UCT APM M2 U3 Notes
UCT APM M2 U3 Notes
UCT APM M2 U3 Notes
Organisation,
environment, and career
trajectory
Table of contents
1. Introduction 3
2. The project organisation and environment 3
2.1 The typical project team structure 3
2.2 The project’s strategic fit 6
2.3 The project manager’s organisational knowledge 9
3. Project managers’ career paths and certification 10
3.1 Career paths 10
3.2 Professional certification and qualifications 11
4. Conclusion 13
5. Bibliography 13
1. Introduction
This set of notes takes a close look at the project organisation and environment, and considers
how these factors can affect the project’s overall success. The role of the project sponsor and
project manager are also explored in the context of the strategic requirements of the business
in relation to the project specific objectives. The notes conclude with a discussion of the
possible career and certification options open to project managers with advanced skills.
The project manager is the team member that the organisation identifies as being responsible
for the specific project in question. The project manager is responsible for putting together
the core group of project team members who implement the project tasks and deliverables
as defined by the project manager. The project manager is accountable for ensuring that the
project team delivers on the project deliverables. Consequently, the project manager is
usually identified by the project sponsor relatively early in the project life cycle, or PLC (the
PLC will be discussed in detail in Module 3). Project managers are responsible for high-level
communication and for ensuring that the project meets the constraints of the Iron Triangle,
as well as other markers of project success. Sometimes, project team leads are required on
larger projects. These leads usually provide technical and task leadership to other project
team members.
The project sponsor (sometimes referred to as the executive sponsor) is a role player with
significant interest in the outcome of the project and is therefore responsible for acquiring
spending authority resources needed for the successful completion of the project. The project
sponsor, who usually is the highest-ranking manager directly involved in the project (often
residing at a senior or executive level in the organisation), is also referred to as the project
champion in that they are the role player responsible for legitimising and promoting the
Note:
Depending on the company, the terms “project sponsor”, “executive sponsor,” and “project
champion” are sometimes used interchangeably, in that they mean the same thing.
Generally speaking, the project sponsor chairs the steering committee. The steering
committee includes management representatives from the organisations involved in the
implementation of the project who act collectively (or individually) as project champions for
the project within these organisations. The committee’s role includes:
In some projects, the steering committee may also find itself involved in aspects such as:
• Providing resources;
Customers are also considered to be role players in the project process. Customers can be
divided into customer representatives and customer decision makers. The first group consists
of members of the customer community who are chosen to represent the needs of the
customer to the project team. They have subject-matter knowledge and expertise that aids
them in this role. The customer representatives are typically not considered as members of
the core project team. The customer representative provides information regarding the
project to the customer community and tests the product, providing feedback to the project
team from a customer perspective. Customer representatives do not make decisions
regarding project deliverables, nor are they decision makers regarding any other aspects of
the project.
Stakeholders are all the units, groups, and individuals affected by the project. They include all
of the role players mentioned up to this point. Anyone who will be impacted in some way by
the outcomes of the project is a stakeholder. Customer correspondents, for example, who are
not directly involved in the project may nevertheless be affected by the project, in that they
will be required to explain the new resulting product or service to the customer and provide
them with the necessary support. Key stakeholders are essential role players. Without the
support of these key stakeholders, the project cannot go forward. Usually, these stakeholders
are the financial backers of the project. If their support is withdrawn, the project is likely to
fail, highlighting the importance of effective project stakeholder management (a topic for
Module 4). Lastly, vendors are external players contracted to provide additional products and
services required for successful project completion. They form part of the project team, and
are also stakeholders in the outcome of the project.
The following diagram gives an indication of how these different role players interact.
A project cannot exist in isolation because the products or services produced have to fit into
the overall organisational structure. This diagram shows one of many projects (“your project”)
as part of a bigger picture. The project manager needs to fully understand that the team must
be aware of and comfortable with company policies and procedures, the overall business plan,
what products and services are already in place, and the organisation’s current “systems”.
Other projects underway or planned also need to be considered as they may overlap in some
way with your project.
