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The management of projects versus project
management
Modern project management accepts a methodology
that a project can be adequately managed by managing time,
cost and quality. On the contrary, the methodology of the
management of projects states that a project requires the
management of all factors that impact the project. Issues
like project scope/definition, human resources, communication,
risk, procurement and environment in addition to time, cost
and quality are integrated into the domain of project management
and hence, form the basis of new management methods.
The assumptions of competence and usefulness
inbuilt in the traditional project management methodology
are also considered in the management of project's methodology.
Those relevant to this discussion are considered below:
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There is little clarity concerning the
efficiency in either project management or the management
of projects in areas other than the relative impact of
improvements. Occasionally, alternative procurement approaches
are established and utilised, which seem to offer efficiency
improvements. Nevertheless, the thought of continuous
improvement and other such yardsticks measuring techniques
are yet to mature in the industry to allow a focus on
efficiency to develop.
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A project can be more efficiently managed
by not merely managing time, cost and quality but by other
factors that impact a project. Effectiveness can be achieved
by ensuring that management all factors (project scope/definition,
human resources, communication, risk, procurement and
environment) that add to the successful completion of
the project are taken into account. Complex projects cannot
be totally defined just in terms of time, cost and quality.
Hence, management must include other factors influencing
the project to ensure precise definition and identification
of client requirements.
It is obvious that the central element of the change from
project management to management of projects is the improvement
of management effectiveness. To be precise, client requirements
much be specified in a more enhanced form. Such an effort
will definitely enhance the opportunity to meet the customer's
requirements.
Lean Project Management
The methodologies of lean production and the management
of projects can be integrated to establish a new approach
to project management: lean project management. This new
methodology will enhance both the effectiveness and efficiency
of project management services by making use of the management
of project's focus on effectiveness and lean production's
emphasis on efficiency. Hence, the new methodology is defined
as methodology that ensures maximum effectiveness by defining
the project requirements in terms of all factors that affects
the project and managing the project process. All this ensures
effective functioning of the project.
It is often difficult to differentiate between effectiveness
and efficiency and many would take them as synonymous. Even
though there is a close relationship between the two, it
has been identified that lean production focuses on efficiency
(with effectiveness becoming more important recently in
lean production efforts) and that the management of projects
focuses on effectiveness.
As both methodologies focus on performance improvement
by improving the way in which value is attained, bringing
these two methodologies together makes sense. A comparison
of lean production to conventional production, and management
of projects to conventional project management exposed two
key ideas:
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Both methodologies handle a similar problem--
that the existing methodology lacks comprehensiveness
for modern production systems and construction projects
respectively. Traditional production management, which
mostly involves inputs, outputs and conversions, does
not guarantee efficient and effective production. Similarly,
project management, which focuses on time, cost and quality
factors, has less control over the successful completion
of the construction project.
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Both methodologies embody a comparable
solution to the problems of existing methodologies; augment
the existing narrow methodology. Thus lean production
incorporates flow and value as a concern for management
in addition to their other tasks. The management of projects
requires that project management embrace wider factors
other than time, cost and quality in managing the construction
project.
Therefore, it is argued that the lean production and the
management of projects' methodologies have similarity in
terms of facing similar problems and providing similar solutions
to deal with those problems. It is on this basis that a
link is developed between the two methodologies.
The lean project management methodology will utilise efficiency
activities from lean production and effectiveness activities
from the management of projects to improve the performance
of project management.
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