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.
Table of Contents:
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
About the Author :
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.
Review :
"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)