In a complex project organisation, there are a number of factors at play that affect the project
manager and team members. It is therefore essential that the organisation creates an
environment that is conducive to allowing the project manager to act in terms of the project’s
requirement. This involves creating a space for the project manager and core team, such as a
conducive office environment, where they are able to work effectively. The organisation is
also responsible for providing organisational structure, processes, and methods that enhance
the performance of the project manager.
To avoid these problems, projects need both a project manager and a project sponsor. The
roles of these two players have already been touched on briefly. Table 1 highlights the most
important tasks of, as well as the differences between, these role players within an ideal
project structure.
Table 1: Roles of project sponsors and project managers in the project organisation.
Project management has emerged as an important career path in management. It now has
the same attention and support in organisations as more traditional management roles. There
is a marked increase in the need for skilled project managers. Many of these positions are
filled by professionals who develop from their original career path into this management role.
The following factors play an important role in a successful project management career:
• Organisations that have dual career paths, where an individual may or may not
transfer from a “technical” role into a management role, such as project management,
tend to result in more effective and successful project managers committed to the
profession of project management itself.
• Successful project managers accept that there are certain skills specific to project
management and do what is necessary to gain those skills through lifelong learning.
• The organisation itself needs to create an environment where the project manager
can act according to the project requirements, as discussed in Section 2.2. This could
require the establishment of a supporting organisation unit like the Project
Management Office.
In traditional organisations, the project manager might report to a line manager and a project
sponsor. In such cases, the project manager may not have adequate authority to work
Some companies have project management departments reporting to the same line manager,
rather than the approach where project managers are part of another department and
assigned to projects on a temporary basis by that department’s line manager. The skill and
scope required of a project manager can thus differ significantly depending on the
organisation structure and the nature of a specific project. Organisations that offer good
career opportunities to project managers provide clear guidelines for advancement through
these levels, vertically or horizontally. Each level requires a different skill set, highlighting the
need for continual development and training.
Important note:
Even in companies that explicitly acknowledge project management as a valid career path and
that create an organisation where career advancement is possible, career paths for project
managers will still differ significantly from organisation to organisation.
• PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)®: According to the PMI, this certification
“formally recognises your knowledge of agile principles and practices and your skill
with agile techniques”; “is the fastest growing certification”; and “spans many
approaches to agile such as Scrum, Kanban, Lean, extreme programming (XP), and
test-driven development (TDD)”.
• PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)®: According to the PMI, this certification “will
recognise your knowledge and skill to drive the improved management of project
schedules”.
• Membership types
• Membership benefits
If you are interested in pursuing a PRINCE2 certification, visit the Axelos Global Best Practice
website.
In the lecture video, your Head Tutor, Patrick Browning, and guest lecturer, Prof Derek Smith,
discuss certification in the field of project management and contextualise this course in the
broader picture.
4. Conclusion
Although a clear career path is not always obvious to aspiring project managers, at the same
time, the importance of this evolving management profession is very clear in the popular
press. Gaining the entry-level skill set and then moving towards mastery is continually stressed
in career planning.
For organisations to be successful, the role of the project manager is an important one in any
industry. That importance is growing, along with the acceptance of project management as a
unique discipline.
5. Bibliography
Clements, J. & Gido, J. 2012, Effective Project Management. Canada: Cengage Learning.
Crawford, L., French, E. & Lloyd-Walker, B. 2013. From outpost to outback: Project career
paths in Australia. International Journal of Project Management, 31(8): 1175–1187.
Crowe, A. 2006. Alpha project managers: What the top 2% know that everyone else does
not? Velociteach: Kennesaw, GA.
Hölzle, K. 2010. Designing and implementing a career path for project managers.
International Journal of Project Management, 28(8): 779–786.
Lloyd-Walker, B. & Walker, D. 2011. Authentic leadership for 21st century project delivery.
International Journal of Project Management, 29(40): 383–395.
Tyssen, A.K., Wald, A. & Spieth, P. 2013. The challenge of transactional and transformational
leadership in projects. International Journal of Project Management, 32(3): 365-375.
PMI, PMBOK, PMP, CAPM, PgMp, PfMP, PMI-ACP, PMI-RMP, and PMI-SP are
registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.