On How Many Projects Can one Project
Manager Handle?

In response to Letter to the Editor in July 2010 PM World Today

6 July 2010

Dear Kristi, David,

My experience tells me that it would be impractical to provide a generalized calculation of how many Projects a Project Manager can handle, for use across the many industries and organizations who rely on Project Managers.  David has called out some of the more prominent reasons why this would be challenging.

In some cases, an organization may be able to establish a meaningful calculation which would be unique to their Projects.  For example, if an organization runs a product’s Deployment Projects, with a consistent scope of services, profile of customer interaction and set of Project Management Practices, one may presume a fairly consistent amount of Project Management effort.  Variables in such a calculation may take unique factors of a given Project into account, such as accessibility of customer personnel or deployment of a newly released product version.  This is analogous to saying that a particular Project is a bit more challenging than the average Project due to such factors.  Under ideal circumstances, a simple calculation may suffice.  Even then, one should be cautious that a one-size-fits-all approach does not stifle innovation.

In general, I believe organizations would be better served to think instead about devising a means by which the workload of Project Managers is managed, as opposed to seeking a single calculation.  In addition to the many factors which may vary from project to project, there are also a plethora of tools and techniques utilized in day-to-day Project Management.  One does well to think of these options in the same way as one thinks of their toolbox at home.  When repairing a leaky pipe under the bathroom sink, one selects the specific tools used to repair pipes in this situation.  The constraints of the job are highly relevant, as one quickly learns when the screwdriver that worked so nicely under the kitchen sink is too long to fit in the limited space under the bathroom sink.  Similarly, a Project Manager is best served to use Project Management tools and techniques aligned to the challenges of the Project at hand.

My experience tells me that Project Manager workload should be handled as an integral part of the organization’s approach to Resource Management.  My company often scopes out the effort of a Project Manager by identifying the tasks and coordination which call for Project Management time, and then allocating the corresponding portion of a Project Manager’s time to that Project.  As with other aspects of planning a Project, this may involve tradeoffs to match the constraints of the situation.  When clients select our company to provide Project or Program Management services, we occasionally find that the ideal amount of planning, or the number and frequency of Project Team Meetings, does not fit within their stated budget.  Our job is to enable the sponsor to understand the differences they may experience in these differing levels of Project Management, so they may make an informed decision as to whether their interest are best served by applying more Project Management capacity.  This is commonly a matter of risk tolerance vs. cost savings.  For internal Project Management staffing, it’s generally a tradeoff between risk and headcount.  When one then translates the risk into the anticipated cost of unfavorable Project outcomes, the dialogue becomes more about making an informed business decision.

Where there is a recurring profile of Project, an organization may develop a standard set of Project Management Practices for those Projects which fit the profile, and then accelerate the effort estimation with calculations, as noted above.  Many organizations have one or more recurring profiles of Projects.  However, most organizations also have a portion of their Projects which are unique enough to require case-by-case consideration.  Ideally, an organization finds a means of managing Project Management workload which is flexible enough to handle the more nuanced Projects, while providing simplicity and efficiency for recurring types of Projects.

Let me know if you have any further questions, or would like to pursue this line of thinking further.

Best Regards,

Brian M. McCutcheon, PMP
Founder and Principal Consultant
SoftReach Services, Inc.
California, USA
+1(408) 439-2222 (cell)
Brian.McCutcheon@SoftReachServices.com
www.SoftReachServices.com

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