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Project organisations are created independently by specialists and employees from various departments. It is the configuration the project. It is a process where the question of, ‘How’ decisions will be made during project, is determined (Hughes, 2019).
A well ordered project organisation, means that all team members know exactly where they stand, with regards to what they need to accomplish and what their authority is during the project (Hughes, 2019).
There are three common project organisation forms:
1 - The Functional Organisation:
The project is divided up into smaller groups of specialised departments, such as Human Resources, Marketing, Financing and so on. These specialised departments then report to top management. This vertical management structure allows for employees to communicate with each other, in their departments. The head of the departments will then liaise with each other (UpCounsel, 2021). This organisation form is appropriate where both part time and full time employees are required and where the project is small to medium in size.
The advantage of a functional structure is that production is more efficient, as employees with comparable skill sets are grouped together. Communication within this structure is streamlined, as all employees answer to one head of department. There is a direct path for promotion, of employees, up the functional organisation structure. This structure facilitates the learning of new employees (UpCounsel, 2021).
The disadvantages of such a structure is that the continuous repetition of tasks can result in employees becoming uninterested. Employees in one department may not necessarily have any knowledge about other departments, almost like working in a bubble. This structure is inflexible, making changes difficult to implement.
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2 - Pure Project Organisation
Here, the project manager has authority and employees are given different projects under different managers (Sherman, 2021). This project organisation is suitable for large projects, with full time employees.
The advantages with pure project organisation is that employees are able to identify with the project and concentrate on it. Managers in this type of organisation are able to efficiently utilise resources and team members capabilities (Sherman, 2021).
Employees may find it difficult to move from one project to another and then back again. There is no clear promotional path for employees to move up the ranks.
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3 - The Matrix Organisation
This hybridised structure results in employees having more than one manager to report to. Employees are given tasks outside of their department, for a short amount of time. Therefore, teams comprise of individuals with a wide range of expertise (Economic Times, 2021).
This is beneficial, in that diversity in teams promotes problem solving efficiency. Employees are able to glean knowledge from other departments, resulting in overall development of the individual (Economic Times, 2021).
Disadvantages include, employees not knowing which manager or head of department to report to, causing confusion. Team members may be unclear about their role and responsibilities (Economic Times, 2021).
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Assembling the Project Team
A project team is a group of individuals that work together to reach a common goal. Teams are made up of the project manager, departmental managers, team leaders and team members (Yarbrough, 2021).
After the tasks and deadlines for these tasks have been added into project management software, the skills needed to complete these tasks must be determined and heads of departments or managers need to source individuals with these skill sets. These individuals can be sourced from within the organisation or from outside the organisation. Sub-contractors may also be used.
There are three steps to creating a project team:
Consider interdepartmental needs
Create communication practices
Clearly define expectations (Yarbrough, 2021)
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