Project Organization

There is no single organizational approach to projects. Each project is organized to accomplish the work
effectively and efficiently. Several factors influence the organizational approach to execute a project. The
complexity profile of a project, the culture of the parent organization, the preferences of the project
manager, the knowledge and skills of the team, and a parent organization with a project management
office are examples of factors that influence the project’s organization.

Most projects have similar functions that are important to successfully managing the project. Included
among these are the following:

 Sponsor
 Project manager
 Controls
 Procurement
 Technical management
 Quality
 Administration

Figure 2.1 Typical Project Organization

On smaller projects, more than one function can be managed by one person. On larger projects, large
teams may be needed to accomplish the work within the function.

Project Sponsor
The project sponsor is outside the day-to-day operations of the project and has the organizational
authority to provide resources and overcome barriers for the project. The project sponsor is typically a
leader in the parent organization with an interest in the outcome of the project. As a leader in the parent
organization, the project sponsor can provide input into the project scope and other documents that define
project success. The guidance and support from the project sponsor enhances the ability of the project to
successfully meet the parent organization’s objectives.

Project Manager
Project managers often have the breadth of responsibility associated with corporate chief executive
officers (CEOs). The project manager facilitates the start-up of a project and develops the staff, resources,
and work processes to accomplish the work of the project. He or she manages the project effectively and
efficiently and oversees the closeout phase. Some projects are larger than major divisions of some
organizations, with the project manager responsible for a larger budget and managing more risk than most
of the organizational leaders.

Project Control
In general, project controls is both the planning function and the function that tracks progress against the
plan. Project control provides critical information to all the other functions of the project and works
closely with the project manager to evaluate the cost and scheduling impact of various options during the
life of a project.

The following are typical activities included within the project controls function:

 Estimating
 Tracking costs
 Analyzing trends and making projections
 Planning and scheduling
 Managing change
 Tracking progress against schedule

Project Procurement
The approach to purchasing the supplies and equipment needed by the project is related to the complexity
profile of the project. A small project with a low complexity level may be able to use the procurement
services of the parent organization. In an organization where project resources reside in various
departments, the departments may provide the supplies and equipment each team member of the project
may need.

Technical Management
The technical management on the project is the management of the technology inherent in the project—
not the technology used by the team to manage the project. The technical complexity on a project can
vary significantly. The technological challenges required to build a bridge to span a five-hundred-meter
canyon are significantly different from those required to span a five-thousand-meter body of water. The
technological complexity of the project will influence the organizational approach to the project.
Project Quality
Project quality is often part of the technical manager’s responsibility. On large projects or projects with a
high degree of technical complexity, the quality is sometimes a separate function reporting to the project
manager. The project quality manager focuses on the quality of the project work processes and not the
quality of the client’s product.

Project Administration
The administrative function provides project specific support such as the following:

 Accounting services
 Legal services
 Property management
 Human resources (HR) management
 Other support functions found in most organizations

In most organizations, support for these functions is provided by the parent organization. For example,
people assigned to the project will get human resources (HR) support from the HR department of the
parent organization. Salary, benefits, and HR policies for employees assigned to the project will be
supported out of the HR department. The parent organization will provide accounting functions such as
determining the cost of cash, taxes, year-end project reports, and property disposal at the end of the
project.

Project Team Roles and Responsibilities

Successful projects are usually the result of careful planning and the talent and collaboration of a project
team. Projects can’t move forward without each of its key team members, but it’s not always clear who
those members are, or what roles they play. Here, we’ll explain five project team roles – project manager,
project team member, project sponsor, executive sponsor and business analyst – and describe each of their
responsibilities.

Project Manager
The project manager is primarily responsible for the successful completion of a project. The project
manager’s role is to ensure that the project proceeds within the specified time frame and under the
established budget while achieving its objectives. Project managers make sure that projects are given
sufficient resources while managing relationships with contributors and stakeholders.

Project Manager Responsibilities

Project manager responsibilities may include:

 Developing a project plan

  Managing deliverables according to the plan
 Recruiting project staff
 Leading and managing the project team
 Determining the methodology used on the project
 Establishing a project schedule and determining each phase
 Assigning tasks to project team members
 Communicating with upper management

Project Team Member

Project team members are the individuals who actively work on one or more phases of the project. They
may be in-house staff or external consultants, working on the project on a full-time or part-time basis.
Project team member roles can vary according to each project.

Project Team Member Responsibilities

Project team member responsibilities often include:

 Contributing to overall project objectives

 Completing individual deliverables
 Providing expertise
 Working with users to establish and meet business needs
 Documenting the process

Project Sponsor
The project sponsor is the driver and in-house champion of the project. They are typically members of
senior management and have a stake in the project’s outcome. Project sponsors work closely with the
project manager. They legitimize the project’s objectives and participate in high-level project planning.
They also often help resolve conflicts and remove obstacles that occur throughout the project life cycle
and sign off on approvals needed to advance each project phase.

Project Sponsor Responsibilities

The project sponsor’s responsibilities usually include:

 Making key business decisions for the project

 Approving the project budget
 Ensuring availability of resources
 Communicating the project’s goals throughout the organization

Business Analyst
The business analyst defines a business’s needs and recommends solutions to make the organization
better. When participating on a project team, they ensure that the project’s objectives solve existing
business problems or enhance performance, and add value to the organization. They can also help
maximize the value of the project deliverables.

