Page 27 - Global Project Management Handbook

THE EVOLUTION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT 1-9

The caravel, a major improvement over older ships, contributed to the success of
Prince Henry’s exploration efforts. It was faster and could sail well into the wind with
both square sails and a triangular one. At about 65 feet long with a capacity of roughly
130 tons of cargo or supplies, the caravel was more perfectly sized for the type of explo-
ration conducted by Prince Henry.
Each voyage documented discoveries, and each following voyage built on prior work.
Each new “project” was a continuation of the process for exploring and assessing the
lands of Africa. Ship captains were sent on voyages with questions to be answered, which
gave them a specific set of objectives—as with all good projects.

The Great Pyramids of Egypt (circa 2700 to 2500 B.C.)
Outside Cairo, Egypt, stand the Great Pyramids at Giza. Some of the characteristics of
these projects are as follows:

● The pyramids were national projects.
● The workers were organized into competing teams.
● The workers were motivated through their deep religious belief, and they believed that
by building a tomb for their king, they were ensuring his rebirth.
● The workforce was highly organized. Each group of workers was responsible for one
part of the pyramid complex.
● A highly developed support force was needed, including a place to feed and house all
the workers, as well as the bakers, brewers, butchers, and so on.
● The workers were well treated and well fed and had access to medical care.
The workforce had all the evidence of a highly organized team of motivated
individuals—not the typical depiction of slaves being whipped to work. There is
little doubt that the project team for each pyramid had a mixture of technical skills and
knowledge that represented a sophisticated approach to building the structure.

The Great Cathedrals of Europe

Between 1050 and 1350 in France alone, more than 500 large churches were built, as
well as 1000 parish churches, so that there was a church or chapel for every 200 people.
In Germany, the Cologne Cathedral, considered by some to be the most perfect specimen
of Gothic architecture in the world, undoubtedly took the longest to build. The foundation
alone was laid in 1248. By 1417, one of the towers was finished to one-third its present
height, but at the time of the Reformation, its roof was still covered with boards. Finally,
the cathedral was completed in 1880, more than 630 years after construction first began.
Each church and chapel was a project that relied on the technology of the day. These
artifacts of projects suggest that an early form of project management had to be used to
organize the workforce and construct these houses of worship. The positive impact on
society because of the churches cannot be estimated in any comparative analysis.

The Grand Canal of China (486 B.C. to the present)
This is the world’s oldest and longest canal, far surpassing the next two grand canals of the
world: the Suez and Panama Canals. The building of the canal began in 486 B.C. during the