Top Project Management Benefits Explained
Top Project Management Benefits Explained
Imagine a scenario where a project was handled on the fly. There would be no
requirements chalked out, no schedules for delivery and no monitoring of product
quality. The team might not have any action plan in place, and perhaps wouldn’t even
know where to start! With no communication, no planning, and no strategy, this would
undoubtedly be a recipe for disaster. Most projects are complex and challenging, and
require a fine balance between meeting user needs, sticking to the allocated budget,
optimizing resources, keeping within the scope, maintaining quality and completing on
time. Without a structured approach to all these factors, it would become impossible to
deliver a successful project.
Top 10 Benefits of Project Management
Here are some of the top benefits that a well-defined project management strategy brings to an
organization.
1. Better Planning
Project management allows the team to see the big picture. When requirements are
captured, budgets are planned, timelines are mapped out and there are realistic,
achievable targets, the project can get off on the right foot and stay on track.
5. Enhanced quality
Project managers are always under pressure to perform better than their best. Budgets
are inevitably tight and timelines are short, but with the right project planning quality
control can be achieved. Methodologies like Scrum and Kanban facilitate planning and
ensure that the quality standards are met.
7. Increased productivity
Proper planning of time, budget and resources, and having efficient systems and
processes in place, leads to the team being able to roll out products faster and with
enhanced quality. This increases team productivity and boosts the organization’s
bottom-line.
8. Increased flexibility
Today’s projects must be able to adapt to changing requirements, and without the right
project management this will become impossible. With flexibility at the core, project
managers can navigate their way around volatile market needs and course correct as
needed to meet customer expectations.
9. Happy employees
As the team works with heightened efficiency, greater communication and more
collaboration, team morale is bound to increase. With the rollout of a successful project,
the team will gain confidence and stay engaged, looking to perform even better the next
time round. Project managers can inspire and motivate teams by incentivizing top
Introspections at the end of each project cycle allow for continuous improvement, where
the team can look back on the completed work and try to list out what went wrong and
what could have been improved. Agile frameworks factor in regular reviews and
retrospectives where the main agenda is to find out how the team can collectively better
themselves.
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A project manager ensures careful planning, direction and alignment of the company's strategic
goals. These professionals guide their teams to work on the right things at the right time and
motivate them to meet critical project deadlines and achieve project milestones. Understanding
why project managers are essential can help you achieve business objectives, ensure projects
stay within the budget and increase the team's productivity. In this article, we highlight the
importance of a project manager and outline the key skills required to become a successful
project manager.
Creates a focus
Typically, projects that last for months or years can be challenging for companies to manage.
That is why they rely on project managers to define the scope of a project and ensure it follows
a specific deadline for a task or goal. A clear scope and strict deadlines make it easier for
companies and team members to focus on the objective and organisational goals. A clear focus
ensures proper planning to execute the project efficiently. These managers can ensure focus by
breaking the project into smaller chunks where every team member works on a clear focus.
Ensures quality
One of the most critical aspects of implementing project management is delivering quality
projects on time and within budget. To ensure a project manager delivers a satisfactory project,
these professionals monitor their team's progress and quality of work. They help in finding
acceptable solutions to problems that a project might incur. A project manager's job duty may
involve identifying obstacles that can affect the quality of the final output.
Reduces risk
A part of a project manager's job role involves evaluating whether the project's risks outweigh
the benefits. When a company chooses to continue with a project, these managers assess
potential risks and create plans to minimise these project-related risks. When a project has
fewer risks, it ensures timely delivery of the project, and they get completed within a specified
budget.
Provides leadership
A project manager is a professional who brings leadership to the entire project and process.
Using their leadership skills, these professionals provide guidance, motivation, direction and
inspiration to the entire project team. A project manager keeps the team together and each
team member works towards achieving a common organisational goal. Without a project
manager, a project is likely to go in any direction, under control and without a motive.
Encourages teamwork
The project manager encourages team members to work together to achieve an organisational
goal and fix project-related problems. Using their leadership and communication skills, these
professionals ensure increased collaboration among the team members. They encourage every
team member to share ideas and knowledge related to the project. This can help them deliver
projects on time and within budget.
Leadership skills
To ensure the completion of each project phase, these professionals require leadership skills.
This primarily involves administering realistic deadlines, making direct decisions and managing
budget costs. Leadership skills help these professionals set realistic and achievable
expectations for the team and resolve situations of conflict.
