Question

Case Study Comau, a Fiat group member, forms a “project management family” to keep project communications in control. Part of Italian industrial giant Fiat Group, the company Comau has 11,000 employees working in 19 locations of 15 countries around the globe. Challenge In the modern age of globalization, the business world knows no borders. What happens in Italy isn’t always what happens in Brazil, India, or China. These differences among different geographical locations and the lack of real-time transparency posed huge communications-related challenges for Comau. Solution To improve the status quo, not only did Comau create a Project Management Office (PMO) at the corporate level to work with all regional PMOs to foster knowledge transfer between locations around the world, but they also formed a “project management family,” a group that included all project, program, and portfolio managers as well as people they typically worked closely with, such as project controllers and planners. The group holds yearly meetings and exchanges information, know-how, and lessons learned through a dedicated portal. “Whether it’s France or India, our project management family now shares a common language and common processes,” says Valerio Crovasce, PMP, the corporate PMO manager at Comau, Grugliasco, Italy. Results Various assessments and survey results have not only indicated significant improvements in global communications for Comau, but also they have identified the remaining weaknesses. Comau continues to use this data to make ongoing improvements. Note: This case study is based on V. Crovasce’s article “Common Ground,” which appeared in the January 2010 issue of PM Network. Case Study Questions 1. Discuss the concept of “project management family” within the context of this case. 2. What did Comau do to control project communications? 3. What are the lessons learned from this case?

Answer 1

1- PROJECT MANAGEMENT FAMILY:

As per the given case, PROJECT MANAGEMENT FAMILY is basically a group formed to keep communications in control regarding all the projects that are going on in various countries of a company. This group includes all project, program and portfolio managers as well as the people who are closely related to the projects. This group holds yearly meetings to exchange information, know-how, and lessons learned through a dedicated portal.

2- Comau formed PROJECT MANAGEMENT FAMILY and PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE at the corporate level to manage information flow within various countries to control project communications.

3- ONE important thing which I learned from this case is that, if you are carrying out your business in various countries then it becomes very important for you to keep a tap on information that is flowing from one country to another and to make sure that important information is shared among various people at the right time.

IN SHORT MANAGING GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS BECOMES REALLY IMPORTANT FOR A COMPANY OPERATING IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES SO AS TO SURVIVE IN THE LONG RUN.