Business Analyst Responsibilities

On a project team, the business analyst’s responsibilities include:

 Assisting in defining the project

 Gathering requirements from business units or users
 Documenting technical and business requirements
 Verifying that project deliverables meet the requirements
 Testing solutions to validate objectives

Staffing a Project Team

Putting together the project team is a vital part of making a project successful. Without the right people in
place, the project will not go very far. You need to spend the correct amount of time at the beginning of
the project reviewing the team and determining who belongs and who does not—and those are not easy
decisions. You need to have a solid management plan in place in order to staff the project correctly. It will
not happen overnight—and you need to be willing to make those tough decisions for the benefit of the
project.

The Staffing Plan
The staffing plan should describe how you will place the resources into the project and how they will be
managed throughout the entire lifecycle. Within this project management plan, you need to detail how
people will be brought into the project, whether they are new hires or contractors, assigned from other
areas in the organization or part of a matrixed organization.

The plan should describe how the team is brought up to speed, how it will be placed into the project and
how everyone will be organized. Everyone should have a clear understanding of who is making decisions,
who can help them work through any issues and who is assigning the work from a high-level viewpoint.

Evaluating Needs
When looking at the list of tasks and the schedule for the project, you have to perform a very careful
evaluation of the needs of the project. You should understand how many people are needed to complete
the task. This becomes difficult when you try to understand which tasks can be aided by more people and
which tasks are limited to the number of people working on them; sometimes, too many people can
actually slow things down.

In addition, you should have a good idea of the large phases of the project and how many resources will
be needed for each phase. There should be a ramping up time at the beginning and a ramping down time
at the end, but this can vary depending upon the project and the schedule.
Evaluating Resources
Staffing a project can be different than hiring employees. You do not always get a choice of who is
available for the project, but you still need to go through a process to ensure that the people working on
the project have the correct skill set and experience. You should also use this time to communicate how
processes will work on the project and how information will be communicated throughout the project,
especially if people are being matrixed into the project from other areas.

Making Decisions
After evaluating everything and everyone, then you have to make decisions. You may look at a resource
and decide that they are not the right fit for the project, or you may be glad to get certain people on the
project. You need to take all the factors into account in order to make a solid informed decision.

Closing the Circle
No matter where you are in the project—whether at the beginning in the planning phase, in the middle of
execution or at the end preparing lessons learned—you need to be able to close the circle with the staff
working on the project and their managers.

What is organizational training?

Organizational training is the process of transferring knowledge within an organization.

This type of training focuses on developing employees for their current jobs. But it also prepares
them for future roles and responsibilities.

Through organizational training, employees can develop new skills. Organizational training is also
used to teach employees about the specific systems, processes, and tools the organization uses.  

Usually, training and organizational development fall under human resources.

Successful training courses give employees the tools and knowledge to support a company's
business objectives.

Project Communication Management

Project communication management is a collection of processes that help make sure the right messages
are sent, received, and understood by the right people. 

Project communication management is one of the 10 key knowledge areas in the PMBOK (Project

Management Book of Knowledge). The processes included in this area have changed over the years but,
in the current version, there are three primary project communication management processes.
These are:

1. Plan communications management

2. Manage communications

3. Monitor communications

How to create a project communication

management plan
Project managers need to clearly outline how they will manage communications across their projects.
This is done by creating a project communication management plan.

When creating a plan, project managers should follow these five steps:

1. Decide your objectives: What will be the purpose of your communication? You may use some
communication tools for awareness, such as a status report. Others may require action, such as
requiring a sponsor to authorize spending or a customer to approve project testing.

2. Determine your audience: Who are the stakeholders in this project? You should make an
extensive list of everyone involved. Consider anyone impacted by the project or who influences
its success. This list should include team members, sponsors, customers, and other interested
parties.

3. Write your message: What will the message be for each type of communication? This is the
actual content that will be shared. Key components to be communicated include scope, schedule,
budget, objectives, risks, and deliverables.

4. Choose your channel: How will the message be delivered? Will it be a formal report emailed out
to all stakeholders? Or will it be an informal verbal debrief during a team meeting?

5. Set a timeline: When will you deliver your message? Do your stakeholders require weekly or
monthly reports? Is there a deadline to meet? Consider varying time zones and employee
schedules here.

Manage project communication

Once the project communication management plan has been created and approved, it’s the project
manager’s job to ensure it’s carried out successfully. This means the plan needs to be reviewed and
updated on a regular basis to reflect any changes to the project or its stakeholders. 

The project manager also has to manage the execution of the project communication management plan.
This includes:

1. Collection and analysis of data

 2. Creation of messages for communication

3. Transmission or distribution of communications

4. Storage of any communication reports, files, or documents

5. Retrieval of any stored communications

6. Disposal of any old communications upon project closure or a set date

Monitor project communication

This process used to be called ‘control communications,’ but was updated in the sixth edition of the
PMBOK. Despite the title change, the process is the same. It involves monitoring and controlling project
communications throughout the entire lifecycle.

This may include the confirmation of the following:

 Communications went out as planned

 They were received by the proper stakeholders

 Messages were understood

 Any relevant feedback was provided to the appropriate project members

The actual type of monitoring, including method and frequency, should be a part of the project
communication management plan.

How to be successful at project communication management

Excellent communication is a critical component of project success. In fact, poor communication is one of

the main reasons a project can fail. Project communication management ensures that does not happen.

Successful project managers use formal and informal communication methods across various channels.
This helps increase the chances that messages are received. Use simple language, stick to relevant topics,
keep messages concise, and include all information in one place to reduce your chances
of communication failure.

The following communication management skills can also increase a project manager’s chances of

success:

 Strong active listening skills

 Proficient writing skills

 Excellent speaking ability

 Asking questions and probing for more information

 Setting and managing expectations

 Motivating people to become and stay engaged

 Conflict resolution skills

 The ability to summarize and recap what you’ve heard