Chapter 1

Projects in Contemporary
Organizations

Copyright 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Introduction
l

Much of project management developed by the

military

l
l

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
l

Main forces in driving the acceptance of

project and other forms of management:
1.
2.
3.

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l

Continued

The exponential growth of human knowledge

The growing demand for a broad range of
complex goods and services
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

l

Projects tend to be large

Projects are getting larger over time

The Channel Tunnel, or Chunnel

Denver International Airport
Panama Canal expansion project
Three Gorges Dam, China
Flying: balloons planes jets rockets
reusable rockets

The more we can do, the more we try to do

Project Management Also Getting

Smaller
1.

2.
3.

More people are seeing the

advantages of project management
techniques
The tools are become cheaper
The techniques are becoming more
widely taught and written about

Main Goals of Project Management

1.
2.
3.

Time
Cost
Performance

Time, cost, and performance are all related

on a project

Direct Project Goals: Performance,

Cost, Time

Figure 1-1

Project Management Institute (PMI)

l
l
l
l

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
l Project

manager is the key individual

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

Trends in Project Management

l Achieving

strategic goals
l Achieving routine goals
l Improving project effectiveness
l Virtual projects
l Quasi-projects

Recent Changes in Managing

Organizations
1.
2.
3.

Consensual management
Systems approach
Projects as preferred way to
accomplish goals

The Definition of a Project

l
l
l
l

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

l
l
l
l
l
l
l

Importance
Performance
Life cycle with a finite due date
Interdependencies
Uniqueness
Resources
Conflict

Why Project Management?

l
l
l

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

l Greater

organizational complexity
l Higher probability organizational policy
will be violated
l Says managers cannot accomplish the
desired outcome
l 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

l Follows

the project life cycle

l Some topics stand-alone
l Other topics incorporated throughout

Part I: Project Initiation

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Projects in Contemporary Organizations

Strategic Management and Project
Selection
The Project Manager
Negotiation and the Management of Conflict
The Project in the Organizational Structure

Part II: Project Planning

6.
7.
8.
9.

Project Activity Planning

Budgeting and Cost Estimation
Scheduling
Resource Allocation

Part III: Project Execution

10.
11.
12.
13.

Monitoring and Information Systems

Project Control
Project Auditing
Project Termination