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BSYS603 Project Management > (09) Project Organisation > Flashcards

(09) Project Organisation Flashcards

1
Q

What Organisational Structures are there?

A

Functional
Divisional
Hybrid

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2
Q

What are the Detailed characteristics (of functional organisation)?

A
  • Each employee has one clear manager.
  • Staffs are grouped by an area of specialisation – e.g., production, marketing, engineering, accounting, etc.
  • Functional managers have most of the authority.
  • It is useful when the interest of one functional area dominates the project or one functional area has a dominant interest in the project’s success.
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3
Q

Advantages of Projects in a Functional Organisation.

A
  • Easier management of specialists.
    • Team members report to only one supervisor.
    • Similar resources are centralised.
    • Clearly defined career paths in areas of work specialisation.
    • No organisational change and easy post-project transition.
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4
Q

Disadvantages of Projects in a Functional Organisation.

A
  • People place more emphasis on their functional specialty to the detriment of the project.
    • No career path in project management.
    • Poor integration.
    • Slow or lack of direct communication.
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5
Q

Divisional (organisation).

A
  • Geographical.
    • Product.
    • Others.
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6
Q

Definition of Matrix (organisation).

A
  • Dual focus between functional/technical and project requirements.
    • Has a blend of functional and projectised organisations such as..
      • Weak matrices..
      • Strong matrices..
      • Balanced matrices..
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7
Q

Weak matrices..

A
  • Maintains many of the characteristics of a functional organisation.
  • The project manager’s role is more that of a coordinator than that of a manager.
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8
Q

Strong matrices..

A
  • Has many of the characteristics of the project-based organisations – e.g., full time project manager.
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9
Q

Balanced matrices..

A
  • Balances the power of project manager with that of the line manager.
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10
Q

Conflict arises within the project organisation when…

A

Some people spent 50% time for parent organisation and 50% for the project.

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11
Q

In general, the project job is…

A

unique or somewhat

unfamiliar to the existing organisation.

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12
Q

Goals

A

Keep projects on track by any means necessary.

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13
Q

After project completion…

A
  • Regular employees return to their old position.
  • Project organisation people sometimes feel uneasy when they return to their parent organisation and sometimes they find new jobs!
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14
Q

(In a project-based organisation) projects are..

A

The dominant form of business – e.g., construction companies, consulting firms, movie companies, law firms, etc.

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15
Q

(In a project-based organisation) project managers have..

A

Most of the authority and team members are often co-allocated to different projects.

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16
Q

Projectised organisations have..

A

Often organisational units called departments, which report directly to the project manager or provide support services to the various projects.

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17
Q

Advantages of (projectised organisations).

A
  • Efficient project organisation.
    • Cohesive – a common goal.
    • Cross-functional integration – specialist from different areas work together.
    • More effective communication than functional.
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18
Q

Disadvantages.

A
  • Difficult post-project transition.
    • Duplication of facilities and job functions.
    • Less efficient use of resources.
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19
Q

(When choosing an organisational form) you need to determine the best organisational form
depending on..

A
  • Major deliverables.
    • Activities associated with the deliverables.
    • For each activity determine…
      • Who (individual or group) will work.
    • Which technology will be employed.
    • Clients to be served.
    • Culture of the parent organisation.
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20
Q

Project Considerations.

A
  • Size of project.
    • Strategic importance.
    • Need for integration (number of departments
      involved) .
    • Environmental complexity (number of external
      interfaces) .
    • Budget and time constraints.
    • Stability of resource requirements.
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21
Q

Different Project Methods for IT Development Projects.

A
  • Waterfall Model
  • Agile Project Management Approach
  • Both require a different skill set of the project team and a different organisational culture!
  • The approach has to be chosen according to the available skills and the prevalent organisational culture.
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22
Q

Description (of waterfall model).

A
  • A classical model used in system development life cycle to create a system with a linear and sequential approach.
    • Termed as waterfall because the model develops systematically from one phase to another in a downward fashion.
    • Is divided into different phases and the output of one phase is used as the input of the next phase.
    • Every phase has to be completed before the next phase starts and there is no overlapping of the phases.
23
Q

Stages (of waterfall model).

A
  • Important Note.
    - There are eight stages in Waterfall and they must all happen in sequential order. For example, the development team can’t go back to the analysis phase if they are in the testing phase.
    • Conception.
    • Initiation.
    • Design.
    • Implementation / Coding.
    • Testing.
24
Q

Conception.

A
  • Starts with an idea.
    - Involves a rough assessment of the project.
    - Why it’s beneficial:
    - Looks at any initial cost estimates.
25
Q

Initiation.

A
  • Hire the project team.
    - Define objectives, scope, purpose, and deliverables.
    • Requirement Gathering and Analysis.
      • Requirements are gathered and analysed to see if the project is actually feasible.
      • All this information is documented in a requirement specification document.
26
Q

Design.

A
  • The design specifications created are used in the coding phase to write the code.
    - Requirements are studied and evaluated, and the design of the system is prepared.
    - The team’s goal is to understand what actions need to be taken and what they should look like.
27
Q

Implementation / Coding.

A
  • The actual coding of the software begins.

- Any flowcharts or algorithms created in the design phase are translated into a programming language.

28
Q

Testing.

