yet to find a replacement for you.
It is very difficult to replace a talent like yours.” Prateek still had a soft spot for his close friend, Sachin, and
was aware that his exit would have significant implications for Alpha Tech. He had to make a choice between
friendship and professional growth.
Questions
1. Explain the reasons for team conflict. Discuss why the team conflicts increased after Kritika took over
as the project head.
2. Discuss the relevance of diversity in teams: its benefits and associated challenges.
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3. Do you think the individual differences at Alpha Tech are a source of strength for the entrepreneurial
team?
4. Is the culture and work environment in the company suitable for Prateek to remain long term? Do you
think Prateek should quit the company? If so, why?
5. Discuss Sachin Kulkarni’s strengths and weaknesses in relation to Alpha Tech. How would you de-
scribe his leadership style?
6. Do you think the project selection process at MyApparel was justified?
7. How did frequent changes in scope contribute to the problems in Alpha Tech’s project management
processes?
8. How would you resolve the problems within the project management processes that Alpha Tech was
experiencing due to poor scope management?
9. Do you agree that agile project management would be more effective in managing the chatbot project
at Alpha Tech? Justify your point of view.
10. How would you implement the Scrum method of agile practices at Alpha Tech to handle the chatbot
project? What are the benefits and challenges associated with implementing Scrum to complete a
project?
Discussion Points
1. In this case, the team involved people who were friends, relatives, as well as those who came togeth-
er for the purpose of setting up a business. It had both organic and formal aspects of team develop-
ment.
2. Startups meet their initial capital requirements through means of family, friends, or other sources (like
banks, venture capitalists, angel investors, other lending institutions, etc.).
3. The educational backgrounds, experience levels, fields of interest, working styles, and personality
types of team members all differ in the case. It is essential to be aware of team member backgrounds
so that work can be assigned in relation to competencies and job requirements. The right match be-
tween job requirements and skills, experience, and personality traits need to be focused on during
the beginning of a firm’s inception.
4. Different members of a team contribute to resource mobilization in their own ways.
5. In the initial stages of a startup firm, multitasking and flexibility in roles are expected from all team
members.

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Further Reading
Team Effectiveness
Druskat, V. U. , & Wolff, S. B. (2001). Building the emotional intelligence of groups. Harvard Business Review,
79(3), 80–91.
Haas, M. , & Mortensen, M. (2016). The secrets of great teamwork. Harvard Business Review, 94(6), 70–76.
Robbins S. P. , Judge, T. A. , & Vohra, N. (2018). Foundations of group behaviour. In A. Editor (Ed.), Organi-
zational behaviour. 18th ed. (pp. 324–361). Pearson Publishing.
Robbins S. P. , Judge, T. A. , & Vohra, N. (2018). Understanding work teams. In A. Editor (Ed.), Organizational
behaviour. 18th ed. (pp. 362–395). Pearson Publishing.
Agile Project Management
Meredith, J. R. , & Mantel, S. J. (2012). Project activity and risk planning. In J. R. Meredith & S. J. Mantel
(Eds.), Project management: A managerial approach. 8th ed. (pp.221–277). Wiley.
Project Teams and Leadership
Gray, C. F. , Larson, E. W. , & Desai, G. V. (2018). Being an effective project manager. In C. F. Gray , E. W.
Larson , & G. V. Desai (Eds.), Project management: The managerial process. 7th ed. (pp. 338–359). McGraw
Hill Education.
Meredith, J. R. , & Mantel, S. J. (2012). The project manager. In J. R. Meredith , & S. J. Mantel (Eds.), Project
management: A managerial approach. 8th ed. (pp.101–140). Wiley.
Appendices
Appendix 1. Background and Qualifications of Core Members of Chatbot Project at Alpha Tech
Core mem- Background Qualifications

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bers of Al-
pha Tech
Sachin Kulka- Experience managing software development projects, good understanding of scripting
BTech in Computer Science
rni language (Python/Shell)
Experience managing software projects for iPhone and android phones; creating visu-
Prateek Patil BTech in Information Technology
ally appealing web pages and interfaces; programming interaction with JavaScript
BTech in Computer Science, quali-

