Projects, roles and life cycles
Projects, programs, portfolios and operations
Project: a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result. Temporary means a defined start and end, not a short duration.
| Term | Meaning | IT example |
|---|
| Project | Temporary, unique result | Migrate email to a cloud platform |
| Operations | Ongoing, repetitive work | Running the help desk |
| Program | Related projects managed together for combined benefits | All projects of a company-wide ERP rollout |
| Portfolio | Projects, programs and operations managed together to meet strategic objectives | The IT department's full investment list |
| PMO type | Control over projects |
|---|
| Supportive | Low: templates, training, lessons learned |
| Controlling | Moderate: requires compliance with methods and reviews |
| Directive | High: PMO staff manage the projects directly |
| Organization structure | Project manager authority |
|---|
| Functional | Little or none; functional manager controls staff and budget |
| Weak matrix | Low; PM acts as coordinator or expediter |
| Balanced matrix | Low to moderate; shared with functional manager |
| Strong matrix | Moderate to high |
| Projectized | High to almost total; team reports to the PM |
In a matrix, team members report to two bosses. The stronger the matrix, the more authority the PM holds.
Which is a project?
A PMO that manages projects directly is:
In which structure does the project manager have the most authority?
