PMcrunch

Whatever performance review system is in place, the important thing for project management is that the line organization that holds ultimate responsibility for the project should be the primary input and judge of a project manager’s performance. Performance evaluation is often difficult in matrix-type organizations, such as those that include a PMO. Let’s take a look at some of the challenges.

Matrix organizations offer the possibility of pools of specialist talent that can be deployed in various areas of the organization. They allow for excellence in best practices and for collegiality among members of the matrix specialty. This is true whether the specialty is marketing, technical knowledge, project management, competency, or other special skills that are critical to the organization. All too often, without such specialties, decentralized arms of organizations struggle with one or two team members that just can never quite get their hands around such specialized talents.

The problem is that these decentralized arms of the organization, whether departments, special project offices, divisions, or smaller business units, are really responsible for the end result of their businesses. They certainly will benefit from gaining access to specialized talent in project or program management, as offered by a PMO. However, they still must maintain responsibility for that end result. Hence, it is very important that these organizations themselves judge the performance of the service provider, such as the project manager assigned from the PMO.

Matrix organizations are great and offer great potential for cost savings, efficiency, and development of specialized core competencies that, otherwise, are not possible. We simply need to make sure that the responsibility for judging performance lies with the operating organization. Matrix organizations such as PMOs need to mindful of this and need to build into their charters this kind of logic.

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John Reiling, PMP
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