Life in a Matrix

I found some well thought through posts on the blog “When IT goes bad” (you will need to scroll down to 17 March, Jan 27 & 19th posts on the page) on project management in a “weak matrix” (where control lies less with a project manager, and more with functional or resource managers)

The posts go into some detail on the relative responsibilities of resource and project managers and why this allocation of responsibilities is necessary - well worth a read if you are running projects in a matrix.

The ideas do not completely solve the competing priorities issue (nothing will - as we have seen “if you can align completely you don’t meed a matrix”) but may help if you can clarify respective roles in managing the project.