Project Management Structures and Strategies

Project Structures

• Organizations use project structures to create opportunities for success.
• Best practices and knowledge retention increase with projects that are structured.
• Project structures provide a framework for effective project management.
• Effective project structure is important for success.
• Project structures help minimize complexity and avoid major issues.

How Projects Start

• Successful project setup starts at the beginning of the project.
• Setting up projects for success requires, a charter, an active sponsor, resources, and motivated team members.
• It is difficult but not impossible to fix issues that occur in the middle of a project.

McKinsey 7 S Framework

• The 7 S Framework outlines seven interconnected elements: Strategy, Structure, Systems, Staff, Skills, Style, and Shared Values.
• The goal of the model is to show how the seven elements can work together effectively.
• Alignment across all seven areas is crucial for effectiveness within a company.
• The framework presents both hard and soft areas.
• Hard elements include strategy, structure and systems; these are easier to identify and manage.
• Soft elements, like style and shared values, are harder to manage, but form the foundation of the organization.

7 S Model Elements

• Strategy: High-level requirements and means to achieve them.
• Structure: Organizational arrangement used to carry out the project.
• Systems: Methods for designing, monitoring, and controlling work.
• Staff: Selecting and recruiting the leadership/team who will work on the project.
• Skills: Tools, abilities, and background available to the project manager and staff.
• Style/Culture: Underlying way of working and inter-relating within the team/organization.
• Stakeholders: Individuals/groups who have an interest in the process or outcome of the project.

Working with Individuals and Power Structures

• Power structures are based on cliques or groups of employees who have developed bonds.
• Power structures can create challenging dynamics for teams.
• Techniques for dealing with individuals can also help manage issues within a power structure.

Power Structures and Project Managers

• Discovering power structures can be difficult before joining a company.
• Power structures can limit a project manager's ability to achieve their goals.

Motivation

• Understanding individual and team motivations is crucial for project managers.
• Motivation isn't a one-size-fits-all approach; multiple factors contribute to motivation.
• Individualized approaches to motivation are essential.
• Improving employee engagement through motivation is key for successful project management.

Individual Motivation

• Motivation can be self-motivated or externally motivated by community, money, or recognition.
• People are motivated by outcomes that matter to the organization while still being personally motivated to contribute.

Summary

• This lecture covered project structures, how projects start, the McKinsey 7 S Framework, navigating power structures, and motivation.

Next Week

• The next lecture will cover motivation theories for individuals and teams, as well as a review of a class activity.

Project Structures

• Organizations that are large enough will have structured ways of managing projects.
• Structured ways of managing projects create opportunities for success, allow for learning what works, establish patterns and best practices, establish foundations for ongoing learning, and support knowledge retention.
• Project structures outline how to organize and deliver projects effectively.
• Projects can be highly complex with many interdependencies.
• Many changes during a project can easily derail projects.
• Setting up a project for success happens at the beginning of the project.
• If main players organize and create the right conditions at the start, success is achievable.

McKinsey 7 S Structure Framework

• The 7S model was created by McKinsey & Co.
• The 7S model helps to minimize complexity and avoid overlooking key issues.
• The 7S model uses transparency to surface potential issues and find solutions.
• The 7S model highlights the interconnectedness of 7 key elements that are key to the success of a company: Structure, Strategy, Skills, Staff, Style, Systems, and Shared values.
• The 7S model divides key elements of a business into hard and soft elements.
• Hard elements of the business are Strategy, Structure, and Systems and are easily identified and managed.
• Soft elements are Staff, Skills, Style, and Shared Values; those are more difficult to manage but are a foundation for the organization and are more likely to create a sustained competitive advantage.

How do projects start?

• Projects start with a Project Charter that has appropriate details.
• Projects start with an active and participative project sponsor.
• Projects start with an appropriate budget and resources.
• Projects start with a team that is motivated and responsive to the project manager.

Working with Individuals and Power Structures

• Power structures are built on cliques which are groups of employees who have developed bonds due to shared experiences like length of time employed by the company or other shared interests.
• Cliques can create power dynamics that are challenging for those working with teams.
• The same techniques used to deal with individuals can be used to deal with power structures within an organization.

Motivation

• Motivation is the reason or reasons for acting or behaving in a particular way.
• People are motivated by different factors.
• Motivating factors include internal, external, community, money, and ego.
• Employees are motivated to show up and do work to achieve outcomes that matter to the organization, all while being personally motivated to do so.

Project Structures

• Organizations have structured ways of managing projects to increase the chance of success.
• Structured project management helps establish best practices and supports ongoing learning and development for the organization.
• The purpose of project structures is to outline how to organize and deliver projects effectively.
• Projects can be complex with many interdependencies and require a structured approach for success.

How Projects Start

• Successful projects are set up from the start, with crucial elements like a clear project charter, an active sponsor, appropriate budgets and resources, and a motivated team receptive to the project manager.

McKinsey 7S Model

• The McKinsey 7S framework outlines seven key areas of an organization: Strategy, Structure, Systems, Staff, Skills, Style, and Shared values.
• The 7S model emphasizes the interconnectedness of these areas, suggesting a change in one area requires adjustments in others for effective functioning.
• Strategy, structure, and systems are considered ‘hard’ elements, easier to identify and manage.
• Skills, style, and shared values are ‘soft’ elements, harder to manage but crucial for sustained competitive advantage.

Applying the 7S Model

• The 7S framework is valuable for analyzing and improving organizational effectiveness, especially when design and effectiveness are in question.
• It's important to understand the interconnectedness of the elements when applying the model for successful implementation.

Working with Individuals and Power Structures

• Power structures in organizations can be influenced by cliques or teams with perceived authority, potentially creating challenging dynamics.
• Many techniques for working with individuals can be applied to navigate power structures effectively.

Motivation in Organizations

• Understanding individual and team motivation is crucial for project managers, as people ultimately deliver projects.
• Different individuals are motivated by different factors, requiring a personalized approach from project managers to enhance engagement and performance.

Individual Motivation

• Motivation is the reason for acting or behaving in a specific way.
• Individuals can be motivated by internal factors (self-motivation) or external factors like community, money, or ego.
• Effective project managers recognize and leverage individual motivators for a cohesive and productive team environment.

This quiz explores key concepts in project management, focusing on project structures, their importance for success, and the McKinsey 7 S Framework. Understanding how these elements align can significantly enhance project efficiency and effectiveness. Test your knowledge on best practices and frameworks essential for successful project setup and management.