Organisation · Structure · Component
Coordination register
The dependencies between units, the mechanism assigned to coordinate each one, and the points where coordination is known to fail.
The deliverable
What it is
Grouping separates work; the coordination register records how it is joined again. Galbraith’s argument is that lateral mechanisms — liaison roles, shared forums, integrating roles — are as much part of the structure as the reporting lines.
It is also the place where a structure’s weak points are written down. Every organisation knows where its handovers fail; the register makes that knowledge available to the next design.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The dependencies
Each pair of units whose work depends on the other, and what passes between them: inputs, decisions, information.
3 attributes: Upstream unit · Downstream unit · What passes
LearnThe mechanism
How each dependency is coordinated, from standardised outputs and liaison roles to shared forums and integrating roles.
3 attributes: Mechanism · Coordinator · Cadence
LearnThe friction points
Dependencies where coordination is known to fail, recorded with the symptom and what is being done about it.
3 attributes: Dependency · Symptom · Handling
Learn
Several friction points on one boundary are a finding about the grouping, not only about the mechanism. Look at the boundary before adding another meeting.
The other components in structure
Unit map
The units the organisation is divided into, what each is for, the basis on which they are grouped, and whom each reports into.
LearnSpan and layer record
How many people each manager leads directly, and how many layers separate the top of the organisation from the front line.
Learn