Achieving Project Management Balance

Proper Organisational structure and COMMUNICATION! would be the best solution, the technology would only add to the time element in managing the project.

I support cummunication. Concern what is "proper" organization. Each organization has its own culture, practice, mission and goal. Each has its own style.

Excerpted from our Turnaround Project Management Primer:

Communication

Management cannot function without information. For the information to be useful, it must be:

• Reliable
• Timely
• Complete
• Easily and completely understood

If the information is not reliable (objective), the confidence level will decrease and affect all other information as well.

If the information is not timely, then any decisions will be made too late, or not made at all, with a potential adverse effect on time and/or cost.

If the information is not complete, the wrong decisions could result.

If the information is not easy to understand (due to complicated form or layout, too much information clutter or incomplete data), then it may lead to erroneous decision-making, or to delay a decision pending the need to obtain clarification of the data.

The information flow within an organization must be established in such a way that it will not break down (become interrupted) or slow down. Any obstacles must be removed to ensure that the information will be available as quickly as possible, and clearly and as complete as possible.

Bernard Ertl
InterPlan Systems Inc. - Project Management Software, Project Planning Software

Hi,

I also support that "fit" organizational structure and good communication between members in organization are good methods for project success. However, just as mktse sais, which type of organizational structure is "proper"? It looks likes no such standard till now due to its subjective attibute.

Excerpted (again) from our Turnaround Project Management Primer:

... And in order to manage turnarounds, we have two choices: either we seek out those that "manage" based on their experience, personality, etc. (an intuitive manager), or instead we seek out tried and proven systems and procedures that do not depend on chance.

Systems and Procedures

Time-tested and proven systems and procedures can facilitate the flow of information and decisions within a turnaround organization. They can improve the overall efficiency of the organization.

Proven systems and procedures remove the burden of improvising on the fly. They also often improve the objectivity of the information flowing throughout the organization, and to a certain extent also "depersonalizes" the information removing the fear of becoming the "bearer of bad news" which often tempts some individuals in withholding information deemed negative or damaging.

Systems and procedures ensure the continuity of operations even through changes in the organization. They also facilitate training new personnel, and eliminate friction among employees who might be tempted to implement their own (and often conflicting) procedures based on their past experiences.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities should be assigned in accordance with every persons skill, experience and motivation. The decision-making responsibility should always be assigned at the lowest possible level in the organization, and based on the importance of the decision involved.

In every case, the responsibility should match the individuals capacity for achieving the assigned objectives. This will go a long ways towards helping individuals becoming successful.

Placing responsibilities beyond a persons capacity to perform same is not only unrealistic but counterproductive as well.

When people perceive that they are made fully responsible for tasks which they can execute successfully, their morale, cooperation and productivity will be the highest.

Organization

Organizing a turnaround may require rearranging the responsibilities and normal lines of communication within a company. Always seek out the best qualified individual for the job, and assign him to supervise a team of his own choosing whenever possible.

The lines of communication should be clearly spelled out on an organization chart which should be posted where everyone can see it.

The turnaround organization should have the least amount of "layers" to simplify and speed up the information flow. The fewer people involved in passing the word, the more efficient the execution (less delays, less chance of something important getting garbled or omitted, etc.).

The turnaround organization chart should be prepared and posted well in advance of the turnaround. This will eliminate surprises and allow those involved to prepare for their new roles.



Bernard Ertl
InterPlan Systems Inc. - Project Management Software, Project Planning Software