Section Three: Introduction

ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Until the early 1990s, the organizational issues related to project management were largely centered on how a specific project should be organized: Should it be put into a task force mode or somehow be handled from a matrix management standpoint? The concern was based on single-project logic.

Because of the booming number of projects in organizations and the time pressure and cost squeeze associated with them, the organizational concern has moved towards managing multiple projects in a short time frame, with limited resources. This brings focus on more holistic issues in terms of organization. The concerns become of a larger nature than single projects, and thus involve topics such as the following:

Strategic project management (using project management to implement strategies and using a strategic approach in each of the projects underway), about which Kam Jugdev offers a contrarian view that asks the reader to consider whether, in fact, project management truly is a strategic resource. The flip side of the coin is offered by James S. Pennypacker and Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin, who discuss research showing that top-performing companies are those that align project management and strategic execution.

Enterprise project management (how to manage all projects across an enterprise), here discussed from both a cultural and tools viewpoint by Chris Vandersluis.

Project portfolio management (how to pick and manage the right projects), which is touched on in a number of the chapters in this section, but is described in detail by Gerald I. Kendall.

Measuring the capability and value of project management processes, both within projects and across the enterprise, discussed by James S. Pennypacker.

Implementing organizational change, which means by keeping in mind that any project management improvement initiative is a change initiative, is described in a case study by Robert J. Graham.

Multiple-project management, discussed by Lowell Dye, PMP. Projects, programs, multiple projects, and portfolios—all have organizational or enterprise implications. Dye clarifies the differences and describes accepted multiproject practices.

The project management office (how to support effectively the multiple projects underway, instill a project management culture, and support project personnel), described by J. Kent Crawford, has been updated with research information about the changing role of PMOs by Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin.