Lecture 6 - Project Organisation Flashcards
What is functional organisation and what are its properties (silo criteria)?
Functional Organisation is when the project is split into “management silos” (functional units).
Silo criteria:
- Business function
- Product group
- Customer type (e.g. B2C/B2B, military/civil)
- Geographical region
- Subsidary
Projects are initiated by unit heads and run by ad hoc teams.
What are the advantages of ‘functional organisation’?
- Specialisation inside units allows to develop and grow expertise (product quality, process efficiency).
- Clear career paths for employees within each unit.
What are the disadvantages of ‘functional organisation’?
- Customer needs are often not met by individual functions.
- Rivalries between units makes cross-unit tasks inefficient.
- Project manager has no formal authority over project team.
When should you use ‘functional organisation’?
Functional organisations are common in manufacturing industries.
Typical projects include new IT systems, and minor change to an existing product.
What is pure project organisation and what are its properties (what do the project teams consist of?)?
Pure project organisation is where each project is completely autonomous (with all support functions)
Project team can consist of:
- Permanent employees (employed by the organisation).
- Contractors (employed for the duration of the project only).
What are the advantages of ‘pure project organisation’?
- Fast and tailored delivery via dedicated project teams.
- Adequate mix of expertise can be chosen for each project.
- Flexible labour force (especially if contractors are used).
- Project manager has full authority and full accountability.
What are the disadvantages of ‘pure project organisation’?
- Difficult to learn from past projects (project teams change all the time).
- Limited commitment to long-term success (after project completion).
- High costs due to organisational redundancies and contractor salaries.
- Career instability for project team members.
When should you use ‘pure project organisation’?
Typical products include:
- Construction/consulting companies
- Movies
- Political campaigns
What is ‘matrix organisation’? Give examples of the different types of matrix also.
Matrix organisation lies half way between the two other methods of project organisation and involves two distinct scenarios:
- Weak matrix:
- Project manager is coordinator among departments
(only gets capacity from departments, not team members).
E.g. South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism.
- Strong matrix: project manager has authority over personnel (gets headcount: team that works full-/part-time on project).
E.g.g DCCD (engineering consultancy in the Philippines).
In matrix organisation, the project manager decides when and what, and the functional managers who and which technology!
As you move from weak to strong matrices, the authority & responsibility of PM increases
What are the advantages of ‘matrix organisation’?
- Ideally, combine of the advantages from functional organization (specialization, career paths), and pure project organization (speed, flexibility, …)
What are the disadvantages of ‘matrix organisation’?
- Weak matrix:
- Functional units can easily lead projects off course (since project manager only gets capacity). - Strong matrix:
- High coordination expenses.
- Two bosses problem: teams report to functional and project managers.
- Conflicting priorities: between functional and project work.
When should you use ‘matrix organisation’?
- Weak matrix:
- Initiatives on top of day-to-day business - Strong matrix:
- Consulting/construction projects, new product development
Draw the graph which helps to choose the right form of organisation for the different projects.
…
What is the case study for project organisation?
Microsoft.
In July 2013, Microsoft announced a move from a divisional to a functional structure.
Hopefully to improve efficiency and company culture.
Reduced accountability and was hard as the project was so large in scale and formed commonalities between product lines.
