Implementing Projects Within Organizational Structures

Two similar projects, same project management methodology, regardless, the same project outcomes are not guaranteed because organizational structures also contribute to project performance. This is one of the reasons why some project managers get worried when projects that they managed in the past with same methodology, succeeded, but a similar project managed within another organization fails.

Having said that, it important to know that projects occur within and across organizational contexts; by organizational context, I mean the structure, system, policies, culture, governance and strategies.

There are different perspectives from which to look at organizational structures, whether as part of the organization performing the project (i.e., the organization being paid for the project management services), or as part of the receiving organization (i.e., the organization paying for the project management services), or as part of the project management team involved in a project with multiple organizations.

The type of organizational structure influences how a project is likely to be implemented and ultimately influences the project outcomes. This is because each organization has its culture, preferences and biases.

For example, a government agency’s preference on a project is likely to be stability over agility, or likely to be, due diligence over speed, while that of a private entity is likely to be, agility over stability, or likely to be, speed over due diligence.

Managing projects, you should understand the different types of organizational structure (OS) as they relate to project management, the demerits and merits of each type of OS and how to implement your projects within or across the different types of OS. Why? No matter your competencies as the project manager, and how robust your project management plan is, how an organization is structured will either limit or enhance the success of your project efforts.

For an example, an organization that selects and implements projects that are aligned with its organizational strategy is likely to give more commitment and adequate resources to such projects than organizations that that do not. Also, an organization that elicits input from relevant stakeholders during project initiation within and across organizations would likely receive support than another organization that does not.

There are different types of OS and the differentiation is based on factors such as the authority you possess as a project manager within the organization, the availability of project resources to your team, the level of control that you exercise over project funds, your contractual type of involvement in the project, whether as part time or full-time and how the work groups within the organization are structured. All these factors determine the type of OS and ultimately influence project outcomes.