Part 1 of 7 - 2nd Book that Influenced My Project Management Career

 

In a previous series of articles – The Book that Most Impacted by Career – I related content of Excellence in Engineering by W.H. Roadstrum. -  published in 1967 by John Wiley & Sons, with Project Managements Institute’s (PMI) – Project Management Book of Knowledge.    The series contained good and poor practices for:  1) Engineering and project life cycle.   2) Project team. 3) Project team members.  4) Problem solving.  5) Project controls/schedule development.  6) Project monitoring/schedule updates/tools.  7) Project controls/schedule analysis.  8) Project engineer/project manager.  9) Project leadership.  10) Human relations/team development

Prompted by feedback from reviewers on the Excellence in Engineering, this series is about a second book that affected development of my skills in the business of managing projects and program of projects    The book -  Human Factors in Project Management by Paul C. Dinsmore – published in 1990 by AMACOM-American Management Association.  

Acknowledged in the Forward of the book, David L. Cleveland, Professor of Engineering Management, School of Engineering, University of Pittsburgh writes: 

“Paul C. Dinsmore, a valued friend and colleague, is a notable member of the Project Management Institute.  In this book, he has presented a valuable, commonsense prescription for understanding and appreciating the human side of project management. …  His contribution is without parallel in the project management literature.” 

This series contains articles on:  1)  A Classical View of Project Management.    2)  Planning and Strategy.   3)  Project Interfacing.   4)  Using Managerial Time.    5)  Negotiations.   6)  Decision Making.  7)  Managing Changes. 

This article summarizes the key points in Chapter 2 – A Classic View of Project Management and it provides commentary relating the content to PMI’s Project Management Book of Knowledge – 6^th Edition (PMBOK).

The Chapter discusses the management elements covering all types of projects, including those that were foundational examples at the time project management emerged as a field and profession for advancing global industries: 

• Aerospace and electronics
• Construction of public housing, transportation, highways and other public works
• Manufacturing and product management

Dinsmore concisely describes what project management is and is not.  

What project management is  -  managing:  1) Scope.  2) Time.  3) Money.  4) Quality.  5) Communications.  6) Human Resources.  7) Contracts and Supply.  8)  Risks.   In 1990, these were the primary elements and knowledge areas for project management.  

PMBOK and the PMBOK – Construction Extension contains additional areas for Stakeholder Management, Environmental Management, Safety Management, Financial Management and Claim Management. 

What project management is not  -  1) PERT/CPM Network.   2)  A Magic Formula -  A template for size fits all.  These are input, tools and outputs that are only a portion of the overall project management processes.    Personal skills, knowledge and judgment are required to create the plans for plans activities.  The metrics in schedules and performance management are unique to each project.   

PMBOK contains an Appendix section that summarizes considerations for tailoring the PMBOK processes, inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs for the unique characteristics, environment and execution parameters of a project.         

What is the difference between project management and on-gong management:

• Project management on projects there is a well defined scope, duration and budget to complete the project a a short term endeavor.
• On-going operational management for the core business of the company.  

PMBOK – Chapter 1, Introduction, enforces that project management is not the same as operational management but it does describe the circumstances where the two cross functions and complement objectives for project delivery and for creation of business value.  The examples cited include:

• Creating or updating a product
• Improving operations or development processes
• Completing the project lifecycle.

Commentary:   PMI’s mantra is “Making project management indispensible for business results.”     I always felt that the PMBOK knowledge areas applied equally to management of the core business.   The scope would be the business plan, quality management system, and recurring strategic plans for products and asset equity.  The budget would be the recurring operating and asset expenses, and the projected revenues.   The schedule would be business plan duration, discrete objectives, goals, and activities with intermediate milestones, and financial targets tied to annual and quarterly budgets.