Organizations in Project Management

Project management is a set of tools and techniques that are used to organize the work of the project to help bring about a successful project. Programs are groups of related projects that are managed using the same techniques in a coordinated fashion. Portfolios are collections of programs and projects that meet a specific business goal or objective. Depending on the organizational structures, the project manager’s level of authority will vary. There are three types:

• Functional
• Projectized
• Matrix

A common structure is the functional organization. A functional organization is grouped by function or specialty. We can have a billing group, programming group, marketing group, and a sales group. This type of organization is setup as a hierarchy. Staff reports to managers who report to department heads and up the chain it goes. The disadvantage of functional organizations is the project manager has little to no formal authority. Good communication skills in needed to have a successful completion of the project. The resources assigned to a project might also be doing other projects. Competition for resources is common.

Projectized organizations are the opposite of functional organizations. The organizational chart is group under a project manager. Project managers have ultimate authority over their projects. By organizing under a project manager, the focus is on the project. Usually team members are co-located which means they are in the same place. Once a project is done the team is dissolved and members are released to other projects.

Matrix organizations are a mix between the functional and projectized organizations. In this type of organization, the employee reports to a project manager and a functional manager. Functional managers tend to handle the administration and assign them to projects. Project managers assign the project tasks. This requires a balance of power between the two managers. There are three types, strong, weak and balanced. The strong matrix, more power is given to the project manager. In the strong matrix, the project manager has significant authority and reports to a manager of projects. The weak matrix, more power is given to the functional manager. The project manager in a weak matrix will report to the functional manager.