The Project-Driven Organization


An alternative to the matrix organizational model is to create an organization around your key projects (see Figure 3-8). In this way, you develop a portfolio of projects that become your business. As technical project uncertainties create change from within, the business model adapts in turn. And when external influences force changes in the business, the project portfolio is able to more quickly absorb and compensate for the changes.

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Figure 3-8: A project-based organization integrates the business strategy with the projects.

The project-driven organization is better suited to agile project environments (see Figure 3-9), with the key point being that business and project decision making are better integrated than in the matrix. The sole goal of project teams is to achieve the business objectives. The multiple, separate, and often conflicting objectives of the matrix organization don't exist. The silo mentality that so often inhibits project progress, especially when it involves changing requirements, is eliminated. Finally, your unique and key players can be put in place to guide your most important projects, the ones defining your business, without encountering obstacles from competing functional management.

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Figure 3-9: Project-based versus matrix organizations in agile and classic project environments.

Capitalizing on the strengths of your key personnel can be one of your strongest arguments for developing a project-driven organization. You can usually find ways to design your organization around your best performers, based on their specific skills, while still remaining on target with your higher-level objectives. This is not to say that you should be catering to the childish whims of a few eccentrics in your organization. However, you should be looking for ways to maximize their contribution and influence across your project set so it favorably impacts your ability to meet business objectives. After all, if your projects are your business and your key players are the heart and soul of your project, then it stands to reason that your key players are your business.

When there is a lot of energy spent on organization or silo building, as in the matrix model, it's easy to lose sight of the ball. If you play in an agile environment of constant change, then losing sight of your core strategies will be fatal. You need to document the key business objectives that will make you successful, define the projects necessary to execute on those objectives, and then fluently manage the change, whether it's driven by the projects or the external environment.

Agile Strategy

Keep your business strategies in sight by:

  1. Defining your key business objectives

  2. Defining a set of projects that will deliver on those objectives

  3. Managing the project execution in an environment that integrates the project and the business

There is no argument regarding the effectiveness of the matrix management approach, despite its shortcomings and inefficiencies. However, in smaller and more agile companies, if the inefficiencies start to outweigh the benefits, then it's time to consider transitioning from strict matrix management to more of a project-based approach.




Agile Project Management(c) How to Succeed in the Face of Changing Project Requirements
Agile Project Management: How to Succeed in the Face of Changing Project Requirements
ISBN: 0814471765
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2006
Pages: 96
Authors: Gary Chin

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