Reconstructing Project Management
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More About This Title Reconstructing Project Management

English

This hugely informative and wide-ranging analysis on the management of projects, past, present and future, is written both for practitioners and scholars. Beginning with a history of the discipline’s development, Reconstructing Project Management provides an extensive commentary on its practices and theoretical underpinnings, and concludes with proposals to improve its relevancy and value. Written not without a hint of attitude, this is by no means simply another project management textbook.

The thesis of the book is that ‘it all depends on how you define the subject’; that much of our present thinking about project management as traditionally defined is sometimes boring, conceptually weak, and of limited application, whereas in reality it can be exciting, challenging and enormously important. The book draws on leading scholarship and case studies to explore this thesis.

The book is divided into three major parts. Following an Introduction setting the scene, Part 1 covers the origins of modern project management – how the discipline has come to be what it is typically said to be; how it has been constructed – and the limitations of this traditional model. Part 2 presents an enlarged view of the discipline and then deconstructs this into its principal elements. Part 3 then reconstructs these elements to address the challenges facing society, and the implications for the discipline, in the years ahead.  A final section reprises the sweep of the discipline’s development and summarises the principal insights from the book.

This thoughtful commentary on project (and program, and portfolio) management as it has developed and has been practiced over the last 60-plus years, and as it may be over the next 20 to 40, draws on examples from many industry sectors around the world. It is a seminal work, required reading for everyone interested in projects and their management.

English

Peter Morris is Professor of Construction and Project Management at University College London (UCL).

He is the author of The Management of Projects (Thomas Telford, 1994) and, with George Hough, of The Anatomy of Major Projects (John Wiley & Sons, 1987) and with Ashley Jamieson of Translating Corporate Strategy into Project Strategy (PMI, 2004). He is co-editor with Jeffrey Pinto of The Wiley Guide to Managing Projects (Wiley, 2005); and, with Jeffrey Pinto and Jonas Söderlund of The Oxford Handbook of Project Management (OUP, 2010).

He is a past Chairman of the Association for Project Management (APM) and Deputy Chairman of the International Project Management Association (IPMA).  He received the Project Management Institute's 2005 Research Achievement Award, IPMA's 2009 Research Award, and APM's 2008 Sir Monty Finniston Life Time Achievement Award.

English

Figures xiii

Tables xv

About the Author xvii

Preface xix

Introduction 1

Structure and Thesis of the Book 2

Take-Aways 5

References and Endnotes 6

PART 1 CONSTRUCTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT 7

Chapter 1 Introduction to Part 1 9

Historical Method 9

Bespeaking Relevant Knowledge 10

References and Endnotes 11

Chapter 2 Project Management before it was Invented 12

Pre-History: Projects and Society 12

Early Attempts at Formal Project Integration 19

World War II and the Manhattan Project 22

References and Endnotes 24

Chapter 3 Systems Project Management 27

USAF Integration: The Formal Recognition of Project Management 27

Schriever and the Atlas Program 30

Polaris 33

PERT and CPM 34

Construction 35

The Harvard Business Review Introduces the Project Manager! 36

McNamara and the Bureaucracy of Systems 36

Apollo: Confi guration Management and Project Leadership 37

DoD Bureaucratisation 41

Externalities 43

Energy and Commodities Projects 46

Nuclear Power 46

The Extractive Industries 48

References and Endnotes 49

Chapter 4 The Project Management Knowledge Base 52

The PMBOK® Guide 52

Theoretical Underpinnings 55

‘The Management of Projects’ 60

‘The Management of Projects’ Paradigm versus ‘Execution Delivery’ 61

The APM, IPMA, and Japanese BOKs 61

Quality Management 65

New Product Development: Lessons from Toyota 65

Academic Engagement 67

References and Endnotes 70

Chapter 5 Developing Project Management 75

IMEC: ‘Large Engineering Projects’ 75

Contracting and Procurement 76

Partnering and the new Procurement Environment 78

Risks and Opportunities 81

Flyvbjerg et al.: Transportation Projects and Optimism Bias 81

BOT/PFI 82

Value and Benefits 83

Health, Safety, and Environment 84

Defence Projects 86

Software Projects and Standish 86

Technology and Requirements Management 88

Agile Project Management 90

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) 91

Critical Chain 92

Program Management 93

Developing Enterprise-Wide p.m. Capability: The US Department of Energy (DoE)/NRC Study 94

