"A project is a problem scheduled to be solved" (Dr. J. M. Juran). This citation briefly describes the highly demanding and complex task of project management. A more technical definition understands the nature of project management as "the entirety of managerial functions, managerial organisation, and managerial techniques and means for the carrying out of a project" (DIN 69 901). Project Management requires organizational skills, the foresight to anticipate the unexpected, and the ability to monitor progress and change course as needed. The use of project management continues to grow in our society and its organizations. Companies nowadays are growing more rapidly but their conservative organisational structure, which is based on functional specialisation, is not able to deal with increasing complex tasks, thus many goals could not be achieved in traditional ways but with project management. This has lead to the fact that businesses are more and more focussing on a more project - oriented approach. Businesses take advantage of project management when unique outcomes have to be accomplished and resources and time are limited. Projects are even more familiar in the service sector, where mostly campaigns, seminars, etc. are structured as projects. Since the massive growth in this field has made project management so popular, many companies nowadays also use it for restructuring. Generally, projects tend to be established for special tasks, e.g. extraordinary order sizes that have to be processed within a sharp time frame. It is also very common to carry out research and development of new products as projects. Of course, almost anything can be organized as a project, no matter how large the scope or money involved is.
Table of Contents
1. How should projects be managed?
1.1. Introduction
1.2. What is a project?
1.3. Project Objectives
1.4. Project Organization
1.5. The Project Life Cycle
1.5.1. Project Selection
1.5.2. Planning
1.5.3. Build up
1.5.4. Implementation
1.5.5. Phase out
2. Why do projects fail? Analyse strengths + weaknesses of project work
2.1. Weaknesses of project management
2.2. Strengths of Project Management
3. The nature of project organisation, a "battle field" or a new possibility for learning?
Objectives and Topics of the Essay
This essay provides a comprehensive overview of fundamental project management principles, exploring how projects are structured, executed, and evaluated while examining the common causes of project failure and the organizational advantages of adopting a project-oriented approach.
- The theoretical definition and lifecycle of a project
- Methodologies for project organization and planning
- Analysis of critical project success and failure factors
- Evaluation of the "magic triangle" of performance, cost, and time
- The strategic shift toward project-based work in modern organizations
Excerpt from the Book
1.3. Project Objectives
During the project's duration, three main objectives can be found that are have to be watched very carefully: Quality (or performance), cost and time. These three objectives are also called the magic triangle of project management. That is because once the project is complete, its success or failure is measured through these three variables. When looking at them from a logical point of view, it can be concluded that they actually interrelate each other. Changing one factor automatically leads to the alteration of another factor. If, for example the time frame of a project shall be reduced, this can be only achieved through reducing quality of outcome or by locating additional funds for the project. Thus it is hardly possible to alter just one factor leaving the others constant. The primary task of the project manager is to manage these trade-offs. The figure below shows the three project targets.
Summary of Chapters
1. How should projects be managed?: This chapter defines the core nature of projects, outlines the project lifecycle, and details essential management stages from initiation to phase-out.
2. Why do projects fail? Analyse strengths + weaknesses of project work: This section investigates common pitfalls such as inadequate resources and unclear goals while contrasting these against the organizational benefits of project-based structures.
3. The nature of project organisation, a "battle field" or a new possibility for learning?: This chapter discusses the evolving necessity of project management in a changing global economy and predicts the future transition of white-collar work into project-based structures.
Keywords
Project Management, Project Life Cycle, Project Objectives, Magic Triangle, Project Organization, Risk Management, Resource Planning, Implementation, Project Failure, Work Breakdown Structure, Gantt Charts, Performance, Cost, Time, Knowledge Management
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary purpose of this essay?
The essay aims to explain how projects are managed, why they often face challenges or failure, and why project management is becoming an essential organizational skill in modern business.
What are the core thematic areas covered in the text?
The text focuses on project definitions, the project lifecycle, organizational structures (functional, pure, and matrix), planning tools, and the distinction between routine work and project work.
What is the primary goal or research question?
The primary goal is to analyze the nature of project management, specifically addressing how projects should be organized, the trade-offs in project objectives, and the reasons projects succeed or fail.
Which scientific methods are discussed for project planning?
The essay discusses several tools and methods, including the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), the Critical Path Method (CPM), the Performance Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), and Gantt charts.
What is the focus of the main section of the essay?
The main section focuses on the detailed breakdown of the project life cycle—including selection, planning, build-up, implementation, and phase-out—as well as the analysis of project strengths and weaknesses.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
Key terms include Project Management, Magic Triangle, Project Life Cycle, Work Breakdown Structure, and project-based organization.
What is the "magic triangle" of project management?
It refers to the three interrelated variables of project success: Quality (performance), cost, and time. Changing one inevitably affects the others.
How does the author characterize the future of work?
The author argues that there is a global shift toward project-based work, suggesting that in the future, nearly all white-collar tasks will be organized as projects to remain efficient and competitive.
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- David Nowak (Autor:in), Christina Lechelt (Autor:in), 2002, Project Management, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/47788
