Project Management Leadership: Building Creative Teams, 2nd Edition

Chapter 4

Project Organization Structures

Learning Outcomes

After reading this chapter you should be able to:

• Understand the different types of organization structures used to manage projects.
• Understand the advantages and disadvantages of the different organization structures.
• Understand how to lead a matrix organization structure.

Project organization structures include a number of special organization structures within the human resource knowledge area that enable the project manager to lead and manage multi-discipline projects. It is, therefore, essential that the project manager understands the characteristics and features of project organization structures to be able to manage the process effectively.

This chapter will explain how to manage the three main types of project organization structure: functional organization structures, matrix organization structures and pure project organization structures.

As the single point of responsibility, the project manager’s challenge is to develop a project organization structure that reflects the needs of the client (business case), the needs of the project (project charter), the needs of the project team members (team charter) and, just as importantly, the needs of the stakeholders.

1. What is a Project Organization Structure?

An organization structure enables a company to group people in a controlled manner for the purpose of performing work. In the project context, a project organization structure includes all of the elements ...