Siddharth Experience managing artificial intelligence and machine learning-based projects; good
fications in AI and machine learn-
Deshpande understanding of user interface toolkits such as OpenGL
ing
Raghvendra Experience of software coding, web design, and programming languages such as C/ BTech and Diploma in Computer
Shetty C++ programming with a clear understanding of object-oriented concepts Science
Vaibhav
Business background BBA
Kulkarni
Ashutosh
Business background BCom, MBA (ongoing)
Naik
Kritika Gupta Experience managing tech-based projects using agile project methodology BTech, MTech, and MBA
Notes
1. This is an experiential case study based on field work carried out by one of the authors for PhD research.
It involved detailed interactions (interviews for building cases) with multiple startups. The insights from real-
life incidents drawn from the multiple cases were streamlined (around the discussion themes in the present
case) and integrated to illustrate the relevant issues. The company name and names of characters have been
changed.
2. Indian cities are classified as X (tier-1), Y (tier-2), and Z (tier-3) by the government, based on the population

Page 18 of 21
density. Hubli is a tier-2 city in the Indian state of Karnataka (north western region of the state). Hubli and
Dharwad are often referred to as “twin cities.” Hubli-Dharwad form the second-largest urban agglomeration
of Karnataka after Bangalore (capital city). Dharwad is the administrative headquarters, while Hubli is the
commercial center. Hubli-Dharwad is a major industrial hub in Karnataka after the Bangalore and Mangalore
regions, with more than 1,000 allied small and medium industries operating in that region. Major industries
in the region include machine tools, automobile parts, electrical, steel furniture, food products, rubber and
leather, and tanning.
3. Second-generation entrepreneurs are those who run businesses established by their parents or earlier
generations.
4. A private limited company (in India) is a company that is privately held by a small number (minimum 2
members and a maximum 200 members) of people. The liability of the members of a private limited company
is limited to the amount of shares held by them respectively. It requires at least two directors to operate.
5. A computer program designed to simulate conversation with human users, especially over the Internet.
6. AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and
mimic their actions. The term may also be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human
mind, such as learning and problem solving.
7. Machine learning is a branch of AI based on the idea that systems can learn from data, identify patterns,
and make decisions with minimal human intervention.
8. The IoT depicts the network of physical objects—referred to as “things”—that are embedded in technolo-
gies, such as sensors, software, and so forth, and are used for connecting and exchanging data with other
devices and systems over the Internet.
9. ERP is the integrated management of core business processes, often in real time and mediated by software
and technology. ERP is usually referred to as a category of business-management software—typically a suite
of integrated applications—that an organization can use to collect, store, manage, and interpret data from
these many business activities (Wikipedia).
10. CRM encompasses all strategies, tools, and techniques that are used by businesses for acquiring and
retaining customers. It requires an appropriate mix of business strategies, processes, software, and technolo-
gies to build long-lasting relationships between companies and their customers. Use of software applications

Page 19 of 21
in CRM facilitate interactions with consumers at every step (by generating and storing data related to pur-
chase history, personal information, and purchasing behavior patterns) ensuring customer retention, repeat
business orders, and overall increases in profits.
11. Seed capital is the initial money raised to develop a business idea and the formation of a startup. It normal-
ly covers the initial needs such as business plan development and early operating expenses (rent, equipment,
payroll, insurance, and/or research and development costs). Relationships, networks, and contacts close to
the founder(s) including family, friends, and other acquaintances, typically contribute the major portion of seed
capital. Sometimes, angel investors—professional investors who have a high net-worth—may also add seed
capital. With a certain amount of seed capital in place, it becomes easier to approach venture capitalists for
additional financing.
12. Silicon Valley is a region in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, which serves
as the global center for cutting-edge technology and innovation.
13. Big data is a term applied to data sets whose size or type is beyond the capacities of traditional relational
databases to capture, manage, and process the data.
14. Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken mostly by the natives of Karnataka state in the southwestern
region of India.
15. Telugu is a Dravidian language of people living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (the
southeastern part of India).
16. Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken by the Tamil people of the South Asia–Indian state of Tamil Nadu,
the union territories of Puducherry, Andaman and the Nicobar Islands, and of the sovereign nations of Singa-
pore and Sri Lanka, among others.
17. The Internet of Things describes the network of physical objects—“things”—that are embedded with sen-
sors, software, and other technologies for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data with other devices
and systems over the internet.
18. Virtual reality refers to a computer-generated simulation in which a person can interact within an artificial
three-dimensional environment using electronic devices, such as special goggles with a screen or gloves fit-
ted with sensors.

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19. Augmented reality is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of
digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology.
https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529797091

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Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

• the practical application of team management concepts;

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Entrepreneurial Team at Alpha Tech

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Team Members’ Orientations

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Problems in the Chatbot Project

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Kritika’s Inclusion in the Team

Team Differences Come to the Fore

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Agile Project Management

Project Teams and Leadership

Core mem- Background Qualifications

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

BTech in Computer Science, quali-

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

Project Management Dilemma at Alpha Tech Solutions Private Limited

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