Project management

Project management
Name	Project management
Focus	Coordination of resources to achieve objectives
Origin	Ancient practices to modern methodologies
Notable	Frederick Taylor, Henry Gantt, Henry Ford, Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Herbert Simon

Project management Project management organizes resources, schedules, and stakeholders to deliver defined outcomes within constraints. It integrates planning, execution, monitoring and control, and closure across diverse contexts such as construction, software, defense, and space exploration. Practitioners draw on standards, methodologies, and tools developed by institutions, corporations, and notable figures worldwide.

Overview

Project management coordinates people from organizations such as Apple Inc., Microsoft Corporation, General Electric, Bechtel Corporation, and Siemens AG to deliver outputs for clients like United Nations, European Union, World Bank, NASA, and NATO. It balances scope, time, cost, quality, and stakeholder expectations represented by entities including International Organization for Standardization, Project Management Institute, Association for Project Management, AXELOS, and ISO 21500. The discipline leverages contributions from individuals such as Frederick Taylor, Henry Gantt, Henry Ford, Eliyahu M. Goldratt, and Herbert Simon, and interacts with programs run by United States Department of Defense, Royal Navy, Airbus, and Toyota Motor Corporation.

History and evolution

Early coordination practices appeared in projects like the construction of Great Pyramid of Giza, works of Imhotep, and Roman engineering under Julius Caesar and Vitruvius. Medieval and Renaissance projects involved patrons such as Lorenzo de' Medici and institutions like Catholic Church commissioning cathedrals and works by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. Industrialization brought methods from James Watt and Eli Whitney through innovators in manufacturing like Henry Ford and management theorists including Frederick Taylor and Frank Gilbreth. The 20th century saw formal scheduling for projects such as Manhattan Project and Apollo Program and the development of techniques by Henry Gantt and organizations including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Bell Labs. Late 20th and early 21st centuries introduced standards from Project Management Institute, frameworks from AXELOS and Agile Alliance, and software platforms by Microsoft Corporation, Atlassian, and Oracle Corporation.

Methodologies and frameworks

Practitioners adopt approaches promulgated by bodies such as Project Management Institute, Agile Alliance, Scrum Alliance, Scaled Agile, Inc., AXELOS, and International Organization for Standardization. Prominent methodologies include Waterfall model used by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, Scrum (software development) deployed at Spotify and Salesforce, Kanban popularized by Toyota Motor Corporation and Motorola Solutions, PRINCE2 used in UK Ministry of Defence projects, Critical Path Method applied in Bechtel Corporation civil works, and Critical Chain Project Management inspired by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Hybrid approaches combine practices from Lean manufacturing as championed by Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo with frameworks from Six Sigma advocates like Motorola and General Electric.

Project lifecycle and phases

Lifecycle models trace phases used by projects such as Channel Tunnel and Three Gorges Dam: initiation exemplified by approvals from World Bank or European Commission; planning seen in programs by NASA and European Space Agency; execution in undertakings by Bechtel Corporation and Fluor Corporation; monitoring and control in operations of BP and Shell plc; and closure as practiced by United Nations Development Programme missions. Gate reviews under frameworks like PRINCE2 and stage gates used by Robert G. Cooper in product development guide decisions at milestones in firms like Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson.

Tools and techniques

Common tools include software from Microsoft Corporation (Project), Atlassian (Jira), Oracle Corporation (Primavera), and cloud services by Amazon Web Services and Google LLC. Techniques used by teams at IBM, Accenture, Deloitte, McKinsey & Company, and Boston Consulting Group include work breakdown structures influenced by Henry Gantt, earned value management adopted by U.S. Department of Defense contracts, risk registers inspired by ISO 31000 and ISO 21500, stakeholder analysis referencing practices from World Bank and United Nations Development Programme, and estimation methods such as Delphi used by RAND Corporation and Bell Labs. Visualization tools from Tableau Software and SAP SE integrate dashboards used by Citigroup and Goldman Sachs for performance reporting.

Roles and organizational structure

Typical roles appear across entities like Siemens AG, Honeywell International Inc., Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies Corporation, and Northrop Grumman: project sponsor often from executive ranks such as Chief Executive Officer at General Electric or CEO of Apple Inc.; project manager drawing credentials from Project Management Institute or Association for Project Management; program manager coordinating portfolios at European Commission and World Bank; and steering committees mirroring governance in United Nations agencies. Organizational models include matrix structures used by IBM and Procter & Gamble, projectized forms in Bechtel Corporation and Foster + Partners, and functional hierarchies in Siemens AG and Boeing.

Metrics, performance and risk management

Performance measurement borrows indicators applied by Fortune 500 firms like Amazon.com, Inc., Walmart, and Shell plc: schedule variance and cost variance from earned value management used in NASA procurement, key performance indicators adopted by World Health Organization projects, and benefit realization tracked by European Investment Bank and Asian Development Bank. Risk management references standards such as ISO 31000 and employs quantitative techniques used by Moody's Corporation and Standard & Poor's for probabilistic assessment. Contingency planning and resilience strategies mirror approaches from National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Federal Emergency Management Agency in addressing technical, financial, and geopolitical risks for ventures involving stakeholders like International Monetary Fund and G20.

Category:Management