Chapter 1

Projects in Contemporary
Organizations

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Introduction

Much of project management developed by the

military
Navys Polaris program
NASAs space program
Strategic defense initiative
Project management has found wide acceptance in
industry
It has many applications outside of construction
Managing legal cases
Managing new product releases
Introduction Continued

Main forces in driving the acceptance of

project and other forms of management:
1. The exponential growth of human knowledge
2. The growing demand for a broad range of
complex goods and services
3. Increased worldwide competition
All of these contribute to the need for
organizations to do more and to do it faster
Project management is one way to do more
faster
Projects Tend to be Large

Projects tend to be large

The Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel
Denver International Airport
Panama Canal expansion project
Three Gorges Dam, China
Projects are getting larger over time
Flying: balloons planes jets rockets
reusable rockets
The more we can do, the more we try to do
Project Management Also Getting
Smaller

1. More people are seeing the

advantages of project management
techniques
2. The tools are become cheaper
3. The techniques are becoming more
widely taught and written about
Main Goals of Project Management

1. Time
2. Cost
3. Performance

Time, cost, and performance are all related

on a project
Direct Project Goals: Performance,
Cost, Time

Figure 1-1
Project Management Institute (PMI)

The Project Management Institute is the

major project management organization
Founded in 1969
Grew from 7,500 members in 1990 to over
260,000 in 2007
The Project Management Journal and PM
Network are the leading project management
journals
Project Manager

Project manager is the key individual

on a project
Project manager is like a mini-CEO
While project manager always has
responsibility, may not have necessary
authority
Trends in Project Management

Achieving strategic goals

Achieving routine goals
Improving project effectiveness
Virtual projects
Quasi-projects
Recent Changes in Managing
Organizations

1. Consensual management
2. Systems approach
3. Projects as preferred way to
accomplish goals
The Definition of a Project

Modern project management began with the

Manhattan Project
In the early days, project management was
used mainly for very complex projects
As the tools became better understood, they
began to trickle down to smaller projects
It has also moved out of just manufacturing
to services
Major Characteristics of a Project

Importance
Performance
Life cycle with a finite due date
Interdependencies
Uniqueness
Resources
Conflict
Why Project Management?

The main purpose for initiating a project is to

accomplish some goal
Project management increases the likelihood
of accomplishing that goal
Project management gives us someone (the
project manager) to spearhead the project
and to hold accountable for its completion
Negative Side to Project Management

Greater organizational complexity

Higher probability organizational policy
will be violated
Says managers cannot accomplish the
desired outcome
Conflict
The Project Life Cycle

Figure 1-3
Time Distribution of Project Effort

Figure 1-4
Another Possible Project Life Cycle

Figure 1-5
Risk During at the Start of the Life
Cycle

Figure 1-6
Risk During the Life Cycle

Figure 1-7
The Structure of this Text

Follows the project life cycle

Some topics stand-alone
Other topics incorporated throughout
Part I: Project Initiation

1. Projects in Contemporary Organizations

2. Strategic Management and Project
Selection
3. The Project Manager
4. Negotiation and the Management of Conflict
5. The Project in the Organizational Structure
Part II: Project Planning

6. Project Activity Planning

7. Budgeting and Cost Estimation
8. Scheduling
9. Resource Allocation
Part III: Project Execution

10. Monitoring and Information Systems

11. Project Control
12. Project Auditing
13. Project Termination