Strong matrix organizations

Now project managers are getting somewhere! In a strong matrix dynamic project, work is emphasized over functional work. That doesn't mean you don't have functional departments working their operational work. The difference is that project managers have full-time authority over their project team, project scheduling, and budgeting, and are accountable for the requirements being met. There may actually be a department called a project management office (PMO) that oversees projects, programs, or portfolios depending on the size of the organization and their products and services. We'll cover the PMO and its role more in depth in Chapter 3, Project Roles and Responsibilities. For now, imagine the PMO as a functional department for project managers.

Some of the key aspects of strong matrix organizations include the following:

• Core project teams help the project manager plan and execute the work.
• The project manager is in full control but may borrow resources from functional departments or via procurement staffing as needed.
• Borrowed resources are loyal to the functional manager but focused on project work. They answer to the project manager during their role on the project, and are released back to their functional departments when their work ends.
• The project manager and project team are full-time.

In Figure 2.4, the strong matrix organization is represented and is one of the best dynamics for project managers: