Project Organisation Flashcards
3 types of project team structure
- Matrix
- Functional
- Project
Functional Structure
Very clear organisational reporting lines Projects undertaken within line or org structure Project team is part of a permanent structure Department Head acts as project sponsor Member of department acts as PM
Strengths & Weaknesses of Functional Structures
Strengths:
- Maintains cohort of skilled staff Staff know who they report to
- Able to apply learnings back into the permanent structure
- Technical functional knowledge strong
Weaknesses:
- Less flexible
- Less able to adopt project working over BAU
- PM knowledge may not be strong
- Wider org may not be aware of the project
Matrix Structure
PMs able to draw on resources across org Project team set up for specific and temporary initiative All project staff report to respective line managers So PM is not acting as line manager for team
Strengths & Weaknesses of Matrix Structures
Strengths:
- Project visible to whole org
- Appropriate structure of intra-org projects and change
- Visibility of resource skills available
- PMs have some authority over staff
- Specialist skills retained
Weaknesses:
- Needs focus on resource management
- Priority conflicts for staff between project and line mgr
- Project managers need good communication and influencing skills
Project Structure
PM in charge Project org only exists for purpose of running constituent projects Skeleton company org and project teams brought together when needed and disbanded afterwards
Strengths & Weaknesses of Project Structures
Strengths:
- Clear focus on project objectives
- PM clearly in charge
- Not distracted by wider management responsibilities
- Clear roles without crossing org boundaries
Weaknesses:
- Little or no career progression
- No long-term job security
- Little opportunity to balance resources across projects
- Experience tends to leave org at end of project
- More variable amount of work
The Project Office / PMO
- Solid project-supporting structure is essential for project success
- Support may be extended to a PMO
- Not all orgs have a PMO, projects don’t merit the investment
- For those that do, it can vary widely in size, capability and role it provides
PMO Roles
PMO may provide some or all of the following:
- Administrative support & guidance
- Controls & reporting
- Information & configuration management
- Coaching & mentoring of PMs
- Project assurance (in a central PMO independent of PM)
- CoE/Enterprise PMO - advising and improving processes, tools and techniques, driving best practice and continual improvement
Embedded PMO
- Temporary
- Delivered under control of PM
- Providing project admin & reporting
- Not able to provide project assurance
- Effective on large projects/programmes able to justify cost of team
Central PMO/EPMO
- Majority of functions sit outside each project/programme team
- Appropriate where org has many ongoing projects/programmes - provides flexibility & economies of scale
- May provide full range of services, specifically
- Project assurance
- CoE
- Cost may be cross-charged to projects/programmes
Hub & Spoke PMO
- Hybrid form with central/portfolio PMO linked to satellite PMOs in individual projects/programmes
- Requires clear roles & responsibilities between hubs and central PMO to ensure processes and info are managed effectively and without duplication
EPMO Benefits
- Focal point for Project Management
- Standardisation across projects & adherence to those standards
- Reduces probability of taking on unsatisfactory projects
- Facilitates cross-functional projects
- Ensures that all projects are aligned with corp goals
- Promotes PM skill development
- Coordinates resources across projects
- Takes away routine tasks from PMs
- Facilitates better portfolio management
- Improved communication with senior management
- Provides better management visibility
- Captures and implements best practice
- Ensures mandatory policies and procedures continue to be embedded in org culture
