1. Understand how organisations and projects are structured Flashcards
Describe two benefits of having an embedded project management office
An embedded PMO delivers its functions under the control of the project manager and therefore they are dedicated to the project.
The benefit of this is that they are always available to support the project. They can do this by collecting, analysing and putting together reporting information for the project
which will save the project manager’s time as all they will need to do is confirm that the information is as expected before reporting it outwards. By being embedded in the project the PMO will know all the sources of data as well as being included within project meetings and therefore the messaging and
communications provided by them will be insightful and fully aligned to the project’s goals, ensuring clarity and consistency of information to the project manager.
If the project is large enough then the embedded PMO may also include specialist skills to support the project delivery. One of the roles they could perform is a risk manager. The benefit of the risk manager
on the project is to ensure that the risk process to be followed by the project, is being followed. The risk manager will maintain the risk registers by discussing the agreed actions with the risk and action owners to check on progress. This will benefit the project by ensuring that risk actions are being implemented and if they haven’t worked as planned, this can be flagged up to the project manager and team for further consideration and response setting. By actively managing the risk process in this way it supports the generation of realistic plans and improves the chances of project success.
Explain three differences between the following types of organisational structure:
■ Functional
■ Matrix
A functional organisation is a traditional hierarchical organisation with direct supervision that is grouped into
departments/functions which people are grouped together who have similar skills and are kept in groups. For example, the sales department, the finance department, the software department or the marketing department.
A matrix organisation is a combination of a number of organisational structures (functional, project, divisional, flat, the most common being a matrix organisation with a functional and project organisation
embedded in such an organisation the supervision/responsibility is shared by the functional managers and the project managers.
Three differences between the two are:
i. Flow of authority/responsibility.
Within a functional organisation the authority flows downwards with the functional manager responsible for their department only. In a matrix organisation the functional managers maintain responsibility for their departments but work together with the project managers who have a project authority that flows across the functions (i.e. sideways) to achieve the goals of a project. This shared authority will shift dependent on the type of matrix organisation, weak, balanced or strong. In the 1st authority lies with the functional manager and in the latter with the project manager.
ii. Complexity
A functional structure is relatively simple and convenient to manage, being focussed on the delivery of a simple product line and normally located in one location. While a matrix structure is complex in nature due to the combination of two organisational structures (or potentially more) and the need for
communication between them. The matrix structure lends itself to the delivery of multiple product lines, potentially across multiple locations and tend to be projectized.
iii. Resource allocation
Within a functional structure resources are grouped within departments and allocated work by their functional manager, normally on a utilisation of bodies principle but in a matrix organisation skills are better
utilised as the most appropriate/capable resources can be allocated to deliver the projects dependant on their needs and priority. This ability to utilise functional resource across a number of projects ensures their efficient use and is cost effective for the projects as they pay for the work they require only.
Describe one responsibility within a project for each of the following project roles:
■ Project team members
■ Product owner
Project team members:
The team members are the dedicated project resources and SME’s on the project. They must deliver on time (highlighted in the schedule), at cost (highlighted in the budget) and to quality specifications (as per the requirements and scope baseline).
The team members are can be seen as the ‘do-ers’ who would for example, carry out the physical construction work or actually develop a new application as part of
a projects objective. The team members activities are typically more prevalent during the deployment phase of a linear lifecycle, when the project has gained approval to actually start conducting the work.
Product Owner0;
It is the product owners role to interpret the needs of the user. The product owners are often seen in the iterative lifecycle, as this is a cycle where the project is delivering a minimal viable product, before it is reviewed, and then subsequently improved in future sprints/chunks of work. Often users of the
product, the product owners are the key interface between the end-user community and the project, so it is important that they understand the requirements of the user, and translate them in a way of which the project team can then work on. They define the scope of work and prioritise activities for the each iteration.
Describe three functions, and their benefits, of an embedded project management
office.
An embedded project management office (PMO) sits under programme management in an organisation and often used by larger projects only as they are the only ones able to afford the expert advice on offer. An embedded PMO delivers best practice guidance to project managers based on organisational standards. UK corporate governance laws dictate that organisations must have standard processes in
project management that all projects adhere to. Therefore, by giving out best practice guidance on topics such as risk and issue management and how to complete change control documents, the PMO is ensuring that the organisation is compliant with the law. Also, more effective project management
through best practice guidance increases the chances of a successful project, leading to a more profitable outcome for the organisation.
