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 re-
quested is authorized by the contract. The contracts officer acts as the fo-
cal point for all contractor cost and contractual information.
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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Exhibit I. Project team organizational structure

Project Office

Project Manager
Functional Department
Assistant Manager Manager Manager
Project Manager Department X Department Y Department Z

Manager
Steering Committee

Department X
Contracts
Manager
Department Y

Manager
Department Z