Who Should Project Managers Report To?

There are at least a couple of good reasons why project management often reports through the IT department. This is sometimes the most efficient reporting structure for an organization, and IT staff typically understand the value of project management and want project managers as part of their team. Nonetheless, it is much better for the success of projects to have project management report through an organization’s primary business units.

By Kevin Turgeon

25 April 2024

In many organizations, project management is part of the information technology department. While there are some benefits to this organizational structure, it is much better for project management to report to the primary business units of an organization.

There are a couple of reasons why project management is often part of the IT department. First, an organization can sometimes increase efficiency by having its project managers report through IT. Most IT departments have at least a limited need for some type of project management support. A lot of the work done by IT departments is project-based, and there is a need in these departments for someone to oversee this work and ensure it remains on track. This leads many organizations to house project management within their IT departments and lend project managers out as needed to other organizational departments. In some cases, this allows organizations to decrease their overall project management cost by eliminating the need to have dedicated IT project managers and non-IT project managers.

The second reason why many organizations house project management in the IT department is that IT staff are accustomed to and comfortable working with project managers. Since so much of IT work is project-based, IT staff routinely work with project managers and, therefore, understand the value of project management and how best to utilize project managers. Simply put, this leads many IT departments to want to have project managers on their staff, while many non-IT departments are not as familiar with the role of project management and, therefore, do not fully understand the value of employing project managers.

While there are at least a couple of good reasons why project management often falls within IT, this is not the best organizational structure to ensure projects meet the needs of end users. The objective of most projects is to somehow help an organization’s primary business units better do their work. An organization’s primary business units are those parts of the organization that directly create value. These are the areas of an organization that do the work that directly makes the organization money or helps it meet its mission. All other areas of an organization exist to support these areas, including project management.

As the objective of most projects is to help an organization’s primary business units do their work better, it makes sense for project management to report directly to these units. The role of a project manager is to ensure projects remain on track and meet their objectives. Project managers who report to an organization’s primary business units are better equipped to do this because they have direct and non-conflicted relationships with the staff who should benefit most from their work.

It makes sense for project management to report through an organization’s primary business units, but many organizations are ill-prepared to support this structure. As was alluded to above, many primary business unit leaders are not familiar and comfortable with the role of project management. These leaders need to be educated on the value of project management and how to best utilize project managers and assess their performance before they can take over leadership of this department. Housing project management within an organization’s primary business units will ensure projects meet the needs of the most important parts of an organization, but many of the leaders of these areas need to increase their understanding and comfort level with project management before this can happen.

Most IT staff understand the value of project management and are comfortable working with project managers. Moreover, some organizations can achieve efficiency gains by having project management report through IT. However, this is not the best place for project management to be housed. Project management should report directly to an organization’s primary business units. This reporting structure ensures project managers have direct and non-conflicted relationships with the staff who should benefit most from their work. However, in order for organizations to institute such a structure, primary business unit leaders need to understand the value of project management and be comfortable directing the work of project managers.