Allocating project managers to projects in a multi-project environment

A recent empirical study demonstrated that the process of allocating project managers to projects (PM2P) in multi-project environments of Botswana was not effective. This inspired the authors to seek to understand the structure of the PM2P process with a view of proposing improvements to increase effectiveness. A conceptual model was developed and used in this study, which focusses on using the developed model as a theoretical lens to study the process in a large company, using the case study method. Via an enumeration, qualitative and quantitative data were collected from four project directors and eleven senior level executives through in-depth semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the quantitative data (using univariate descriptive analysis) and qualitative data (using content and thematic analysis) revealed weaknesses in the existing PM2P process demonstrated in five ways namely: (1) absence of documented and specific competencies required of project managers in various roles, (2) lack of management tools and techniques to match project managers to projects, (3) prevalence of ad-hoc projects, (4) lack of consideration of a comprehensive list of inputs and (5) lack of accountability for outputs. The strengths in existing PM2P process were demonstrated in two ways namely: (1) use of management tools and techniques at strategic level to forecast project implementation costs for projects in the pipeline, and (2) managersÕ recognition of some important criteria to be considered in the PM2P process. The findings provide a strong basis upon which a decision support system can be developed to facilitate a more effective approach to allocating project managers to projects in the multi-project environment of the case study in question. Other companies that undertake business in a multi-project context may benefit from this work.