History of Project Management
History of Project Management
Fourth Annual PMI College of Scheduling Conference 15 - 18 April 2007 Marriott Pinnacle Downtown, Vancouver. Updated with new information received after original publication. Patrick Weaver PMP, FAICD, FCIOB.
Director, Mosaic Project Services Pty Ltd Manager, Stakeholder Management Pty Ltd
See also: A Brief History of Scheduling - Back to the Future www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html Trends In Modern Project Management - Past Present & Future www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_061.html Seeing The Road Ahead The art of presenting schedule data effectively www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_106.html For more scheduling papers see Mosaics Planning and Scheduling Home page: www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Planning.html
Introduction
Projects in one form or another have been undertaken for millennia: the ancient Egyptians constructed the pyramids some 4500 years ago; Sun Tzu wrote about planning and strategy 2500 years ago (every battle is a project to be first won; then fought1); numerous transcontinental railways were constructed during the 19th century and buildings of different sizes and complexity have been erected for as long as mankind has occupied permanent settlements. However, it was only in the latter half of the 20th century people started to talk about project management; earlier endeavours were seen as acts of worship, engineering, nation building, etc. And the people controlling the endeavours called themselves priests, engineers, architects, etc. Whilst the Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb in the 1940s is generally considered the first program, its managers primarily saw their roles either as military officers or scientists. For the purposes of this paper, there is an important distinction to be drawn between projects: a temporary endeavour undertaken to create a unique product, service or result2 and project management or at least the profession and practice of modern project management as it is embodied in the various project management associations around the world. In this context, modern project management is a phrase used by the author and others3 to describe the management of projects in the way described by organisations such as the APMi (UK) and PMIii in their respective bodies of knowledge (BoKs) - both current and former. This paper will discuss three themes. Firstly a brief look at the evolving processes of schedule analysis (CPMiii) and other project management tools - the technology. Second, the evolution of management science through to the 20th Century that laid the foundations for the development of modern project management as a distinct branch of general management and finally the serendipity that brought these two factors together to create a new profession.
Association for Project Management Project Management Institute Inc. Critical Path Method See also: A Brief History of Scheduling - www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html
The first project to add science to the process of time control was undertaken by Kelley and Walker for E.I. du Pont de Numours. The meeting that approved the funding for this project was held in Newark, Delaware, USA on the 7th May 1957 and as they say, the rest is history5. In 1956 Kelly and Walker had started developing the algorithms that became the Activity-on-Arrow or ADM method of critical path scheduling after approval of funding for the development project. The computer program they developed was trialled on plant shutdowns in 1957 and the first paper discussing the critical path method (CPM) of scheduling was published in March 19596. These developments were closely followed by the development of the PERT system. The US Air Force translated PERT into PEP (Program Evaluation Procedure) and a host of similar systems appeared over the next few years. Whilst CPM and PERT use the same basic approach, including the Activity-on-Arrow network diagram, PERT focused on time as the key variable (what varied was the probability of hitting a milestone or completion date) where CPM fixed time and the cost of achieving the target time varied. The cost variable component of CPM quickly faded from use. The time variable PERT approach lasted longer and was eventually replaced by the more accurate Monte Carlo analysis. Modern tools based on the Monte Carlo approach such as Pertmasterv are capable of calculating time and cost variables at the same time. In Europe, the Operational Research Section of the UK Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) was also working on similar ideas to Kelley and Walker in the period 1955 to 1958. They developed the term the longest irreducible sequence of events and applied their system to the shutdown and maintenance of Keadby Power Station, Leicestershire in 1957. The use of CEGB - CPM achieving a saving of 42% compared to the previous overall average time for similar shutdowns7. However, whilst some of the CEGB work may pre-date 7th May 1957 (as did some of Kelley and Walkers), I have been unable to find any data to substantiate a significant milestone when work on the CEGB - CPM started. Consequently, as the CEGB-CPM developments remained largely within the CEGB and the first major use of the methodology grew out of the work at du Pont in 1957, I have selected the documented start of the du Pont project as the most clearly defined beginning date for critical path scheduling as we know it. The Precedence (PDM) methodology was developed by Dr. John Fondahl as a non-computer approach to scheduling and the results published in 1961 (the initial contract for this work was issued to Stanford University on 1st July 19588). PDM was developed into a computerised tool by H.B. Zachry Co of Texas and then commercialised by IBM as its Project Control System software9. The initial publicity surrounding scheduling focused on PERT, this was fairly quickly overtaken in the commercial world by CPM (Activity-on-Arrow networking) founded on the work of Kelley and Walker and by the end of the 60s PERT and CPM had merged into a general Activity-on-Arrow networking approach to scheduling. However by the mid 1970s the trend towards Precedence networking was gaining momentum and by the 1990s Precedence had become the dominant method of scheduling. The development of scheduling is discussed in depth in A Brief History of Scheduling - Back to the Future (see: www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html). However, the US Government quickly realised schedule control was only part of the answer. The US Military and
v
See www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Tools.html#Pertmaster
