(09) Project Organisation Flashcards
What Organisational Structures are there?
Functional
Divisional
Hybrid
What are the Detailed characteristics (of functional organisation)?
- 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.
Advantages of Projects in a Functional Organisation.
- 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.
Disadvantages of Projects in a Functional Organisation.
- 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.
Divisional (organisation).
- Geographical.
- Product.
- Others.
Definition of Matrix (organisation).
- Dual focus between functional/technical and project requirements.
- Has a blend of functional and projectised organisations such as..
- Weak matrices..
- Strong matrices..
- Balanced matrices..
- Has a blend of functional and projectised organisations such as..
Weak matrices..
- 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.
Strong matrices..
- Has many of the characteristics of the project-based organisations – e.g., full time project manager.
Balanced matrices..
- Balances the power of project manager with that of the line manager.
Conflict arises within the project organisation when…
Some people spent 50% time for parent organisation and 50% for the project.
In general, the project job is…
unique or somewhat
unfamiliar to the existing organisation.
Goals
Keep projects on track by any means necessary.
After project completion…
- 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!
(In a project-based organisation) projects are..
The dominant form of business – e.g., construction companies, consulting firms, movie companies, law firms, etc.
(In a project-based organisation) project managers have..
Most of the authority and team members are often co-allocated to different projects.
Projectised organisations have..
Often organisational units called departments, which report directly to the project manager or provide support services to the various projects.
Advantages of (projectised organisations).
- Efficient project organisation.
- Cohesive – a common goal.
- Cross-functional integration – specialist from different areas work together.
- More effective communication than functional.
Disadvantages.
- Difficult post-project transition.
- Duplication of facilities and job functions.
- Less efficient use of resources.
(When choosing an organisational form) you need to determine the best organisational form
depending on..
- 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.
Project Considerations.
- 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.
Different Project Methods for IT Development Projects.
- 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.