The PMO is made up of experts in specific project management tasks, for example, estimators, schedulers and risk managers. Project managers can consult with these experts to solve problems in their own projects and ensure that they are as successful as possible when managing risks, for example. More accurate risk management could mean that risks are analysed with more uniformity in keeping with the organisations risk appetite. Therefore, threats will not be underestimated that they could terminate the
project prematurely. It would also prevent risky projects from proceeding and ensure that risks could be taken by the organisation with more awareness of consequences.
Finally, the PMO shares guidance on knowledge and information management policies in the organisation. This is beneficial because it ensures that information is stored securely and in compliance with UK laws such as the official secrets act and GDPR. However, it also optimises organisational costs
and resources by encouraging curation and archiving. The most memory-efficient ways to store data are shared so that the organisation has to spend less money on data storage. Also, lessons learned and other important documents are more easy to find and an organisation can ensure that it is not repeating a historical project because it has lost the original data collected. Therefore, the PMO can help facilitate the organisation by encouraging better knowledge and information management in project managers.
Describe two benefits of having an embedded project management office.
Explain three differences between the following types of organisational
structure:
■ Functional
■ Matrix
Question 2 part (a)
An embedded project management office (PMO) is beneficial as:
1) An embedded PMO will be extremely reactive to the project that it supports (only justified on large projects) so knowledge and expertise from project manager, team and PMO can be shared immediately as an embedded PMO is solely dedicated to the project.
2) The embedded PMO frees up the PM’s time as they are on-hand to assist with administrative tasks such as recording timesheet data, updating logs/registers. This means that the PM can focus on managing the project and that the admin tasks are not ignored or done poorly due to lack of time.
Question 2 part (b)
Where the team comes from has an impact on the way the project is set up and business as usual activities.
Difference 1:
A functional structure means that the team is entirely formed using functional departments within an organisation and the staff only work 100% within their functional area which gives it a very rigid structure – these members of staff all have specialist skills suited to their function and there is no communication between departments. Whereas a matrix structure pulls members of staff from functional areas across the organisation. This gives rise to a team which has various skill sets as there is communication throughout functional departments and this provides visibility across the organisation
Difference 2:
In a functional structured team, the functional manager/head of functional department is the person that the team reports into. The functional manager has most control over the project work as well as the other business-as-usual activities in the wider function. In contrast to this, in the matrix structure specifically a balanced or strong matrix structure, the project manager has some of the control over the project work and the functional manager acts as a line manager and is mainly involved in appraisals and other activities that are non-project related – which allows the project manager to assign work as they see fit. This also gives rise to dual reporting as team members will report to the project manager about project-based work and they will also have to report to their functional manager (line manager) on other activities where this is not the case with functional structures.
Difference 3:
In a functional structure, the team’s loyalty lies with their function and so they are unable to see the ‘bigger project picture’ and therefore they may not give 100% effort to the project if it means that the business-as-usual tasks come in second/with less priority. With this in mind, this means that there is no conflict between loyalties in functional teams. However, this is not the case in a matrix structure as the team’s loyalty is split between with the project and functional department potential conflict in loyalties due to having accountability towards both the project and respective functional teams
Select two phases of the project life cycle and explain how the roles of project manager and project sponsor differ during those two phases.
Select three of the project roles below and describe their responsibilities throughout the project:
■ Users
■ Project team members
■ Project steering group
■ Product owner
Question part (a)
1) Concept phase – The project sponsor initiates the project due to the business change needs and also owns the business case and this ensures that the project will align with organisations strategic objectives. Whereas during the concept phase the project manager is appointed by the sponsor and their role is to work with the sponsor to help create the business case and they also create the project management plan to ensure that the project is forecasted to be completed within the scope, time and quality constraints.
2) Deployment – During deployment, the sponsor is responsible for attending end of phase/stage gate reviews and their role is to understand the project progress to date and use this information to decide if the project is still desirable, feasible and viable for continuation. On the other hand, the project manager does not participate in the go/no go decision but their focus is primarily on managing the day-to-day functions of the project to ensure it is remaining on track within its constraints. These areas may include project level risks, changes and issue management.
Question 10
Part a.
During the Concept phase the Sponsor develops a business case and schedule along with confirming the case is viable. At this point a Project Manager is normally appointed to develop plans for the Definition phase of the product or output, normally with the help of the Sponsor.
During the Definition phase the Project Manager will confirm the solution is achievable, and confirm the approach is agreeable with the Sponsor. The Project Manager will also create a Project Management Plan, which should include estimates for time, costs, risks and resources, which the Sponsor would then use to update the Business Case.