References and Endnotes 95

Chapter 6 Enterprise-Wide Project Management (EWPM) 99

Strategy and Governance 99

PMOs 100

Best Practice Guidelines and Maturity 100

Critical Management 102

Learning and Development 104

Project Management as a Career Track 105

References and Endnotes 105

Chapter 7 The Development of Project Management: Summary 108

PART 2 DECONSTRUCTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT 113

Chapter 8 Introduction to Part 2 115

The Domain 115

Deconstructing Deconstruction 116

Approaching the Management of Projects 117

Developing Projects 120

References and Endnotes 121

Chapter 9 Control 123

Scope Management 123

Scheduling 128

Estimating 135

Budgeting 138

Cost Management 139

Performance Management (Earned Value) 140

References and Endnotes 142

Chapter 10 Organisation 145

Roles and Responsibilities 145

Structure 149

Structural Forms 152

Contingency Theory and Organisation Design 156

Project Management Contingency: Getting the Fit 157

References and Endnotes 157

Chapter 11 Governance and Strategy 160

Governance 160

Strategy 161

References and Endnotes 165

Chapter 12 Managing the Emerging Project Definition 167

Requirements Management 168

Solutions Development 170

References and Endnotes 174

Chapter 13 Procurement and the Project’s Commercial Management 176

Acquisition and Contracting Strategy 177

Partnering and Alliancing 179

Procurement 181

Contract Administration 182

References and Endnotes 184

Chapter 14 Adding Value, Controlling Risk, Delivering Quality, Safely and Securely 186

Building Value, Achieving Benefits 186

Risk and Opportunity Management 190

Quality Management 192

Health, Safety, Security, and Environment (HSSE) 194

References and Endnotes 195

Chapter 15 People 198

Leadership 199

Teams 201

Stakeholder Management 203

Culture 203

Individuals’ Skills and Behaviours 205

References and Endnotes 210

Chapter 16 Level 3: The Insti tutional Context 214

PMOs 215

Functions of the PMO 215

Clearing the Decks for Reconstruction 224

References and Endnotes 226

PART 3 RECONSTRUCTING PROJECT MANAGEMENT 229

Chapter 17 Introduction to Part 3 231

A Discipline 231

A Knowledge Domain 232

Foundations for the Future 233

References and Endnotes 233

Chapter 18 The Character of our PM Knowledge 234

Terminology 234

Ontology 236

Epistemology and Theories of Project Management 237

Methodology 240

The Character of the Field’s Substantive Knowledge 244

References and Endnotes 249

Chapter 19 Managing Context 252

Independent (or Semi-Independent) Variables 253

Dependent Variables 254

References and Endnotes 256

Chapter 20 Ethos: Building Sponsor Value 257

Questions of Purpose 257

Effectiveness 258

Enhancing Sponsor Value 258

The Japanese Approach: Pursuing Innovation and Value 266

References and Endnotes 267

Chapter 21 ‘only connect’ – the Age of Relevance 269

Connecting p.m. to Organisational Performance 269

The New Dystopia? 270

The Role of MoP/P3M 273

References and Endnotes 276

PART 4 SUMMA 279

Chapter 22 Summary and Conclusions 281

The Sweep of Project Management 281

Conclusions for the Discipline 283

Appendices 287

Appendix 1: Critical Success Factor Studies 289

Appendix 2: ‘Characteristics of Successful Megaprojects or Systems Acquisitions’ 306

Index 309

English

"This book is well written in plain, unambiguous English. It is for all serious project management practitioners working on any significant project in any area of project management application… This is an academic tome, yet … surprisingly easy and enjoyable reading…the contents throughout the book provide incredible insights and sound and realistic advice."  (From a review by R.Max Wideman, Fellow of the Project Management Institute, December 2014)

“Summing Up: Highly recommended.  Upper-division undergraduates through professionals/practitioners.”  (Choice, 1 February 2014)

Bravo! … a tour de force on the philosophy, methods and practices of project and program management; a feast of PM lore, knowledge and insight… provides the most complete and well-integrated coverage of the evolution of project management written to date… a must-read for teachers, students and reflective practitioners of the art and craft of project management.
Raymond E. Levitt, Kumagai Professor of Engineering, Director, Stanford Global Projects Center, University of Stanford

This book has something for everyone – facts, ideas, concepts and theories that will be of interest to students, practitioners and managers alike. Through whatever lens you are looking at project management, whether past, present or future, you will almost certainly find the answer in this book.
Mike Brown, Director of Project and Programme Management, Rolls-Royce plc, Derby

For anyone involved in thinking about projects, whether as deliverers, teachers or researchers, this book will fascinate and challenge in equal measure.
Robbie Burns, Regional Director, Western and Wales Region, Infrastructure Projects, Network Rail

Every thinking professional in the field should read it; every serious library must contain a copy.  This book confirms Peter’s place as THE world’s leading critical thinker on the increasingly important topic of managing projects.
David L. Pells, Managing Editor, PM World Journal, Houston, Texas

 

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