Adaptability
Another critical skill for a project manager is adaptability. Adaptability allows these professionals
to adjust to changing technology, businesses, demographics and trends. By embracing learning
and being open-minded, these professionals can ensure the successful completion of the
project. This skill set allows a project manager to lead their team in the right direction.
Communication skills
Having excellent communication skills is essential for developing a strong relationship with team
members and stakeholders. A project manager requires excellent communication skills to
understand the project's scope and communicate the same to the team members. These
professionals require proficiency in verbal and written communication skills. Also, a project
manager shares the right information with the right people using the right channel at the right
time.
Time management
Time management is a crucial skill required by a project manager. It primarily involves
identifying and communicating how your project team spends their time. Often, these
professionals complete a project for a short duration, requiring effective time management. Time
management is about creating and maintaining timelines throughout the project's lifecycle.
Multitasking skills
As project managers might handle more than one project at a time, employers prefer
professionals who can multitask. These managers create an effective work environment and
save time because of their ability to concurrently complete tasks. The ability to multitask helps
these professionals remain detailed-oriented and on schedule.
The Triple Constraints of Project Management serve as a model for constraints that
come with project management. These three constraints are:
● Cost: The project budget, which serves as the financial constraint in a project
● Scope: The activities necessary to achieve the project's goals
● Time: The project's schedule based on which the project will be completed
To better reflect the most crucial elements of a project, some project management
experts have included these additional limitations to the model:
● Quality: Every project has quality criteria, regardless of whether the end
delivery has a tangible or intangible output. To control quality, project
managers require a quality management plan.
● Risk: Risk is an unavoidable part of any project. Project managers need to
assess and come up with a risk management plan that estimates and
elaborates on how risks would be managed.
● Benefit: Various types of benefits are profited out of projects. A project
manager ensures that the best financial benefits are available for project
stakeholders.
What Is Project Organization in Project Management?
The term project organization refers to the style of coordination, communication, and
management the project team uses throughout a project lifecycle. By applying project
organization, you optimize resources, provide clear communication about roles and
responsibilities, and reduce potential roadblocks.
Why Is Project Organization Important?
Project managers use project organization to align team members before and during a
project. The process minimizes disruption to your workflow and conflict among team
members, as well as leads to maximum productivity among team members involved in a
project.
While excellent project organization strategy and execution are important, you also
need to consider the opportunity cost of a poorly organized project.
Anthony C. Taylor, Managing Partner and Lead Facilitator at SME Strategy
Management Consulting, works with senior leadership to help strategically implement
organizational management. He notes that the positive attributes of project organization
are to prioritize and better allocate resources, keeping in mind that the project will have
various stakeholders. According to Taylor, if project organization and strategy are not an
essential part of a project, it’s easy to fall into the “multiple destination trap” where
people don’t know where they’re going. This creates different expectations among the
team members, causing them to spin in circles and avoid risk. Well-executed project
management organization is part of what creates a “one destination” solution, says
Taylor, where everyone knows where they’re going to ultimately deliver business value.
Taylor elaborates on the opportunity cost: “What does it cost if it’s not working for you? If
team members are not focused on the right priorities, they will do x, y, and z outside of
the project priorities and inhibit progress. If people aren’t clear where they’re going,
they’ll quit without knowing the wants, needs, and expectations of everyone around
them. What then is the cost to attract, hire, retrain, and lose productivity?”
In this introduction to project and portfolio management (PPM), learn how to streamline
your efforts and get multiple projects — or an entire portfolio — over the finish line, on
time and on budget.
What Is Organizational Structure in Project Management?
A project management organizational structure is used to determine the hierarchy and
authority of people involved in a specific project. The structure defines each team
member’s function and the reporting lines on a chart for team members to reference
during a project.
Types of Project Organizational Structures
There are three types of organizational structures in project management: functional,
matrix, and projectized. Each project structure framework is determined by the authority,
roles, and responsibilities of the team members within the existing organizational
structure.
Because no two projects are alike, no organizational structure will be exactly the same.
The role of the project manager changes within each of these frameworks, and each
project’s organizational structure is highly nuanced. Understanding the vertical or
horizontal coordination of each framework and the role that the project manager will
hold can help you to develop a successful strategy.
Functional Project Organizational Structure
A functional project organizational structure organizes its hierarchy around traditionally
functioning departments. A functional manager heads each department and reports to
an executive. These functional managers — not other staff — coordinate the project,
and they select team members from each department to support the project, in addition
to their functional responsibilities.
