Project Organisation

 Project Organisation

A project organisation is one , in which a project structure is created as a separate unit or division within a permanent functional structure, drawing specialists and workers from various functional departments who work under the overall leadership , control and co-ordination of a project manager or complete projects of a technical and costly nature.

The project team functions under the overall control and leadership of the project manager. During the continuance of project, functional manager renounce their authority over subordinate in favour of the project manager.

The project organisation is further mainly divided in 3 ways. They are:

1) Centralized controlled team organisation

2) Decentralized control team organisation

3) Mixed control team organisation

1. Centralized control team organisation:

A centralized organisation is one where core important decisions are taken by those at important decisions are taken by those at a higher level of authority. All important decisions are routed through this channel and are taken by those with broader perspective and have gained knowledge and experience over the years. The decision is further communicated to the lower level employees who are expected to follow the orders.

This does not mean that there is just one person making all decisions .People at different level are authorised but, unlike decentralised organisation, there is less team based decision making and more of individual decision making .

               

                       

Decentralised control team organisation:

Decentralisation is defined as a systematic delegation of authority at all levels of management and in all of the organisation. In this system , the highest level of management are in charge of making major companywide decision framework for the rest of the firm.

Decentralised focuses on learning dynamics and relies on a bottom-up philosophy. The decision making style is democratic and detail oriented, since input from every level is checked are re-checked each time a decision is made.

                                         

Mixed control team organisation:

Mixed model or matrix organizational structure , has multiple line of authority with some employees reporting to at least two managers. There are functional managers who oversee departments such as engineering and marketing and there are project managers who oversee employees who work on specific project.

Here by, the project organisation structure and its further categories are explained in detailed with respective figures. These ways help in project organisation.

        

Software project management focuses on the  4 P’s: Project, Product, Process and People

1.Project:

       We conduct planned and controlled software projects for one primary reason it is the only known way to manage complexity.

      A software project manager and the software engineers who build the product must avoid a set of common warning signs, understand the critical success factors that lead to good project management, and develop a common sense approach for planning, monitoring and controlling the project.

2.Product

      Before a project can be planned, product objectives and scope should be established, alternative solutions should be considered and technical and management constraints should be identified

      Without this information, it is impossible to define reasonable estimates of the cost, an effective assessment of risk, a realistic breakdown of project tasks, or a manageable project schedule.           

   Objectives identify the overall goals for the product without considering how these goals will be achieved.

    Scope identifies the primary data, functions and behaviours that characterize the product.

  Once the product objectives and scope are understood, alternative solutions are considered. From the available various alternatives, managers and practitioners select a "best" approach.

3. Process 
        A software process provides the framework from which a comprehensive plan for software development can be established.

      A small number of frame-work activities are applicable to all software projects, regardless of their size or complexity.

         A number of different tasks, milestones, work products and quality assurance points enable the framework activities to be adapted to the characteristics of the software project and the requirements of the project team.

         Finally, umbrella activities such as software quality assurance, software configuration management, and measurement overlay the process model 

4.People

        People factor is very much important in the process of software development.

     There are following areas for software people like, recruiting, selection, performance management, training, compensation, career development, organization and work design, and team/culture development.

        

           Organizations achieve high levels of maturity in the people management area.