Hello again.

So far, we've discussed a functional, a weak matrix, a Balance Matrix

and a strong matrix approach to organizing our project. We've moved along a path of
increasing authority for the project manager. What's next? The next place along the
path of increasing Project Management Authority, is a project based organization.
This is called a Project-Orient Organization by the Project Management Institute,
and many times called a task force organization in the industry. The Project-Orient
organization is the strong Matrix organization turned on its side. It's sometimes
called a task force organization because all the project members are put on a
single task force in a common area. We find these types of organizations, in either
project based companies such as construction companies or engineering firms which
project is in essence a function, or alternately, within a special division or
function of an owner company that does many large projects. In this case the
company is completing many large projects and believes there is an advantage to
having a professional staff of project managers. In this type of organization, most
of the team and all of the key staff members are dedicated to the project. Staff
members are removed from their functions and assigned to the project team on a full
time basis. The project manager becomes their manager and the project is a prime
reporting line. Typically the functions matrix enter the project from the side and
administer the resources on the project. They also provide advice on the technical
aspects of the project and review the deliverables for compliance with
organizational and industry standards. In this organization type, the functional
managers have some level of responsibility to make sure the work is done correctly,
but limited input on how and when it's done. The project manager has final
authority and responsibility on project scope, schedule, budget quality and
technical content. What we're showing is an idealized approach to a project based
organization. In reality many times a project based organization works as a hybrid
between the strong matrix, and the Project-Oriented organization with most
resources dedicated in reporting to the project manager with some still in their
functions and loan that the project as required. The Project-Oriented organization
addresses many of the weaknesses of the Matrix and functional organization
approaches. However, in doing so, it also has to let go of many of the strengths.
The clear advantage of the Project-Oriented organization approach is the clear line
of authority and the single point of responsibility for delivering the project. The
dedicated staff provide flexibility in scheduling, and reacting to changes as the
project manager is in position to control the number of staff as well as their
priorities. The single point of control in the dedicated staff provide the sharpest
level of customer focus. In many cases, the project will match staff members with
their counterparts in the customer organization to increase communication and
focus. With its dedicated staff and sharp focus on the project. This organization's
style offers the best reports and control mechanisms. All of this sounds great if
you're the project manager. Why wouldn't you always want this approach? Well, all
of these benefits come with a cost. In a project-Based organization resource use is
less efficient. Staff is dedicated, and when they're waiting for information or
need additional help, they don't have the other functional resources to fall back
on. They must go out and seek the expertise they need to finish their work, and
this takes additional time and effort. In a project-Based approach each project
becomes a separate function or silo. This means there's less interaction with the
functional expertise in their own departments, and less interaction among projects.
Because the staff is somewhat isolated from their function, the technical oversight
of the project by the functions is weaker. This can lead to quality issues or
project deliverables that don't meet organizational standards, if proper care is
not taken. And finally, into the project the dedicated staff must be reintegrated
back into their organizations. If the organization is growing this is typically not
an issue. However, in tough times, the positions may not be available and
reintegration becomes an issue. To summarize there are three major groups of
project organizations that most projects use;Functions-Based organization, a matrix
or hybrid organization, and a full project oriented or task force organization.
Each has its place and generally the strength of the projects and the project
managers' influence grow stronger, as we move from a functional organization to a
weak matrix to a balance matrix to a strong matrix and ultimately, to a project-
Based organization. Each organization type has its advantages and disadvantages.
Functional based organizations optimize resources and functional input to the
project. These advantages diminish as we give the project manager more and more
control and move up toward the project-Based organization. Project-Based
organizations optimize the scope schedule budget and techno control of the project
manager. It provides the most flexibility in terms of reacting to changes and
coordinating the project activities. These advantages become less and less as we
move down toward the functional organization. The choice on what type of
organization to choose for a project is based on the value the organization places
on each of the strengths and weaknesses that we've discussed in this lesson. The
choice of an organization type is always a trade-off among competing needs of the
organization in the project. The trick is to strike the best balance to deliver the
best value to the organization. In the next video we will examine how to select the
appropriate organization for your project and which factors may govern this choice.