1. How to Establish an
Organizational Culture
that Supports Projects
By: Romains Bos

2. The Problem
• Projects are becoming a critical part of corporate success yet PMI research tells us that
most projects do not fully succeed. According to a recent Price Waterhouse Coopers
Survey of 10,640 projects valued at $7.2 billion, across a broad range of industries, large
and small, only 2.5% of global businesses achieve 100% project success and over 50% of
global business projects fail
• The Chaos Survey by The Standish Group reports similar findings. They say that 71% of
all projects are either “challenged” (due to late delivery, being over-budget, or delivering
less than required features), or “failed” and are cancelled prior to completion or the product
developed is never used. Their statistics have not effectively changed since 1994
• Organizations have implemented tools, templates and methodologies, but performance
does not change. Why? According to PMI research of over 750 global companies, the
missing element is a culture where working effectively on projects is accepted as “just part
of what we do.”

3. What PMO Research Tells Us
• PMI research of over 750 organizations world-wide shows that 60% of Project
Management Offices (PMO’s) say that the organizational culture is not supportive of the
PMO. The major reason for project failure is that most organizations do not ensure that all
projects they implement align with their organization’s corporate strategy
• Furthermore, findings show that performance management systems do not take into
account new reporting structures such as Matrix Management. The result is that
employees identify time spent on projects as an intrusion to their daily job
• Moreover, few organizations clearly define and consistently use project success measures
from one project to another and usually fail to capture and retain project knowledge. The
bottom-line is that most organizations today are operating with a diversity of organizational
cultures that change from one project to the next, from one department to the next
• The answer is for organizations to embed the best practices that make or break their
projects into the very framework and support systems of the organization. I call this a
Project Culture Change (PCC)

4. Organizational Culture and
Organizational 'Project' Culture
• “Organization culture is like pornography; it is hard to define, but you know when you see
it.” - Ellen Wallach
• Organizational culture is made up of the attitudes, values, beliefs and behaviors of its
employees. It reflects the demonstrated values and principles of the workplace,
permeating everything an organization does. Essentially, it can make or break your
organization
• The ideal organizational culture is one in which projects are considered in strategic
planning and are implemented to support an organization’s corporate strategy and
corporate objectives
• In this way, they receive the necessary attention and support of senior management and
the organization’s resources to allow them to succeed. Each organization will have its own
‘ideal’ organizational culture, support systems and internal and external resources to
achieve this

5. What are the Benefits of Implementing an
Organizational Culture that Supports Projects?
Having the right organizational culture that incorporates project management provides our
organization with a number of benefits:
• Projects will be aligned with corporate strategies, ensuring that business objectives are met
• Projects come in on time, so our time to customer is improved
• Projects come in on budget, potentially saving millions each year
• Projects meet customer expectations so customer satisfaction levels increase
• Project teams are more effective and efficient, leading to high morale and more dedicated staff

6. What Will a Project Culture Change
(PCC) Involve?
A Project Culture Change (PCC) is about:
• Having the “right” reporting structures for projects
• Having project prioritization systems to align projects with corporate strategies and
business objectives
• Developing the ‘right’ Performance Management to recognize work performed on projects
• Integrating Project Management best practices for all projects
A PCC is not about: tools, techniques, methodologies, Matrix Management, project
management processes or training.

7. Creating an Organizational ‘Project’ Culture
Creating an organizational ‘project’ culture requires organizations to:
1. Understand what makes up their “ideal” organizational culture to incorporate projects
2. Measure where they stand today against the “ideal” organizational ‘project’ culture
3. Determine the goal and strategy to close the gap
4. Develop and implement the plan
5. Measure progress

8. The Project Culture Change (PCC)
The PCC is a change management process to help assess, identify and close the gaps
between existing organizational culture and ideal organizational ‘project’ culture.
• The PCC process creates positive changes in the organizational culture that are
sustainable and brought about by all staff
• All staff is engaged in the process to ensure their voices are heard, their contribution is
counted and to gain commitment and buy-in
• The process will also ensure that the changing customer requirements are continually met
and the strategic plan is successfully executed
There are four steps in the PCC:
1. Create a PCC Steering Committee
2. Communicate the PCC to the organization
3. Measure the organization’s current culture against the “ideal” project culture
4. Develop strategies to close the gap between the current and “ideal” project culture

9. Step 1: Create a Steering Committee
• A cross-functional steering committee that consists of a mix of management and staff will
lead the project, guiding the approach for the organization
• This committee will report directly to their Sponsor, the CEO / President of the
organization. It will be important for the Steering Committee to define their purpose, roles
and responsibilities as well as their communication strategy and expected outcomes
• They will develop sub-committees of staff who will help to manage the on-going project
change requirements

10. Step 2: Communicate the PCC to the organization
• Once the Steering Committee has undertaken the first step, they will communicate the
initiative to the rest of the organization—explaining why it is important and how it will
benefit staff

11. Step 3: Measure the current organizational culture
against the “ideal” organizational ‘project’ culture
• To measure the base point for the current organizational culture in relation to the “ideal”
organizational ‘project’ culture, staff of all levels will be asked to complete a survey. These
individuals might spend a lot of time on projects or very little time
• They may be a project leader or a project team member. They may be working on a small
project on their own or be part of a very large project. They might provide resources to a
project but not actually be involved in any project directly
• All these individuals should be included to provide a 360-degree feedback view of the
current organizational culture with regard to project management. The survey will identify
the gaps and where they exist and will also gauge the organization’s readiness for change
• Analysis of the results will help the organization to identify the organizational forces likely
to drive or impede change and what changes are necessary to close the gap between
existing and ideal organizational ‘project’ culture

12. Step 4: Develop strategies to close the gap between
current and "ideal" project culture
• It's management's responsibility to determine how to close the gap between the current
and "ideal" project culture for their organization

13. Conclusion
At the end of the day, the beneficial outcomes of a PCC will be to:
• Guide our organization through a process to define and create a healthy Project
Management environment
• Identify the organizational changes that may be necessary to facilitate our ideal
organizational ‘project’ culture
• Outline a plan to achieve our ideal organizational ‘project’ culture
• This process will help our organization improve its project management performance and
business success by ensuring that project management becomes a competency
embedded into everyone’s role

14. Foundations of Project Success
Scope and Requirements
Schedule
Project Success
Quality
Cost
Integrity and Safety

15. The
End
Questions?
Comments?