Construction Management & Project Management
Organizing For Project Management
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2. Organizing
for
Project
Management
2.1 What is Project Management?
The management of construction projects requires knowledge of modern
management as well as an understanding of the design and construction
process. Construction projects have a specific set of objectives and
constraints such as a required time frame for completion. While the relevant
technology,
institutional arrangements or processes will differ,
the
management of such projects has much in common with the management
of similar types of projects in other specialty or technology domains such as
aerospace, pharmaceutical and energy developments.
Generally, project management
is distinguished from the general
management of corporations by the mission-oriented nature of a project. A
project organization will generally be terminated when the mission is
accomplished. According to the Project Management Institute, the
discipline of project management can be defined as follows: [1]
Project management is the art of directing and coordinating human and
material resources throughout the life of a project by using modern
management techniques to achieve predetermined objectives of scope,
cost, time, quality and participation satisfaction.
By contrast,
the general management of business and industrial
corporations assumes a broader outlook with greater continuity of
operations. Nevertheless, there are sufficient similarities as well as
differences between the two so that modern management techniques
developed for general management may be adapted for project
management.
The basic ingredients for a project management framework [2] may be
represented schematically in Figure 2-1. A working knowledge of general
management and familiarity with the special knowledge domain related to
the project are indispensable. Supporting disciplines such as computer
science and decision science may also play an important role. In fact,
modern