Project Team Rewards
Results
47
characteristics could be classified as organisation-related factors. They describe the project
in the organisational context. Finally, four characteristics could be classified as time-
related factors. They take into account that a project is a “temporary endeavor" (PMI
2004:5) and therefore realisation of projects differ in comparison to line work. The project
management tools can be assigned to the tool-related internal reward factors.
Table 13: Project Characteristics I
Characteristic
Remark
Degree of Outcome
Clarity
(What to do
)
Degree of Process
Clarity (
How to do it
)
Degree of Risk Impact
A project involves risks (Hallows 1998). The degree of a risk's impact means how damaging
the consequences are if a risk occurs. The amount and probability of risks correlates with the
goal and process clarity. Line work also includes risks but due to the project's uniqueness,
risks tend to occur more often and are higher in impact.
Degree of Change
Projects bring change to a company and the project's stakeholders (Shenar et al. 2001). In
addition, a project itself can mean change for the project members (Hiatt & Creasey 2003).
The degree of change varies and is a project characteristic (Blake in Dvir et al. 1998). Line
work usually does not bring any relevant change to the company (Partington 1996). The
degree of change is not necessarily the same for all project members.
Degree of Complexity
Project's have a certain level of complexity (Bu-Bushait 1998). The complexity is the sum of
most of the other characteristics. The more goals, the more processes, the more risks, the
more change, the longer the duration, the bigger the size and the more success factors, the
higher the complexity (Berkun 2000, Bu-Bushait 1998, Hallows 1998, Kerzner 2001a, Lewis
2002).
Organisational Structure
An organisation, using projects, can be structured in three ways (PMI 2004 and Goebli and
Larson in Gray et al. 1990). First, as a function. Second as a matrix, thirdly as a pure project
team organisation. Each of the structures has advantages and disadvantages that are
displayed in Figure 6. The structure has wide impacts on the project manager's authority,
team members’ loyalty, and the way the project can be performed.
Degree of Relevance
Different projects have different relevance to the organisation (Hallows 1998). Some may
affect only small parts of the organisations or in a little significant way; others might affect big
parts of the organisation or in a very significant way.
Existence and Weight of
Success Criteria
Projects usually have exactly defined success criteria such as meeting time, cost, and quality
(Robins 1993). The weight of these criteria may differ (Wit 1988). The success criteria all
focus on delivering the project's objective. Effectiveness is more important than efficiency
(Westerveld 2003). In contrast, line work usually has a certain objective and tries to reach this
repetitively as efficient as possible (Westerveld 2003).
Table 13: Project Characteristics I
Project's activities "fall outside the scope of normal operations" (Hallows 1998:14) and are
unique undertakings (PMI 2004). No project exactly uses the same processes as a project
before (Müller & Turner 2003). Consequently, there is some uncertainty in each project. This
uncertainty has two dimensions (Obeng in APM 2002): The degree of uncertainty of the goal
(what to do) and the degree of uncertainty in the process of how to reach this goal. Hence,
due to the project's uniqueness, projects work tends to be more uncertain than line work.
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