Project Organisation

Pratima Jadhav

Planning
Client Requirement Project Objectives Work Breakdown (WBS) Project Organisation Project Schedule Risk Management Project Budget

Recycle

Project Organisation


Project organisation is a formal team engaged in implementation of the project with clearly defined responsibilities and commensurate authority of the individual team members Size of organisation depends upon the workload, the specialisation involved and the complexity of the project Distribution of work between the owner and contractors also has influence on the owners project team size

Project Manager


Ten specific skills identified for a Project Manager

         

Team building Leadership Conflict resolution Technical expertise Planning Organising Entrepreneurship Administration Management expertise Resource allocation

Project Manager Special Cases



Four major problem areas in staffing projects  Part-time Vs full-time assignments PartfullA

small project (time and cost wise) can be given as a part time assignment to line personnel continuing with their regular assignments  Under conflicting priority situations, project may suffer


Several projects assigned to one Project Manager

 Acceptable

if projects are related or similar  For projects with different priorities, a project with lower priority may suffer

Project Manager Special Cases

 Projects
 For

assigned to functional managers

a high tech project requiring specialised knowledge to be done by a specific department, the line manager can take on the role of project manager  Project may suffer in case of conflicting priorities with the existing line work
 Project
 Not

manager role retained by the General Manager

a desirable situation  Project may suffer for want of requisite attention from the busy executive

Selection of wrong Project Manager - Problems



Maturity


Maturity in project management comes from experience in the particular types of projects and not necessarily from the age only Project manager must adapt a leadership style to the project employees People should be given sufficient freedom to do the job without continuous supervision and direction

HardHard-nosed Tactics
 

Availability


Project managers should not be switched over simply because another individual is available unless he has the requisite experience

Selection of wrong Project Manager - Problems



Technical Expertise
Project manager is an expert in man management technique and his ability to get on with the people rather than for his sheer technical expertise  A technical expert as a project manager may be suitable for a R&D type project needing his expertise


Selection of wrong Project Manager - Problems



Consumer Orientation
Placing individuals as Project managers simply on the request of a customer as simply communicating with the customer does not guarantee project success  In such cases a strong team must necessarily be provided to assist him in getting the project completed


Selection of wrong Project Manager - Problems



New Exposure


There is a risk of project failure if an individual is appointed as a manager to simply gain exposure to project management Mere fact that an individual has worked in a variety of divisions does not guarantee him to be a good project manager

Company Exposure


Organisational Staffing Process



Staffing the project organisation can become a long and tedious effort, specially in large and complex projects
 What

people resources are required?

 Types

of individuals with job descriptions must be decided upon , as well as how many from each category and when will these individuals be required.

Organisational Staffing Process

 Where
 Are

will the people come from?

these going to be new people, which Project Managers do not prefer, or from within the organisation, whom the Line Manager are not willing to spare?  Staffing can also come from Consultants, but only if all available from within are already lined up

Project Office


Project office is an organisation developed to support the project manager in carrying out his duties Responsibilities of the project office include


Acting as a focal point of information for both ininhouse and customer reporting Controlling time, cost, and performance to adhere to contractual requirements Ensuring that all work required is documented and distributed to all key personnel Ensuring that all work performed is both authorised and funded by contractual documentation

Project Organisation


Form of organisation depends upon



Whether the project enterprise is starting its business life with the setting up of the project on hand
 Each

Unit or segment of the project functions as a matrix organisation under the Director (construction) / General Manager (Construction)

Whether the project is undertaken by an ongoing production unit, as an additional facility or renovation/ modernisation

Project Organisation


Geographical location of the head office, the project site and the principal project office  Economy and convenience are considerations here  If head office and project office are far apart
 Separate

head office and field office organisation with a high degree of delegation of duties, powers and authority to Project Manager

Project Organisation


Management philosophy of the project enterprise

 Management

may like to control entire financial authority and adopt a centralised organisation

Three forms of project organisation

Functional organisation  Divisional organisation  Matrix organisation


Functional organisation


Traditional centralised type of organisation with line and staff structure



  

Heads of various functional departments report to the CEO for their respective specialised functions in the management of the project Project manager supported by few area project engineers Clerical staff functions as coordinator and report daily to CEO May have several Project Managers for different work segments
 Suitable

for pure project enterprises with the CEO fully attending to the project only without other more important business

CEO PM
PROJECT CONTROL

FINANCE & ACCOUNTS

PERSONNEL

CONTRACTS ADMINISTR.

