PMIWDC

Team Building and Development in a Matrix Environment

There are many kinds of teams.  A functional team is a permanent team established to conduct operational activities for a particular part of the organization, such as finance, sales, marketing, etc. 

There is no specified time limit on functional teams as they are needed to keep the business running.  A project team is brought together for a discrete period of time to achieve a defined goal.  At the end of the project the team is disbanded. 

Project teams are often matrix in nature, staffed by members taken from diverse functional teams in order to achieve the project goal.  When the Project Manager has a high degree of authority this is known as a strong matrix; when Functional Managers have stronger authority this is known as a weak matrix.

The 33rd Criterion – Putting People into the Earned Value Essentials

In working with a client on the basic rules of earned value, I found myself coaching them on the 32 basic rules, known as the Cost Schedule Control Systems Criteria (CS-squared).  As we talked to the specific subcomponents that have to be in place to make earned value sing and dance, the question surfaced time and again, "Where do my team members fit into this?"