A
  • Once the code is complete, the software needs to be tested for any errors.
    • Installation.
      • When the testing is finished, the software is delivered to the customer.
29
Q

Advantages (of Waterfall Model).

A
  • Easy to use and manage.
    • Discipline is enforced.
    • Requires a well documented approach.
30
Q

Disadvantages (of Waterfall Model).

A
  • Changes can’t be easily accommodated.
    • Software isn’t delivered until late.
    • Gathering accurate requirements can be challenging.
31
Q

Description (of Agile Project Management Approach).

A
  • Based on an incremental, iterative approach. Instead of in-depth planning at the beginning of the project, Agile methodologies are open to changing requirements over time and encourages constant feedback from the end users.
    • Cross-functional teams work on..
      • Iterations of a product over a period of time, and this work is organised into a backlog that is prioritised based on business or customer value. The goal of each iteration is to produce a working product.
    • Usually..
      • Leadership encourages teamwork, accountability, and face-to-face communication.
    • Refers to..
      • Any process that aligns with the concepts of the Agile Manifesto.
32
Q

Stages (of Agile Project Management Approach).

A
  • Important Note.
    • These phases shouldn’t happen in succession; they are flexible and always evolving.
    • Many of these phases happen in parallel.
      1. Planning.
      1. Requirements Analysis.
      1. Design.
      1. Implementation, coding or development.
      1. Testing.
      1. Deployment.
33
Q
  1. Planning.
A
  • Once an idea is deemed viable and feasible, the project team comes together and works to identify features.
  • Afterwards the features have to be prioritised and assigned to an iteration.
34
Q
  1. Requirements Analysis.
A
  • Involves many meetings with managers, stakeholders, and users to identify business requirements.
  • Information like who will use the product and how they will use it will be gathered.
35
Q
  1. Design.
A
  • The system and software design is prepared from the requirements identified in the previous phase.
    - The team needs to think about what the product or solution will look like.
36
Q
  1. Implementation, coding or development.
A
  • All about creating and testing features, and scheduling iterations for deployment (following the iterative and incremental development approach [IID]).
  • The development phase starts with iteration 0, because there are no features being delivered. This iteration lays down the foundation for development, with tasks like finalising contracts, preparing the environments, and funding.
37
Q
  1. Testing.
A
  • Once the code has been developed, it is tested against the requirements to make sure the product is actually solving customer needs and matching user stories.
  • During this phase, unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing are done.
38
Q
  1. Deployment.
A
  • After testing, the product is delivered to customers for them to use.
    - However, deployment isn’t the end of the project. Once customers start using the product, they may run into new problems that the project team will need to address.
39
Q

Advantages (of Agile Project Management Approach).

A
  • Change is embraced.
    • End goal can be unknown.
    • Faster high quality delivery.
    • Strong team interaction.
    • Customers are heard.
    • Continuous improvement.
40
Q

Disadvantages (of Agile Project Management Approach).

A
  • Planning can be less concrete.
    • Team must be knowledgeable.
    • Time commitment for developers.
    • Documentation can be neglected.
    • Final product can be very different.
41
Q

What is (organisational culture)?

A
  • System of shared norms, beliefs, values and
    assumptions which binds people together.
    • Revealed through customs habits, tangible
      ‘things’ often specific to the organisation.
    • Reflects the personality of the organisation,
      features that make it unique.
42
Q

Characteristics (of organisational culture).

A
  • Member identity. - Team emphasis.
  • Management focus.
  • Unit integration.
  • Control.
  • Risk Tolerance.
  • Reward criteria.
  • Conflict tolerance.
  • Means vs. ends orientation.
  • Open –systems focus.
43
Q

Member identity.

A

Degree to which staff identify with the organisation vs. profession.

44
Q

Team emphasis.

A

Degree to which activities are organised around groups rather than individuals.

45
Q

Management focus.

A

Degree to which management take into account the impact of decisions on people.

46
Q

Unit integration.

A

Degree to which units are encouraged to function independently or coordinated.

47
Q

Control.

A

Degree to which rules and policies are required to govern employee behaviour.

48
Q

Risk Tolerance.

A

Degree to which employees are encouraged to be innovative, risk-taking.

49
Q

Reward criteria.

A

Degree to which rewards are offered based on performance vs. non performance.

50
Q

Conflict tolerance.

A

Degree to which employees are encouraged to openly conflict.

51
Q

Means vs. ends orientation.

A

Degree of focus on outcomes vs. process to achieve results.

52
Q

Open - systems focus.

A

Degree to which the organisation monitors and responds to changes in the environment.

53
Q

How to identify cultural characteristics (of organisation).

A
  • Physical characteristics of the organisation (Schein,
    iceberg model (artefacts /underlying values)).
    • Read about the organisation.
    • Observe how people interact with the organisation.
    • Interpret stories, heroes and folklore.
    • You can misinterpret easily (eg open offices are
      encouraging communication or reflecting cost
      cutting?).
54
Q

Implications of (Organisational) Culture.

A
  • Have to be adaptable.
    • Need to read/understand the culture.
    • Have to interact effectively within the cultural frameworks.
    • Be alert to subcultures.
    • Don’t underestimate the significance of culture.
    • Don’t fight the culture, unless toxic and jeopardising
      success.

BSYS603 Project Management (12 decks)

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