Why projects are including more cross-functional teams

Silo thinking can be the bane of any organization. It prevents staff from working effectively with one another or with external stakeholders, undermining efforts to reach organizational goals.

Cross-functional teams (CFTs) bring together experts from different functions or organizations into one project team, designed to cut across that rigid approach.

They need careful planning, governance and support from the wider organization and higher-level management. BS 6079:2019, Project management - Principles and guidance for the management of projects, is a full revision of the BSI's project management standards.  

Miles Shepherd, Vice-President of the Association for Project Management, who is the Chair of the BSI MS/2 committee, ‘Project, programme and portfolio management’ says: 'The standard defines the context for project management and so aims to inform project staff and senior management of the benefits of the discipline.  Its aim is to ensure desired benefits result from the project or programme.  The revised standard reflects current thinking on projects and all accountabilities and process models have been fully revised to reflect this.'

What are the benefits of cross-functional teams?

A collaborative team approach is essential for achieving business objectives, generally leading to better progress and results, and mainly fewer errors.          

Miles Shepherd adds: 'Cross functional teams are a regular feature of projects and it makes sense to ensure common processes are followed by all participants.  This ensures a co-operative team culture and that all participants understand their role.'

CFTs generally enable decisions to be taken at a lower level, as each team has a wider perspective on the relevant issues.

Perhaps the key benefits are to guarantee effective communications, resolve conflicts better, create innovative solutions to project issues, and collectively ensure that the project activities meet the required standards.

Less tangible but also important benefits to team members include demonstrating commitment to the project, feeling a sense of purpose and increasing job satisfaction.

Ideally, teams should be built not only to cover all the relevant skill requirements, but also to include a mixture of personal characteristics.

How do cross-functional teams operate?

The standard covers two possible operational models for project organizations, both of which have their advantages and disadvantages.

Firstly, they can be entirely oriented towards projects, with the organization structured around CFTs, or be based on existing functional teams.

More commonly, though, CFTs are a 'matrix' structure, comprising personnel from functional teams structured to reflect the requirements of the project objectives. Project participants not required full time for the project may undertake work for their parent department in addition to their project work.  Accountabilities are assigned between the two, and employees report to the project manager and their head of department.

Functional organization is commonly found in organizations that have significant non-project business as usual and do not need to structure exclusively on projects. 

A collaborative approach should be embedded at all levels of the organization, including governance and decision-making.

The standard explains in detail how the different models operate and how project teams should be involved throughout the project’s life cycle. 

Why is higher level management important in project management?

A recent study published in the Harvard Business Review[1] found, alarmingly, that 75% of cross-functional teams were dysfunctional.

They failed on metrics such as meeting a planned budget, staying on schedule, adhering to specifications, meeting customer expectations and maintaining alignment with the company's corporate goals.

Fortunately, the report's author, Professor Behnam Tabrizi of Stanford University, also identified the key requirement: Governance.  

There was a strong correlation between the minority of successful projects and their oversight by a high-level team or single high-level executive champion. Such projects had an impressive 76% success rate.

The new BSI standard recognizes and accentuates the role of such higher-level management, which must be involved in all projects, not just large, expensive or any that are of critical importance to an organization.

It defines senior management roles as roles that:

• ensure a supportive organizational environment;
• assess a project's viability and alignment to the organization's strategy;
• oversee the project;
• take or delegate key decisions; and
• review the outcome.

As Miles Shepherd mentions: 'The role of senior management is critical to the success of project delivery and the standard highlights this while supporting senior management in the execution of their responsibilities.'

The standard gives detailed guidance on how higher-level management should function at all stages of the project.

How should organizations address project management?

There are many project management tools, techniques and processes that your organization can adopt.

Whatever method you choose, remember: you must never lose sight of your key business objectives. Keep your focus on the end goals!

'Project Managers are responsible for delivering beneficial change to their organization; the standard is intended to help project and functional staff understand not just the basics but also the reasons underlying their roles', said Miles Shepherd.

For more information, or to buy the standard, visit the BSI Shop.