ERICSSON: A CASE OF ENTERPRISE PROJECT GOVERNANCE EVOLUTION In practice, many organizations evolve over time toward a broad enterprise approach for managing projects. Such is the case of Ericsson, a global telecommunications manufacturer headquartered in Sweden, which spent decades developing project management expertise. Known as PROPS (for PROject for Project Steering), the frameworks objective is to enable project managers anywhere in the world to complete their projects successfully. In the late 1980s, the company developed the first PROPS version to support the development of digital telecom switches. The introduction of mobile telecom networks sparked the need to develop a more generic model that was uncoupled from specific product lines. Later, generic versions were developed with focuses on (1) customer projects, (2) market-based R&D, and (3) internal company projects. This broadened the focus to general project management practices and encompassed the business context of projects. Ultimately, this led to the companys projectization, where projects became the way of working at Ericsson, because as much as 80 percent of the companys employees work on projects. The PROPS framework has gone through multiple versions and has become a framework for enterprise project management aimed at all project related areas, including project management, program management, portfolio management, and project offices. Focus is on the enterprise as a whole and multiple project of sundry natures. The key points of the PROPS framework are as follows: Business perspective Human perspective Project life-cycle model Project organization model In essence, the framework contains the basics for EPG, and is used as a basis for similar programs at Volvo, Saab, and other international companies. The creation and evolution of PROPS was sponsored and supported by top management. A small unit responsible for project management support was given the assignment to host the framework and act as an internal consultancy team. A group of technical writers was brought in to ensure that PROPS was documented and launched in a way that would be reader friendly and attractive to potential users. Later, an internal center of excellence became responsible for development of PROPS, as well as for project management training and support. This focused group of people dedicated to PROPS cause was a key factor for its success. Ericsson gradually developed a fully projectized culture from top to bottom, and did so by continuously upgrading its basic project management framework, with the full involvement and support of top managers. According to Ericssons Inger Bergman, Changing a company from a traditional hierarchical, functional manufacturing industry to an agile player in the IT area is not easy and takes time and effort. Project management is now seen as an important asset for the company and a competitive advantage in R&D and sales delivery. Ericsson is an example of the evolution of project governance capabilities. Questions Think about how the Ericsson case relates to the project governance material in the course.

1. Describe the consistencies between Ericssons PROPS framework and the project governance material in the course.

2. Describe the gaps between Ericssons PROPS framework and the project governance material in the course.

3. What would be your recommendations to improve Ericssons PROPS framework?