Page 43 - Global Project Management Handbook

PROJECT MANAGEMENT 2-5

PROJECT MANAGEMENT APPROACHES

Project management approaches can be differentiated by the way in which projects are
perceived. Traditional method-oriented project management approaches are based on the
perception of projects as tasks with special characteristics. The systemic and process-
oriented project management approach of Roland Gareis’ Project and Program
Management is based on the perception of projects as temporary organizations and as
social systems.

Traditional Project Management

The traditional perception of projects as tasks with special characteristics promotes the
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planning orientation in project management. The main focus is on how an assignment is
to be performed. Methods for work planning and work organization, such as the REFA
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methods, or methods of operations research represent the theoretical basis of traditional
project management.
For decades, project management was understood as the use of project scheduling
methods, such as Critical Path Method (CPM) and Program Evaluation and Review
Technique (PERT), for scheduling projects, as well as for supporting resource and cost
planning. Because of the CPM-based risks tied to unique tasks, traditional project man-
agement uses methods for risk management as well as for controlling the project
progress, project schedule, project resources, and project costs.
Only through the definition of nontechnical projects, such as marketing and organiza-
tional development projects, and the consideration of additional disciplines, such as organi-
zation, marketing, and controlling, have methods been introduced that are easy to use and to
communicate, such as the work breakdown structure. Organizationally, it appears that the
most important element in traditional project management is the division of formal authori-
ties between the project manager, the immediate supervisor of the project team member,
and the team member. As possible solutions to this, the pure project organization, the
matrix project organization, and the influence project organization are offered as standards. 7
The project management tasks are defined as the planning, controlling, and organizing
of projects. In traditional project management, the objects of consideration of project
management are the scope, the schedule, and the costs. The relationships among these

objects of consideration are depicted as the “magic triangle” (Fig. 2.2).

Deliverables

Schedule Costs
FIGURE 2.2 Traditional objects of considera-
tion of project management (“magic triangle”).