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What is a Matrix?

Webster is useful here. Webster's defines a matrix as "something within which something else originates or develops." The relevance of this definition to matrix management is that the matrix matters less than the projects or multidisciplinary processes which emerge from this approach to organization and management.

More to the point, however, is the definition which states "something resembling a mathematical matrix, especially in its rectangular arrangement of elements into rows and columns."

Rows and columns: The horizontal and the vertical. The horizontal and the vertical intersecting into a grid, where the grid is a network of interfaces. A matrix interface is where the focus of authority and responsibility comes into play, largely determining who works with whom on a project, product, or other process flow. These interfaces can be between the project teams and the functional elements of an organization.