Question part (b)
1) Team members – In the concept phase, the team is selected for the project and their primary responsibility to support the project manager with managing the project through its scope. As the project runs through its life cycle their responsibilities are to perform the work packages assigned to them, report any risks and changes that come up in the project needed in the project and to keep the project manager informed on general progress.
2) Users – at the start of the project, the users’ responsibilities are to provide the project requirements in as much detail as possible to allow the project to achieve its desired objectives. During the project, the user’s responsibilities are surrounding the reviews of the stages (e.g. gate reviews will enable the users to provide feedback to the project manager and team to enable maximum chance of realising benefits at the end of the project. At the end of the project, it is the user’s responsibility to adopt the project and implement the changes into the environment to enable the benefits to be realised.
3) Steering group – at the start of the project, the steering group ensures that the business case is appropriate and aligned with the strategic objectives of the business. Throughout the project, the steering group through gate reviews, ensure that the project is on track to deliver benefits at the end of the project and also deals with any risks, change requests, issues or conflict that have been escalated through the chain of authority. The steering group also participate in the gate review go/no go decisions depending on if the project is still viable.
Users are defined within the project as those involved in the requirements, deliverables and acceptance of the product/output. Having an involved in testing of the output, having overall authority on the product quality. Users often utilise the products for the benefit of the organisation or company.
Team Leaders/Package Managers are normally specialists in their field and can be often external to the organisation, these are normally the people assigned to carry out the work, reporting to and taking direction from the project manager. They could also be project managers within their own organisation with their own reporting structure alongside that of the project.
The Steering Group provides direction and guidance, this can include inputs beyond the project that may either have or be affected by the project. Chaired by the Sponsor these can also include Users, Suppliers and Key stakeholders. They resolve issues raised by the Project manage who at time may also attend the steering group meetings. At times they may also give “Go /No Go” decisions at the end of each phase of the life cycle of a project.
Differentiate between types of permanent and temporary organisation structures (including functional, matrix and project)
An organisation’s structure impacts the way in which projects are conducted.
It also effects how much authority the project manager holds. A structure that suits business as usual does not essentially suit projects.
Depending upon the nature of the project and the organisation’s principal business, there are important implications for how projects are structured, staffed and managed. See answer => => =>
Functional structures are traditional departments with departmental managers. All department staff report to their own department manager.
Matrix structures provides a balance between department business as usual activities and project activities required by current projects being undertaken. The department staff carry out both BaU and project work and so have dual reporting lines.
Project structures are dedicated to projects only and so the staff report to the project manager only.
Function structures are stronger in routine operations as that is the majority of work undertaken. Matrix structures are balanced between routine operations and projects - matrix structures can be weak or strong. A well established matrix structure is stronger in that it has project management experience.
As project structures are fully dedicated to project activity they tend to be found in organisations that deliver large or high risk projects that required dedicated resources and specialised project team members.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Organisation Types
Functional Organisations
Strengths
Develops strong specialist skills, facilitates efficient resource usage, departmental lines of communication are clear, good if project is contained within one function, a compromise solution for organisations that do not undertake many projects.
Weaknesses
Tends to focus on specialist goals, inadequate integration, inhibits development of general management skills, slow response / rate of change, little customer focus.
Matrix Organisations
Strengths
Balance between projects and business as usual, Integration of projects within functional departments, Specialist knowledge is developed and not lost, Global priorities are visible, Flexible and efficient use of resources.
Weaknesses
Individuals have two or more bosses, project managers feel they have inadequate authority, organisation structure is more complex, functional and project resource problems, Conflict and stress are likely, constant change.
Project Organisation Structure
Strengths
Strong commitment to the project - single purpose and a high degree of autonomy, integration of multiple disciplines, develops general management skills, clear management definition - team members know where they stand, can operate with informal communications, precise budget including transparent PM costs.
Weaknesses
Highly visible - may upset established organisation, Duplication and inefficient resource usage therefore increased costs, Reduced job security and unclear career paths, May be prone to symptoms of ‘groupthink’, Sharing of lessons-learned can be problematic, Team can become distracted near end of project. End of project could mean end of employment.
Explain why aspects of project management governance are required to support the delivery of projects
Policies
Regulations
Functions, Processes, Procedures
Delegated responsibilities
Governance refers to the set of policies, regulations, functions, processes, procedures and responsibilities that define the project’s establishment, it’s management and it’s control.
