For a quick and readable overview of project management, look at the Wikipedia article on the subject.
Chapter 1
DR. PERKINS WRITES:
I worked for almost 15 years in engineering and construction before I learned what a project wasn't. Both consulting engineering and construction, where I grew up, are almost always done via "projects." Chapter 1 of Meredith seems to be explaining the obvious, preaching to the choir. But it is important to realize that most of the rest of the world does not move by "projects" nor do the managers of most economic endeavors practice project management.
The man who taught me what a project isn't, did so inadvertently. He was a chemical engineer with over over 20 years experience and managed an industrial plant. My firm was hired to manage a summer's series of construction projects. The year before a $100k project, installing a generator, had cost $300k and was not done on time. Who managed that one? The answer was, Nobody. This plant had an operations staff that ran the plant, a few engineers that supported the operations, and a purchasing agent, who bought gaskets and Xerox paper. Now all these people were busy doing their regular operations things all year long. But each summer they had a laundry list of things to get done while the weather was warm. Money was budgeted in January and come summer things were built. Further all this seemed to have gone well for years. Little was designed, as such. The engineers had a notion of the pipe diameters required, a local welder was hired via the purchasing agent, the engineers pointed out to the welder what was needed, and a little while later the new pipe was installed. Who needed a "project" or a "project manager?" Especially a contract project manager, like me, who wanted to get paid. What amazed me, when I learned the history, was how much construction work could be done this way. Of course the people involved were quite good, they were lucky with a few on-call construction contractors, and the projects were quite small, relative to the overall scope of the plant operations. My boss said of the plant manager, "He runs all these projects out of his back pocket." All that had happened the year before was the job was larger, coordination with the local power company was required, too many design details were not pinned down, and the contractor was too large to have his crews put to work on something else while things were being sorted out. Boom, a vastly over budget project. Next year, I had a job.
The incorporation of unique and temporary work items, i.e., projects, into the stream of ongoing operations is the commonest approach. A law firm has a ongoing stream of clients and cases flow through it. They are not unique (and may not be temporary, if the client has enough money) and their flow is SOP. Now the firm wants to purchase a large computer and install it in an adjoined office. Bingo - a project. Will they hire or appoint a "project manager?" Or will they talk to the landlord and the Xerox representative and let one of the administrative assistants give people the keys to the office door, and pay the bills when they come in? Here a "project" would be appropriate, but it is probably too small to justify the administrative changes needed to handle it as a project.
How about upgrading your operating system? A pain perhaps, but not a project. How about upgrading the operating system on 400 or 500 computers in 4 or 5 different states and that many LANs? You bet that's a "project."
If you are like me, born and raised on projects, the take-home message is that most of the world is not that way. When dealing with clients and the public, it is often wise to assume they are not familiar with the concept of a "project" at all, and to educate them about the desirability of using project management techniques.
ESM 609 Index