Project Management Basics - The Environment (In Which Projects Operate)

Organizational Systems - Purpose

- A system a collection of various components that produce results not obtainable by the individual components alone. - A system component an identifiable element that provides a particular function or group of related functions. - Creates the organizational culture and capabilities. - Comprised of multiple factors that created a unique structure and can impact the project operating in that system. - Determines the power, influences, interest, competentes, and political capabilities of the people within it. - Projects operate within the boundaries imposed by the organization-through its structure and governance framework. - When changes office between the systems and the environment, changes occur within the components themselves. - To operate effectively, you need to understand where responsibility, accountability, and authority reside within the organization.

Organizational Systems - Management Elements

- Components that dictate the principles and functions of management in an organization. - The management elements are allocated to people in the organization according to its governance framework and the organizational structure type. - The authority given to perform work. - The division of work using specialized skills and availability to perform work. - Any discipline of action. - Being paid fairly for work-performed. - Demonstrating that the goals of the organization take precedence over individual goals.

EEFs External to the Organization

- Marketplace conditions - Social and cultural influences and issues - Legal restrictions - Commercial databases - Academic research - Government or industry standards - Financial considerations - Physical environmental elements

Plans, Processes, Policies and Procedures

- Not updated as a result of the project work. - Established by the project management office. - Can only be updated by following organizational policies. 1. Initiating and Planning 2. Executing, Monitoring, and Controlling 3. Closing

Organization Process Assets (OPA's)

- OPAs include any artifact, practice, or knowledge from any or all of the organizations involved in the project. - The plans, processes, policies, procedures, and knowledge bases specific to and used by the performing organization. - The assets influence the management of the project. - Internal to the organization, and may arise from the organization itself. - Plans, processes, policies, and procedures - Organizational knowledge repositories

Organizational Systems - Governance

- Organizational arrangements designed to determine and influence the behavior of the organization's members. - Considers people, roles, structures, and policies; - Requires providing direction and oversight through data and feedback; and - Acts as the framework that exercises authority in an organization; and - Includes rules, policies, procedures,norms, relationships, systems and processes within the organization. - Can influence: How the objectives of an organization are set and achieved; How risk if monitored and assessed; How performance is optimized. Project governance referees to the framework that guides project management activities in order to meet organizational, strategic, and operational goals. A governance framework should be tailored to the needs of the organization in order to be effective.

Organization Systems - Organizational Structure Types

- Organizational structures define the way different responsibilities are allocated between different entities of the organization. - The structure of an organization can be different depending on factors like the organizations' objective, strategy or industry. - Each organization considers numerous factors for inclusion in its organizational structure. - Each factor has a different level of importance in the final analysis. - The combination of the factor, its value, and relative importance provides the organization's decision makers with the right information for inclusion. - The final structure for a given organization is unique due to the numerous variables to be considered. - Factors include: degree of alignment with organization objectives; specialization capabilities, the span of organization control, efficiency, and effectiveness; a clear o path for the escalation of decisions

Enterprise Environmental Factors (EEF's)

- Originate from the environment outside the project and often outside the enterprise. - Uncontrollable conditions that influence, constrain, or direct the project. - Internal or external to the organization. - Positive or negative influence on the outcome of the project. - Considered as inputs to project management processes, especially those around planning.

Influences

- Projects exist and operate in environments that may have an influence on them. - These influences can have either a favorable or unfavorable impact on the project.

Organizational Knowledge Repositories

- Since OPAs are used to inform future work and are internal to the organization, they can be updated continuously throughout the project as knowledge about the project is understood. - The organizational knowledge bases of a project will store and retrieve important information regarding various factors

Project Management Office (PMO)

- Support strategic alignment - Liaison between an organization's portfolios, programs, projects and the organization's measurement systems - Responsibilities may range from providing management support functions to the direct management of one or more projects. - Responsibilities may range from providing project management support functions to the direct management of one or more projects. - May act as a group of stakeholders, and may also support project managers. - Vary in the degree of influence it has on a project.

EEFs Internal to the Organization

-Organizational culture, structure, and governance -Geographic distribution of facilities and resources -Infrastructure -Information technology software -Resource availability -Employee capability

Organizational Structure Types Cont.

Matrix-weak: similar to the functional organizational structure because people are organized in entities based on their speciality. Project coordination is done at the lower levels of the organization by a group of employees. They coordinate the project and have operational responsibilities. Matrix-balanced: similar to the functional organizational structure because people are organized in entities based on their speciality. However, in this entity, one of the employee assumes the role of project manager and has double responsibility-operational and for the project. Project-Oriented: structured and oriented around projects. Organizations' entities are created to manage, support and implement a specific project. At the end of the project, if no other project is started, the entities are adjourning and employees move to another organization. Project Management Office (PMO): an organizational structure that standardizes project-related governance, processes and facilities, etc.

Organizational Structure Types

Organic or Simple: simplest type of organizational structure. It presumes flat reporting and a large number of employees for each manager. Functional (centralized): people are organized in entities based on their specialties an entities. Managers control and decide on most of the operational aspects. Multi-Divisional: organization is composed from multiple divisions which act independently. There is a higher entity (parent-company) who has the high-level control but at the same time gives autonomy. Virtual: disseminated entities require specific technology to work and communicate. Employs similar structures with other functional structures, but with entities located in different areas. Hybrid: combines a different type of organization structure; like a multi divisional structure with functional or balanced with a strong matrix structure. Matrix-strong: similar to the functional organizational structure because people are organized in entities based on their specialities.

Organizational Systems

Organizational systems play a significant role in the life cycle of the project. System factors can impact the power, influence, interests, competencies, and political capabilities of the people that act within the organizational system.