[p911dad]

We used dedicated project managers, which were not necessarily prof eng. These staff tracked masses of projects from start to completion and interacted with the functional managers(folks actually doing the projects) to gather certain data. The FMs were always actual engineers. The PMs reported on the progress up the chain to the Planners(money guys) for a monthly discussion on project status in person with the group directors and general manager. The PMs could be called into the meeting as a resource if needed for more detail. Our GM really only wanted the executive summary(on time, not on time, money good?, problems, need more resources, etc) rather than the mind numbing details. The Planner hosted the meeting.
The PMs often had friction with the FMs because the PMs did not have any authority over the FMs, who perceived the PMs as time wasters on their tight schedules. The PMs reported to Planning, while the FMs reported to their group directors.