The increasing "projectization" of organizations has led to a greater reliance on program and project portfolio management, and middle managers are playing a central role in the management of multiple simultaneous projects. Experienced project managers understand the value of defining project roles and responsibilities, but what are middle managers' roles and responsibilities in program and project portfolio management? What are the best practices of successful companies today?
As more organizations implement projects and use project management to achieve business objectives more economically, more of such organizations are also embracing program and portfolio management (PPM) to successfully manage their numerous projects. This paper examines the PPM practices of project-based organizations and the roles and responsibilities of middle-mangers working within those organizations. It discusses PPM's relationship to project governance and identifies PMI's definitions of program management and portfolio management; it describes transaction cost economics in relation to organizational governance mechanisms and outlines this investigation's two research questions: How does project type and environmental complexity determine the way organizations use PPM? What are the practices, roles, and responsibilities of both program and portfolio managers? It addresses these questions through a multi-method investigation: a literature review focusing on PPM performance, processes, and competencies, from which the authors develop four hypotheses concerning the relationship between environmental complexity and PPM implementation; and two studies (one qualitative, one quantitative) on environmental complexity, project type, and PPM practices, roles, and responsibilities. It analyzes the results of these two studies in relation to the two research questions and four hypotheses.
The increasing "projectization" of organizations has led to a greater reliance on program and project portfolio management, and middle managers are playing a central role in the management of multiple simultaneous projects. Experienced project managers understand the value of defining project roles and responsibilities, but what are middle managers' roles and responsibilities in program and project portfolio management? What are the best practices of successful companies today?
Since project management offices began to appear in organizations over the last decade, project management practitioners and their organizations have been asking how to structure project management offices (PMOs) and what functions to assign them. In The Project Management Office (PMO): A Quest For Understanding, authors Brian Hobbs and Monique Aubry address these questions, providing a look at how PMOs exist today, and some clues about how and why they're changing. Of particular interest to practitioners, the authors address the roles that PMOs play in organizations, which provides valuable insights for better creating, structuring and governing PMOs. When designing a PMO, an organization has a variety of choices regarding the PMO's structure and role assignment. By providing a way to define PMOs by type, this research explores how to set up and define a PMO, depending upon the specific type of PMO The authors discuss the many bases for the types of PMOs, including structural characteristics and functions, and how these types affect the PMO's role in the organization.
Organizational change is still an issue of high importance for organizations, yet many change initiatives fail. These failures are often attributed to a lack of consideration of existing organizational culture. This book explores ways to undertake cultural change within a shorter time span without losing sight of complexity and sustainability.
While corporate culture plays a significant role in the success of any corporation, governance and “governmentality” not only determine how business should be conducted, but also define the policies and procedures organizations follow to achieve business functions and goals. In their book, Organizational Enablers for Project Governance, Ralf M&üller, Jingting Shao, and Sofia Pemsel examine the interaction of governance and governmentality in various types of companies and demonstrate how these factors drive business success and influence project work, efficiency, and profitability. The data for the studies was collected through interviews with six companies in Sweden and China and a global web-based questionnaire that garnered 208 responses. Using this data the authors conducted four studies, employing various research methodologies, to investigate the different systems of governance and their relationships to organizational success. Based on these results, the authors discovered that organizational enablers (including key factors such as leadership, governance, and influence of project managers) have a critical impact on how organizations operate, adapt to market fluctuations and forces, and make essential changes over time.
Since knowledge systems and knowledge management programs are put in place to monitor workers in the performance of their jobs; knowledge is, therefore, an essential component in the achievement of goals and production of economic benefit of an organization. Dynamic Models for Knowledge-Driven Organizations presents a widespread collection of research on the understanding of the managerial, technical and human issues associated with the use of knowledge in organizations while bearing in mind the design, development, and maintenance of useful knowledge management systems. This reference is essential for the tools and information needed to effectively implement knowledge management systems and would benefit researchers and practitioners alike.
This research-based book takes an organization-wide perspective to describe the governance and governmentality for projects in organizations. Governance of projects defines and directs the ways managers of projects, programs, and project portfolios carry out their work. Governmentality is the way the managers of these managers present themselves to those they lead. Governance and Governmentality for Projects starts with introducing existing theories, models and paradigms for governance and governmentality. It then develops a chronological framework of the ways governance and governmentality for projects is enabled in organizations, how it subsequently unfolds in organizations of different types and sectors, and the consequences of different governance approaches for project results, trust, control, and ethical issues in projects. Special emphasis is given to the link between corporate governance and the governance of project, programs and project portfolios. Three real-life case studies exemplify the research findings described in the book. Through its structure this book describes the development of governance and governmentality in the realm of projects from its organizational origins, via observable practices, to expected consequences of different implementations. Aimed at academics, post-graduate students in business and management, reflective practitioners, standards or policy developers, those in governance roles and others in need of a detailed knowledge of the spectrum of project related governance in organizations, this book will help develop a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the subject, their interaction, and implications for implementation. This allows for understanding and developing of both generic and idiosyncratic governance structures, such as those needed in project-based organizations.
Although program management has received much attention in recent books, program governance remains a relatively new subject. While selected books and standards touch on this important topic, few are devoted to program governance as a subject. This book fills that need. Program Governance provides a thorough understanding of governance while reviewing the underlying theories. The first book dedicated to this subject, it caters to the needs of practitioners, researchers, and students of management and governance. The book provides a holistic view of program governance while covering multiple elements of program governance. Topics covered include the governance structure, governance roles, governance functions, governance mechanisms, factors influencing the governance framework, and different domains of programs that come under the jurisdiction of a governance framework. The book presents the author’s own program governance framework, called the Contingent Governance Framework for Programs (CGFPrgTM), which is adaptable to suit different program contexts. This adaptability ensures that the different elements of governance, including structure and mechanisms, are aligned with program requirements. Such alignment results in an efficient and effective environment with an increased probability of program success. The text supplies references to research and case studies to help readers understand key concepts in more detail. It also includes objectives at the end of each chapter to help readers gauge their knowledge of the subject. The book clarifies the linkage/dependencies between program governance and other governance levels, such as international governance and corporate governance, which have a strong influence on governance framework for programs. It also explains the difference between the dynamics of temporary organizations, such as projects and programs, and permanent organizations. This distinction between temporary and permanent organizations provides readers with a practical understanding of how governance should be implemented in both types of organizations.
