What are the challenges and difficulties of the position? how make project management effective transversal and team coordination without hierarchical links? Discover the key elements that will allow you to Make the lines move in your approach to project management.
The Project Manager (CDP) is responsible for project management and operations, requiring the establishment of a dedicated team with the participation of profiles of different skills who do not work in the same departments and who do not have no hierarchical links between them, whether internal or external to the company.
This point is often seen as a difficulty, but in reality, it can be a very positive factor in project management. This makes it possible to create a new dynamic of collaboration based on transparency and the accountability of everyone.
The challenge here will be to:
For this you will need motor profiles And of a involved and unifying sponsor.
The first difficulty in not being on the same team is The lack of proximity. They often do not share the same offices, they can sometimes end up on different sites, they do not always have the same schedule or the same organization. So how do we do it?
It is essential to set up joint time dedicated to the team to move forward together on the various subjects. Beyond One point per week which is essential, the various members of the team must be able to organize group or sub-group sessions for operational needs.
In order to be able to allocate time for the members of the team, and not to conflict the tasks (in particular in charge of) their main functions with those of the transversal operations, it is very important for the sponsor to raise awareness and reach an agreement with the various superiors of the members of the team, to ensure that the necessary resources are provided. The project manager and the superiors will make sure to coordinate for ensure that the actions of one of the activities do not penalize those of the other.
To overcome this lack of proximity, it is important that all members of the task force be able to find all the information they need, and quickly. The CDP or PMO will therefore ensure that everyone's work is accessible and communicated, and the data is centralized, organized, and shared. Ideally, it will set up a common monitoring tool that promotes exchanges between members, and that is accessible to all. This tool should also allow him to assign tasks and offer a global vision of progress.
In addition, to act in the face of a different organization of everyone's work, it will be important to set up a simple organization, supervised beforehand by the project manager by ensuring that it adapts and suits everyone, with ergonomic and intuitive tools.
It is difficult to manage operations in which the stakeholders are not full-time. Apart from the (limited) daily and weekly time of team members that can impact the roadmap, the people opposite did not Not only this project as a daily concern. Their respective main missions can sometimes be considered to be a priority and generate delay, loss of information or clarity on progress.
The whole issue here is to make everyone's work easier by:
So he is here especially It is essential that the framework and stages of the project are completely clear.. Everyone should be able Know at any time where Is the project, and what is yet to come.
The transversal manager is therefore responsible for the implementation of a simple structure to the project including the overall vision, the dated milestones, and the different phases of execution (while making sure to divide the tasks with clear deliverables for the members of the team).
With the absence of hierarchical relationships, it is important to see relationships between employees as a link that is more similar to a partnership relationship. It is therefore important for everyone to take ownership of the milestones that will be assigned to them, to validate these milestones with the transversal project manager, as well as to commit to the execution of a deliverable and a delivery date.
The role of the project manager is to ensure that the roadmap can be maintained within a reasonable period of time, while challenging stakeholders on possible under-sizing or over-sizing in terms of the load and execution times.
Do not hesitate to contact your line managers and the sponsor to validate specifications and a work plan - the important thing is to always be transparent and clear in the status of project management.
There are many hazards that could disrupt the progress of a project or even endanger it. This is especially true when it comes to transversal project management as Unexpected factors are important and often beyond the control of the project manager. An employee who encounters a hazard in his main mission, the material unavailability of a component of the project, an important and unexpected change in the company, can put all project management at risk...
The project manager must as much as possible anticipate the blocking factors that he or the members of the project team may encounter. It should be a resource to help stakeholders in case of problems for the proper management of the project.
Capacity to manage contingencies and risk is certainly one of the most important qualities for project managers. They are often involved in projects that are vectors of innovation and change and, as such, they must pay particular attention to the analysis of the context in which the project will evolve, whether technical, human or financial. La ability to identify problems that can occur on key elements and put in place the right corrective actions To “de-risk” them is decisive. For example, taking time during the framing phase to:
Like the solution-oriented approach, which consists in monitoring new solutions/methods/technologies to be implemented in your company (which often comes down to trying to fit circles into squares), the problem-oriented approach is more pragmatic because it allows you to always have a reflection Roist on the project.
Much more time will be spent in the first phase of the project at Understand what makes up the problem, to find ways to measure its impact in terms of cost or loss of profit for the company.
This approach will above all go highlight the levers of action which will become the key functionalities of the solution, and make it possible to keep a common thread until the deployment of the project by:
As the value of the data no longer needs to be proved, we will emphasize the importance it has in a transversal project with a problem-oriented approach..
Here, it is data that conditions the actions and decisions of the entire team and the Go/No-Go decisions of the management - which makes exchanges factual and transparent.
A good project manager seeks to understand how to collect, analyze, and provide relevant data for the project.
Well defined, it is used as a self-control tool to anticipate future corrective actions.
It is certainly about the most important phase for the project manager and it represents the major part of the success of a project. This phase must be accompanied by a document summarizing all the important elements of the operations to be launched.
Here is an example of what this document might look like:
It is a document that must be resulting from collaborative work with all operational stakeholders. It makes it possible to give a global and clear view to all and freezes everyone's commitments. It will facilitate decision-making. in the steering committee, and will ensure the continuity of information between “planned and implemented” throughout the project.
It will serve as a roadmap for the transversal project manager, allow him to anticipate the blocking factors, and to see if the project is going off track.
In transversal projects communication is key - you have to make sure that everyone has access to the same information, you have to know how to act as a mediator sometimes, and make sure that all channels of communication are open between the project manager and the stakeholders.
There is also sometimes an “evangelization” to be carried out to be sure of being able to involve all those who have or will have contact with the project in the process.
“Alone we go faster, together we go further.” A saying that well summarizes the importance of a feedback culture and The importance of surrounding yourself and being open to outsiders to the project.
Whether it is to other colleagues, innovation ecosystems, companies with a market or similar operation, remember that if you are facing a problem, others may also be facing a problem and have already tried to solve it. Whether they succeeded or failed, it will be an important source of learning and information.
The CDP has a role ofManagement of the steering committee. He must ensure that all the important items on the agenda are addressed. To do this, he will have prepared in advance the key stakeholders, points and decisions to be addressed during this committee. To do this, a few following points can be used.
Besides being part of or often representing the management of a group without a direct hierarchical link between them, he has a decisive role in mobilizing the workforce of the team formed for the objective, he conveys the vision and the challenge of the approach as well as the benefits that flow from it. It allows employees to get out of their usual framework by entrusting them with a new mission. It also allows employees to share and value their ideas by giving them the means to put them into action.
The sponsor will allow and facilitate the implementation of these new projects, provide the guideline and strategic line for the project to be in line with the vision and challenges of the company. As such, he will be one of the key arbitrators of the process as well as for decision-making and project defense at the Codir.
The position of the sponsor is decisive. Son The role is to monitor and challenge the progress of stakeholders, To arbitrate Go/No-Go decisions (possibly in consultation with other members of the Committee and/or Codir) and to validate the proposed next steps. It is important to provide him with all the key information so that he can facilitate the operational process or even reorientate/reframe it if we move away from the initial vision and objective.
He is the first person convinced of the approach and the project, so he defends the project and its management with the CDP to the stakeholders and/or other management members.
In summary, a good transversal project manager must have the following skills:
To deepen this approach, we recommend that you read this key article How do I get my business into project mode?
