Is that arbitrations are sometimes necessary

The term is commonly used, there are few who know what it means exactly. Is today held a Conference on the control of portfolios of projects organized by the Centre of Development Affairs (CPA), HEC, and journal "Les echos" , companies struggle to fully define the meaning of their projects, internal as external. Launch of a product or a new offer, the daily tasks of a service management... Whether it breaks or simple daily developments, management of projects often resembles a vast catch-all. Better therefore to clarify to at the outset: "A project must meet certain criteria." "This must be unique, it must be limited in time, and it must rely on a number of resources," said Patrick Bourdichon, technical director of Opteam, consultancy specializing in this field.

Content, a timetable and financial and human resources: the definition is clear and today takes a new dimension. While the life of the products is more and more short and the business environment is constantly changing, it becomes essential to work projects. "It has become a strategic priority that can provide a decisive competitive advantage," explains Philippe Fournier, head of the Axelerae.

There are many companies that have adapted their internal organization on the project mode. In the matter, two approaches are generally retained. Collaborators may first be affected exclusively on the program to carry out. The approach is common in industrial areas the design of a car Renault or Airbus is thus performed by dedicated teams and is found in the services.

The group La Poste was launched in March 2006 a large project, called "Cap letter quality", to modernize its activity of mail: redesign of the sorting centres, extension services to businesses, launching of new activities... This massive construction, with a budget of 3.4 billion euros and affecting 150,000 employees, must be buckled up to December 31, 2010. For the complete, approximately 220 employees, located at the Paris headquarters are responsible for defining the method and the "process", while other teams to ensure their application in each of the 14 regions defined by the group.

A matrix organization

Yet, the approach cannot decline everywhere. Thus monopolize numbers suggests a powerful capacity for labour. In addition, the employer must be able to find other assignments to his collaborators once the completed project. Constraints that encourage companies to focus on another type of management, in which the teams are not exclusively dedicated.

This is the approach taken by SFR. The launch, in March 2006, "Simply phone" phone generation simplified functions thus was provided by a product manager, to make work a team of collaborators of different services (technical, marketing and sale, communication, customer prospecting, media relations). A transverse, "matrix" how say some. "The project not disrupts the internal organization, but comes to integrate naturally into the activity of the services." "This allows us to optimize our resources," explains Pierre Chambaudrie, Director of consumer marketing of the group. Especially, the fact device share beautiful to the project manager, who becomes a strategic link in the internal organization.

Companies are not wrong and shall place the best profiles to this strategic position. Bouygues Telecom thus established a chain of frames to hold such a position. Within the post, project leaders are selected from the high potential of the group. "These are future mail patterns." "This allows to see them at work on a difficult project," said Raymond Redding, Director of the domestic mail from the group.

New strong man of the internal organization, the project leader must however prevail. Often, managers of the various services are reluctant to him make their teams for a program that does not concern them directly. "It is the main difficulty." The project leader is not well established hierarchical position. "To impose and obtain the means of its action, it must be saved internally," explains Pierre-Henri Pinhas, CEO of Artemis International France, specialist of project piloting. The role of the Directorate-General is: it must support the project in the eyes of the staff leader. In Bouygues Telecom, the branch's strategic Committee determines the set of resources to the project.

What put everyone in agreement. "Different teams are warned in advance and can be organized." "Avoids any conflict of authority with the project leader", says François Darbandi, Director of planning for the operator information systems.

Postal grows further approach: to accompany the implementation of the "Cap letter quality" program, she develops an impressive internal communication campaign. It is implementing at the local level, "meaning workshops" in which the project is explained to postal workers. In addition, surveys and briefings are performed each month to inform the staff. Raymond Redding, the key to success is: "the success of a project requires the mobilization of personnel." In a service business, it is the key to success.

Is that arbitrations are sometimes necessary. In many companies, ongoing projects totalled by hundreds. Requires prioritizing programmes and put in place a project portfolio management.

An exercise in which Anglo-Saxon companies are performing with the quasi-systématique implementation of "Project management office (PMO). Under this appellation lie especially executive teams to coordinate the progress of various projects of the company. A device that implements Lectra, specialized in the production of software for manufacturing computers. Twice a month, affiliates project leaders aimed at a cell of five collaborators of accurate reporting, detailing the evolution of the costs, delays in the allocation of resources, but also the risks.

Under the direct authority of the Directorate, the dedicated team can then decide on the priorities in real time. "On referee ever between the different projects according to the requirements of quality, but also time and cost." "All this is possible due to the overall vision that we have", says Bruno Mattia, Director of the implementation of Lectra. It will be understood: project management requires clarity above all.