Chapter 1
Modern Project Management
Chapter Outline
1. What Is a Project?
A. What a Project Is Not
B. The Project Life Cycle
C. The Project Manager
D. Being Part of a Project Team
2. Current Drivers of Project Management
A. Compression of the Product Life Cycle
B. Knowledge Explosion
C. Triple Bottom Line (Planet, People, Profit)
D. Increased Customer Focus
E. Small Projects Represent Big Problems
3. Project Governance
A. Alignment of Projects with Organizational Strategy
4. Project Management Today: A Socio-Technical Approach
5. Summary
6. Text Overview
7. Key Terms
8. Review Questions
9. Exercises
10. Case 1.1: A Day in the Life
11. Case1.2: The Hokie Lunch Group
,Chapter Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
LO 1-1 Understand why project management is crucial in today’s world.
LO 1-2 Distinguish a project from routine operations.
LO 1-3 Identify the different stages of project life cycle.
LO 1-4 Understand the importance of projects in implementing organization
strategy.
LO 1-5 Understand that managing projects involves balancing the technical and
sociocultural dimensions of the project.
,Review Questions
1. Define a project. What are five characteristics which help differentiate projects
from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?
A project is a complex, non-routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resource,
and specifications. Differentiating characteristics of projects from routine, repetitive
daily work are below:
a. A defined life span
b. A well-defined objective
c. Typically involves people from several disciplines
d. A project life cycle
e. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements.
2. What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way
projects are managed? What has been the effect of these forces on the
management of projects?
Some environmental forces that have changed the way we manage projects are the
product life cycle, knowledge growth, global competition, organization downsizing,
technology changes, time-to-market. The impact of these forces is more projects per
organization, project teams responsible for implementing projects, accountability,
changing organization structures, need for rapid completion of projects, linking projects
to organization strategy and customers, prioritizing projects to conserve organization
resources, alliances with external organizations, and so on.
3. Why is the implementation of projects important to strategic planning and the
project manager?
Strategic plans are implemented primarily through projects—e.g., a new product, a new
information system, a new plant for a new product. The project manager is the key
, person responsible for completing the project on time, on budget, and within
specifications so the project’s customer is satisfied. If the project is not linked to the
strategic plan of the organization, resources devoted to the project are wasted and a
customer need is not met. This lack of connectivity occurs more in practice than most
would believe.
4. The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides
to the same coin. Explain.
The system and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the
same coin because successful project managers are skillful in both areas. The point is
successful project managers need to be very comfortable and skillful in both areas.
Modern Project Management
Chapter Outline
1. What Is a Project?
A. What a Project Is Not
B. The Project Life Cycle
C. The Project Manager
D. Being Part of a Project Team
2. Current Drivers of Project Management
A. Compression of the Product Life Cycle
B. Knowledge Explosion
C. Triple Bottom Line (Planet, People, Profit)
D. Increased Customer Focus
E. Small Projects Represent Big Problems
3. Project Governance
A. Alignment of Projects with Organizational Strategy
4. Project Management Today: A Socio-Technical Approach
5. Summary
6. Text Overview
7. Key Terms
8. Review Questions
9. Exercises
10. Case 1.1: A Day in the Life
11. Case1.2: The Hokie Lunch Group
,Chapter Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter you should be able to:
LO 1-1 Understand why project management is crucial in today’s world.
LO 1-2 Distinguish a project from routine operations.
LO 1-3 Identify the different stages of project life cycle.
LO 1-4 Understand the importance of projects in implementing organization
strategy.
LO 1-5 Understand that managing projects involves balancing the technical and
sociocultural dimensions of the project.
,Review Questions
1. Define a project. What are five characteristics which help differentiate projects
from other functions carried out in the daily operations of the organization?
A project is a complex, non-routine, one-time effort limited by time, budget, resource,
and specifications. Differentiating characteristics of projects from routine, repetitive
daily work are below:
a. A defined life span
b. A well-defined objective
c. Typically involves people from several disciplines
d. A project life cycle
e. Specific time, cost, and performance requirements.
2. What are some of the key environmental forces that have changed the way
projects are managed? What has been the effect of these forces on the
management of projects?
Some environmental forces that have changed the way we manage projects are the
product life cycle, knowledge growth, global competition, organization downsizing,
technology changes, time-to-market. The impact of these forces is more projects per
organization, project teams responsible for implementing projects, accountability,
changing organization structures, need for rapid completion of projects, linking projects
to organization strategy and customers, prioritizing projects to conserve organization
resources, alliances with external organizations, and so on.
3. Why is the implementation of projects important to strategic planning and the
project manager?
Strategic plans are implemented primarily through projects—e.g., a new product, a new
information system, a new plant for a new product. The project manager is the key
, person responsible for completing the project on time, on budget, and within
specifications so the project’s customer is satisfied. If the project is not linked to the
strategic plan of the organization, resources devoted to the project are wasted and a
customer need is not met. This lack of connectivity occurs more in practice than most
would believe.
4. The technical and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides
to the same coin. Explain.
The system and sociocultural dimensions of project management are two sides of the
same coin because successful project managers are skillful in both areas. The point is
successful project managers need to be very comfortable and skillful in both areas.
