Page 366 - Global Project Management Handbook

MANAGEMENT OF THE PROJECT-ORIENTED COMPANY 18-7

FIGURE 18.3 Organizational chart
of Gore Company.

(Fig. 18.4; see also Chapter 7). Project portfolios and networks of projects are additional
management objects of the project-oriented company. To manage them requires specific
integrative organizations, such as the project portfolio groups and project management
offices. It is their task to guarantee that the relatively autonomous projects and programs
comply with the general objectives and rules of the project-oriented company.
A chain or cluster of projects is a number of sequential projects for the performance of
several business processes. A project portfolio is the set of all the projects of a project-
oriented company at a particular point in time. A network of projects is a set of several
closely coupled projects at a given point in time. Grouping projects into networks
requires different criteria, such as the use of a particular technology in all the projects,
performance of the projects in the same geographic region, or performance of the projects
for a common customer.
The organizational structure of a project-oriented company can be visualized in an
organizational chart. An example of an organization chart of a project-oriented company
is given in Fig. 18.5. The objectives, the position in the organization, the tasks, the envi-
ronment relationships, and the formal authorities of expert pools, the project portfolio
group, and the project management office are described in the following.
Since projects and programs have a high strategic importance for the project-
oriented company, they also should be depicted symbolically in the organizational

chart. It is not necessary to present each individual project but rather groups of projects
(e.g., arranged according to types of projects) and programs.
When it comes to designing the organizational chart of a project-oriented organization,
there are design options regarding the use of symbols for distinguishing between permanent
and temporary organizations, regarding the terminology used for the organizational units,

Relationships between projects
A set of sequential projects All projects of a project- A set of closely-coupled
oriented organization projects
Over a period of time At a point in time At a point in time

Chain of projects Project portfolio Network of projects
Cluster
FIGURE 18.4 Clustering of projects.