Most of the agile readings emphasize the roles of the Project Manager (Scrum Master, Agile Project Manager, Process Facilitator, etc.), Product Manager (Product Owner, Customer Representative, etc.) and the Cross-Functional Team. However, there is very little reference in this literature to how functional line management should be involved or whether it even exists. Where is the Engineering Director? Does the Product Manager report to a director in the Marketing Department? What happens to the Director of Quality Assurance? What authority does the Project Manager have?

Which cross-functional approach works best?
In Winning at New Products, Robert Cooper outlines a study that evaluated the relative effectiveness of different project management structures for product development. They evaluated five types of structures:

  1. Functional – the project is divided into segments, which are assigned to relevant functional areas or groups.
  2. Functional Matrix – A project manager with limited authority is designated to coordinate the project across different functional areas. The functional managers retain responsibility and authority for their specific segments of the project.
  3. Balanced Matrix – A project manager is assigned to oversee the project and shares the responsibility and authority for completing the project with the functional managers; there is joint approval and direction.
  4. Project Matrix – A project manager is assigned to oversee the project and has primary responsibility and authority for the project. Functional managers assign personnel as needed and provide technical expertise.
  5. Project Team – A project manager is put in charge of a project team composed of a core group of personnel from several functional areas. The functional managers have no formal involvement.

This study was not focused on agile software development, but rather the relative new product performance – delivering successful new products to market. The results indicated that the three multifunctional team approaches (3, 4 and 5 above) all yielded about the same high performance, while the functional and functional matrix approaches led to the lowest new product performance. This aligns with our thinking – cross-functional teams work more effectively.

This study also noted that Project Teams were best suited for very complex projects but not as appropriate for less complex projects. In contrast, a Project Matrix worked equally well for both complex and simple projects – and equally as well at complex projects as Project Teams. This would indicate that a Project Matrix may be more suitable than Project Teams in most cases.

Additionally, strong project leadership (defined as a dedicated and empowered project leader) was essential to all timely, successful projects.

So while it appears to be a consensus that cross-functional teams perform better at new product development, it still may be open as to the best way to structure our cross-functional teams and what responsibilities the functional managers hold.

How have you structured your cross-functional teams and how effective have they been at delivering new products? Do you have functional line managers and if so, what responsibilities do they have over their functions?