PROCUREM ENT

ADMINIS TRATION

SECRETRAIL & LEGAL

ENGINEERING

CONSTRUCTION

FUNCTIONAL PROJECT ORGANISATION

Functional organisation


Advantages
   

Easier budgeting and cost control Better technical control Provides flexibility in the use of manpower Communication channels are vertical and well established No one individual is directly responsible for the total project CoCo-ordination becomes complex and more time required to seek approvals/decisions Decisions normally favour the strongest functional groups Customer focus is lacking

Disadvantages
   

Divisional organisation


Divisional organisation


Involves decentralised project management divisions, each headed by a PM and divided into several sections manned by qualified and experienced staff of the appropriate levels PM concentrates totally on his project without any responsibility about the general management of the enterprise Project schedules and resources mostly entrusted to the PM reporting to the top management
 May

involve improper and not full utilisation of resources as it creates watertight compartments  Suitable for an enterprise with only one project where the idle resources have no profitable use elsewhere

DIVISIONAL PROJECT ORGANISATION

HEAD OFFICE

PROJECT MANAGER PR A

PROJECT MANAGER PR B

PROJECT MANAGER PRC

PROJECT CONTROL DEPT

PROJECT ENGG DEPARTMENT

PROC & MATLS MNGMT DEPT

CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT

PROJECT ADMIN, FINANCE,HR DEPT

Divisional organisation


Advantages
    

Provides complete line authority over the project Project team works directly for the project manager Strong communication channels Provides flexibility in determining time, cost trade-offs tradeFaster decisions More expensive because of duplication Control of functional specialists require top-level topcoordination Lack of opportunities for technical interchange between projects Lack of career opportunities for project personnel

Disadvantages
   

Matrix organisation


Matrix Organisation and Project Team  Two distinct categories of personnel

 At

lower level, recruited solely for the project

Face termination of employment at the end of the project

 Deputed
  

by other functional departments to serve the project

On completion of project they go back to their functional parent department In the project, they report administratively to the PM but professionally continue to report to their functional heads On the project, they represent the interest of their parent department

Most useful form in a multi-plant organisation and multialso a project with several large work packages

CEO
Functional Dept

MATRIX PROJECT ORGN

Project Mngmt Team GM Projects

Secretarial dept GM Engineering

PM Project A Mgr Plng Mgr Est.& Cost. Mgr Prj Engg

PM Project B Mgr Plng Mgr Est.& Cost. Mgr Prj Engg Mgr QA Mgr Commissiong Mgr Matls Mgr Maintce Mgr Fin & A/C Mgr HR & Admn Mgr Const. ( for diff disciplines)

GM Materials GM Finance

Mgr QA Mgr Commissiong Mgr Matls Mgr Maintce Mgr Fin & A/C Mgr HR & Admn Mgr Const. ( for diff disciplines)

GM HR & Admin GM Construction H.O.Const Coordn

Matrix organisation


Advantages
   

Flexibility in the deployment of resources Effectiveness in the usage of specialist skills Better use of experience gained in the organisation for its own benefit Saving in the project cost because of minimum idling Multidimensional information flow and work flow Dual reporting Potential for continuous conflict and conflict resolution Difficulty in monitoring and control Functional managers may be biased according to their own priorities

Disadvantages
    

Planning Manager


An important key person next to the Project Manager Should possess knowledge of Planning, scheduling, controlling techniques, graphical presentations and information technology A qualified engineer and/or project-oriented projecteconomist with personal attributes alike the Project Manager Preferable to have him associated with the project from the beginning to the end

Task force
Special Task Force set up by the management for executing or expediting specific tasks  Procedural guidelines and sufficient authority for decision making given to the task force  Represents members from various functional departments  Task Force dismantled on completion of task


Team Members
Individuals of excellent personal qualities  Should possess


Positive attitude  Good conceptual abilities  Good communication skill and language ability  Dependable character  Knowledge of enterprise and its philosophy  Good knowledge of work


Organisational Staffing Process



What type of project organisational structure will be best?

 How

specialised is the labour?  What should the span of management be?  How much planning is required?  Are authority relationships delegated and understood?  Are there established performance standards?  What is the rate of change of the job required?  Should we have a horizontal or vertical organisation?  Do we need a unity-of-command position? unity-of

Mutual trust between the project and line managers is essential during the staffing sessions

Organisational Staffing Process



Mutual trust between the project managers themselves is also necessary



Project managers must work as a team and recognise each others needs, and be willing to make decisions in the best interest of the company

Line managers often place new employees on projects so that they can be upgraded


Project managers often do not like this and immediately approach top management for help

Organisational Staffing Process



Source of staffing , whether from within the existing organisation or from outside sources such a new hires or consultants, needs to be decided
Outside consultants advisable only if internal resources are fully engaged already and not available, or  Required skill is not available within the company


Virtual Project


Virtual project, also known as distributed team, is one where participants



Are geographically separated such that

 They


may seldom meet face-to-face as a team face-to-

Resulting in difficulties of communication

 Associated

costs of both face-to-face and face-toelectronic communication increase dramatically

Electronic communication takes on much more importance in virtual projects as it makes the development of effective project teams possible

Project Organisation
 

Proper organisational structure is very important for the successful execution of a project Management of the project depends to a large extent on the type of team members forming the project teams There is no such thing as good or bad organisation  Organisation is only appropriate or inappropriate one Project Manager plays a key role in any project by providing good Leadership and Motivation to the team members to complete the project within the budgeted time and cost

Thank You

References
Project Management : Harold Kerzner  Project Management & Control : Narendra Singh  Total Project Management : P. K. Joy  Project Management: A Managerial Approach : Jack R. Meredith & Samuel J. Mantel, Jr.