Projectized Organizational Structure
A projectized or project-based organizational structure creates a dedicated project
division within an organization. The project coordination operates vertically under this
division. Project managers maintain sole authority for the project and are assigned
dedicated staff who work toward project goals.
Matrix Organizational Structure
A matrix organizational structure is set up on a grid to demonstrate staff reporting
patterns to more than one authority. It is a hybrid of functional and projectized
organizational structures, and project managers share authority with other program
managers in this structure. Depending on the decision-making capacity of the project
manager, a matrix structure is one of three subtypes: weak, balanced, or strong.
Weak Structure
A weak structure is similar to the functional organization structure, in which coordination
occurs horizontally among staff without a designated project manager. The primary
difference between a weak matrix and a functional structure is that the staff across
departments, rather than the functional managers, coordinate the project (but the
functional manager maintains decision-making authority).
Balanced Structure
In a balanced matrix, the project manager also holds a staff position and does not utilize
the project manager role to its full capacity. The project manager still has little authority
over project decisions, budget, staff, etc., and primarily serves as the point of contact
and coordinator.
Strong Structure
A strong matrix is most similar to a projectized organizational structure. In it, a dedicated
project manager falls under a functional project management department, has
dedicated cross-functional staff, and is supported by a manager of all the project
managers. This subtype offers the project manager the most authority as they work
across a matrixed environment.
There is no perfect organizational structure. Instead, a project manager must weigh the
pros and cons of resource allocation and optimization within each structure, then select
the most optimal structure. In addition to the project team’s operational pros and cons,
the authority (decision-making power) of the project manager changes depending on
the selected project organization structure. This means that the project manager must
have both the knowledge and the skills to apply effective managerial and interpersonal
techniques that lead to a high-functioning project team.
Project Organizational Structure Quick-Reference Guide
Use this quick-reference guide to help determine the pros and cons of your project
organization structure, as well as the managerial skills you need to prioritize in order to
ensure your project runs as smoothly as possible.
FUNCTIONAL
Optimal Resources:
Resources are not in Missing the Right People:
PM Authority: Low
competition with other Projects may need additional
Communication Facilitation:
areas, which leaves little specialists if they do not
Break down silos across
need for competition or have all the right people
departments.
negotiation. within the area.
Coordination: Engage
Familiarity: Team Competing Priorities of
cross-functional teams.
members are already Team: Team members may
Teamwork Emphasis:
familiar with each other feel challenged to balance
Engage teams outside of
and share similar skills competing priorities of
their department.
and functions. program responsibilities and
Continuous Goal Clarity:
Operational Efficiency: project responsibilities.
Keep project goals at the
Has the potential to Siloed: This structure often forefront in competition with
achieve greatest creates organizational silos, departmental goals
operational efficiency which can make strategic distracting the project.
due to the role and alignment challenging.
communication clarity.
MATRIX
PROJECTIZED
Some organizations adopt a dedicated project management office (PMO) due to the
high volume and variety of projects. This allows for better visibility of projects across the
organization, improves resource allocation, and increases productivity and ROI across
projects. Read our article with expert tips and best practices for PMOs.
Features of an Organization Structure
The features of an organizational structure define the roles and relationships among
members of the project, as well as between projects. These relationships are
determined by authority, communication lines, coordination, supervision, and
responsibilities.
The PM will make the organizational chart during the initiation phase of the project so
that the project manager can communicate with team members before the project
begins. The team will then use it in the project planning phase to help divide tasks
among team members. Doing so provides a clear understanding of each role,
empowers team members to own their roles, and brings respect to other positions within
the project, which immediately builds trust.
The project organizational structure needs to be flexible and might require adjustments
during the other phases of the project. Make sure to communicate any adjustments to
the organizational chart (including staffing decisions) to the team members.
Developing a project organizational chart requires the following six main steps:
Step 1: Align the Project with Organizational Strategy
The project manager must have a deep understanding of how the project goals align
with the company or department’s strategy. This will bring the team onboard from the
beginning, develop shared meaning from project team members, and ultimately provide
the most seamless project execution.
Step 2: Analyze Projects on an Organizational Level
If an organization doesn’t have a PMO, the project manager must analyze the volume
and variety of projects when considering which organizational structure to select. The
Project Management Institute (PMI) uses the volume-variety matrix, a diagram that
charts an organization’s volume of projects in relation to the variety of projects on a
low-to-high continuum, to assist in determining a project organization structure strategy.
