Government Project Management

A major government agency is organized to monitor government

subcontractors as shown in Exhibit I.

Below are the vital characteristics of certain project office team

members:

✿ Project manager: Directs all project activities and acts as the

information focal point for the subcontractor.
✿ Assistant project manager: Acts as chairman of the steering
committee and interfaces with both in-house functional groups and
contractor.
✿ Department managers: Act as members of the steering
committee for any projects that utilize their resources. These slots
on the steering committee must be filled by the department
managers themselves, not by functional employees.
✿ Contracts officer: Authorizes all work directed by the project
office to in-house functional groups and to the customer, and
ensures that all work requested is authorized by the contract. The
contracts officer acts as the focal point for all contractor cost and
contractual information.
POINTS FOR DISCUSSION
1. Explain how this structure should work.
2. Explain how this structure actually works.
3. Can the project manager be a military type who is reassigned
after a given tour of duty?
4. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this structure?
5. Could this be used in industry?

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 Government Project Management

Exhibit I. Project Team Organizational Structure

Project Office
-

Project Manager

Functional Department
Assistant
Project Manager
Manager Deptt. X Manager Deptt. Y Manager Deptt. Z
STEERING COMMITTEE

Manager C
Department X O
N
► Manager T
Department Y R
A
C
Manager T
Department Z S