During the progress review, how might a project manager assess the contribution of each member of the project team?

During a progress review, that is what the job of a project manager is to do--review the progress of each member on the current project. Some ways they could do this is first off by asking what milestones/deliverable did they have a stake in working on. By doing this, the PM will be able to find out all of the milestones they helped accomplish and what other project members had a hand in completing, as well. That way, when reviewing the progress of other team members, they will be able to see who's story is checking out and who is slacking. The PM could ask the member what are some things they feel they could improve on either for the next project, or for the remainder of the project. Ask the member is they feel there was anyone in the group that was not contributing as much as everyone else. Could go as far as having each group member rate one another, including the PM. Lastly (thanks BRIAN ;P), ask each individual member if they felt that their skills had been utilized to the fullest extent.

Why is user-centred development critical to successful systems development projects?

UCD is critical to successful development projects because UCD is an approach that supports the entire development process with user-centered activities, in order to create applications which are easy to use and are of added value to the intended users. There are studies out there to show that the majority of failed projects can be attributed to incomplete or inaccurate requirements and the biggest cost benefit of UCD is more accurately defining requirements. using UCD helps you define a clear understanding of user and task requirements, incorporate user feedback to refine requirements and design, active involvement of user to evaluate designs, and integrating user centered design with other development activities. Additionally, UCD affects the planning, analysis and requirements, design, and evaluation phases of SDLC.

What aspects of the workplace might motivate people's acceptance of change?

There are many aspects of the workplace that might motivate people's acceptance of change. The first thing is management. Management is more of a thinking, not a doing kind of job. When management fails to come up with new ways to implement their product or service, does not do well mediating different aspects of the job, and not very good with conflict resolution, a change in management will most likely be better accepted by the rest of the work staff.

Not enough flexibility can also be an influencing factor. You here about it more and more that companies are starting to be a bit more flexible as far as showing up for work and when you can leave. One example--The Federal Forest Products Lab--usually have a few days of the week were they want most employees to be in the building from about 10am-4pm. Other than those few days, the employees can pretty much go as they please, as long as the work gets done.

There are many other aspects of the workplace that might motivate people's acceptance of change, but this is just to name a couple.