A high variety and low volume of projects suggests a projectized structure would best fit,
whereas a low variety and high volume of projects would suggest a functional structure.
A matrix structure falls in between these two spectrums.
Step 3: Determine Roles and Responsibilities
Focus on the necessary roles and responsibilities first, before considering personnel. If
a project manager has the authority to decide who is on the team, it is important to
research potential team members to find the most suitable people for the project.
Regardless of how the core team is assembled, it is essential to understand the
strengths that each team member brings to the project. Spend time getting to know
everyone on the team; in the process, you can build rapport and assess their skills.
Step 4: Structure the Chart
Structuring a chart can be complex, but you can make the process easier by
approaching it from the large structure to task details, or vice versa. Start by reviewing
the strengths of the team, the project tasks that need to be completed, and the existing
structure of the organization. Decide which people’s strengths fall into leadership roles
and which people are more task oriented.
Naturally, the organizational structure will begin to emerge as one of the three types of
organizational structures. Map out the workflow, reporting, and hierarchical roles and
compare them to see if a different organizational structure would be more fitting.
Depending on your learning style, it may be helpful to use sticky notes to move team
members around before drafting your structure online. As you plan, ensure that you
distribute the workload evenly among the team.
Step 5: Finalize the Organizational Chart
Develop and finalize the visual representation of the organizational chart. Include
names and contact information for team members to easily correspond with each other
throughout the project. Read this roundup of organizational structure templates to
quickly create and adapt to your project team.
Step 6: Communicate
A project organizational chart is only as good as the number of team members who are
aware of it. Often, team members don’t know that a chart exists and are confused as to
who they report to and the responsibilities of others. This leads to wasted time and
causes unnecessary conflict. As simple as it may seem, sharing the project organization
chart with all team members before the start of the project reduces confusion. You also
allow for team members to not only understand their role prior to executing the work, but
also give them a chance to ask questions as they visualize how their work will be
conducted in real time. During this period, the PM and team can also determine how the
project hierarchy will be governed.
Bonus Step: Create an Organization Chart that Represents the Client’s Reporting
Structure
Leading authority on practical project leadership Eric Verzuh, President and Founder of
Versatile Company, points out that “a project manager needs to understand their own
reporting structure as well as the client’s reporting structure. When both the project
team and the client understand each other’s reporting structures, they can plan to
communicate with the right people.”
What to Consider When Making a Project Organizational
Chart
A project organizational chart is shaped by many factors, which create the environment
for project-related decision making. These factors can include internal project
constraints (physical and operational), as well as external factors, such as market
conditions.
In their article, “An analysis of the main project organizational structures: Advantages,
disadvantages, and factors affecting their selection,” J.R. San Cristóbal, V. Fernández,
and E. Diaz state that there are “several important aspects to consider. All of these
factors will shape the context in which decisions are made, the form of the
organizational structure, the ability of project managers to make decisions, and (first and
foremost) the future of the project.”
These factors can be grouped into three broad considerations for making a project
organization chart:
● Decision Making: Consider the complexity of both physical and operational
boundaries for how decisions are made. Ask: How simple are the relationships?
Are responsibilities allocated equally? Who will be given what authority? What
tasks are weightier than others?
● Design: Remember that all features (division of labor, spans of control, etc.) must
be part of the design process, and take care to visualize how project team
members will interact. Assembling the control, coordination, and communication
can feel like a puzzle. Try a few different arrangements to envision how these
three C’s will operate so that you can find the cleanest lines between team
members. Keep the design simple and flexible to allow for changing roles as the
project evolves.
● Balance: You can reduce administrative, social, and technical issues by paying
attention to how roles and responsibilities are distributed. Aim to limit the number
of direct reports under any one person (five max is suggested).
Best Practices when Picking a Structure and Making a
Chart
When picking an organizational structure, optimize talent and resources. Doing so
creates a high-performing team that can successfully deliver the goals of the project.
When applied to real-world examples, we can see how industries like manufacturing,
construction, and software development use the functional, matrix, and projectized
organizational structures.
Example of Functional Project Organizational Structure for Manufacturing
A team using a functional organizational structure in manufacturing shows the
straightforward reporting structure of each department to the executive. The functional
managers (the manufacturing manager, marketing manager, engineering manager, etc.)
are responsible for coordinating all parts of the project, as indicated by the green
highlight in the below image. Note the true horizontal coordination of the project. This
example also shows that existing departments in the organizational structure (finance,
HR, etc.) may not typically be involved in projects.