Earlier, I wrote a short article about the importance of project tailoring and how
important it is for the project manager to understand the environment in which he or
she is managing the project.
But what are the factors that influence the project environment?
In my experience, the following factors could have a significant impact on your
project:
- Power Distance Index: Do the project decision-makers (sponsor, programme
manager, project manager) involve other project participants in decision-making? Is
the distance between the decision makers and the project members? - Individualism vs collectivism: Is your project more in the interests of the
individual or of the community? - Short-term orientation vs. long-term orientation: Are your project participants
guided by short-term or long-term goals? - Uncertanity avoidance index: To what extent do the decisions taken in the
project avoid uncertainty? How much risk are project members willing to take? - Organisational structure: Is the project managed in a functional, matrix or
project organisation? - Project Stakeholders: Who are the people supporting you? Who are the people
who won’t support you? Who are you positive and negative stakeholders? - Project constraints: What is the timeline, budget, required quality of you project?
The project manager is confronted with some combination of the above factors in the project,
which is always different from project to project, and these combinations may change during
the course of the project as well.
It is in this context that the project manager must find the method that works best for the
challenges of the project.