The modern Earned Value standards in the USA, Australia, etc have developed from the C/SCSC systems promulgated by the US Military. Similarly, some of the earliest standards for WBS were US MIL Standards. In 1968, Dr. Barnes went on to develop a Fortran mainframe computer program that integrated cost, time and resources and could show the effect of decisions about the work and how it affected both cost and time simultaneously. He commecialised this in 1971 with John Gillespie as a COBOL version; the program was called the Project Cost Model (PCM), it treated a project as a plan which produced both the cost and time forecasts, broken down into (or built up from?) plans for doing each activity which led to a budget and a programme. Dr. Barnes said You could do 'what ifs' and all the other clever things but it was quite difficult as the input was all on punched cards and the only output was voluminous line printer output. Nevertheless we sold it to some quite big project outfits such as the CEGB and Costain in the UK and Anglo-American in South Africa - at a huge price. We are talking early 1970s. The Crystal Palace, a building the size of a modern shopping mall: 1848 feet [563.3 meters] long, 408 feet [124.4 meters] wide and 108 feet [32.9 meters] high, was built in eight and a half months starting on st 15 July 1850, opening on 1 May 1851. For more discussion on the links between early industrial production control systems and scheduling see: A Brief History of Scheduling - www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html
vii
viii
ix
Project Management Scope Creep The understanding of what is involved in project management is continuing to evolve, expand and segregate. There are now recognised disciplines of Program and Portfolio management in addition to project management. And whilst the integration and control of time, cost and scope is still the essence of modern project management, other elements such as quality, risk, technology, stakeholder management and communications, have been added over the years with supporting tools, techniques and processes. The evolution of project management seems to have mirrored the evolution in general management (discussed in the next section); starting with a focus on scientific (or hard) processes in the early years, moving to a softer skills focus in the 21st century. This trend is clearly demonstrated by analysis of papers published in the International Journal of Project Management13 which shows a drop from 49% to 12% for task focused papers (scheduling, etc), offset by increases in papers on soft subjects such as leadership and stakeholder management. Similarly many of the new tools entering the market in the 21st century are directed towards collaboration, communication and stakeholder management including the innovative Stakeholder Circle system from Stakeholder Management Pty Ltdx.
See: www.stakeholder-management.com
Management Historyxiv
The Role of Project Manager The appointment of people as project managers only started to emerge in the 20th century. In earlier times, the leadership of the project endeavour moved from a generalist role held by the coordinating architects such as Wren (15th to 17th C), responsible for all aspects of design and delivery including cost control and time management; to more specialist roles and responsibilities
xi xii
For more on OPM3 (from PMI) and P3M3 (from OGC) see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/OPM3.html PMO = Project Management Office, for a range of papers focused on PMOs see: http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers.html#Proj_Off OGC and PRINCE2 see: http://www.ogc.gov.uk For a more expansive history see: http://telecollege.dcccd.edu/mgmt1374/book_contents/1overview/management_history/mgmt_history.htm
xiii xiv
See A short history of project management: part one: the 1950s and 60s," The Australian Project Manager 14 (1): 36-37 by Alan Stretton (1994) for more details. Download from: http://www.pmforum.org/library/second-edition/2007/PDFs/Stretton-10-07.pdf
Sustainability
Internet ICT
Steam Power
Project Management
1990 2010
Figure 2
17
Pre-Classical Developments18 The genesis of the ideas that led to the development of modern project management can arguably be traced back to the protestant reformation of the 15th century. The Protestants and later the Puritans introduced a number of ideas including reductionismxvi, individualismxvii and the protestant work ethic (PWE)xviii that resonate strongly in the spirit of modern project management. From the perspective of the evolution of modern project management, these ideas were then incorporated into two key philosophies, Liberalism and Newtonianism (see Figure 3). Liberalism included the ideas of capitalism (Adam Smith), the division of labour, and that an industrious lifestyle would lead to wealthy societies. In the Wealth of Nations Smith advocated breaking the production of goods into tiny tasks that can be undertaken by people following
xvi
Reductionism = Removing unnecessary elements of a process or ceremony and then breaking the process down into its smallest task or unit to understand how it works. xvii Individualism = we are active, independent agents who can manage risks. These ideas are made into real things by social actions contingent upon the availability of a language to describe them. xviii PWE = Prior to the protestant reformation most people saw work as a necessary evil (or at least as only a means to an end). For Protestants, serving God included participating in, and working hard at, worldly activities as this was part of Gods design and purpose for each individual.
Influence
Taylorism
Project Management
Figure 3
All of these philosophies influenced the scientific management theories of Taylor. Taylor was undoubtedly influenced by his Quaker roots (Protestantism), worked in an intensely capitalistic society (Liberalism) and used the scientific approach of Newtonianism in his work developing the Classical School of scientific management. Classical School The Classical school of thought began around 1900 and continued into the 1920s. It focuses on efficiency and includes scientific, bureaucratic and administrative management. Scientific management focuses on the "one best way" to do a job. Bureaucratic management relies on a rational set of structuring guidelines, such as rules and procedures, hierarchy, and a clear division of labour. Administrative management emphasizes the flow of information in the operation of the organisation. All of these traits are important to modern project management.
xix
But as Douglas Adams pointed out in his famous speech to BIOTA 2 in 1998, If you try and take a cat apart to see how it works, the first thing you have in your hands is a non-working cat. http://www.biota.org/people/douglasadams
10
Some of the theories include; McGregors Theory X and Theory Y, Theory Z (Ouchi), Contingency Theory (Morse & Lorsch), Goal-Setting Theory (Latham & Locke) and Expectancy Theory (Vroom).
11
xxii
12
xxiii
http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html
xxiv
http://www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html
xxv
The Case Institute of Technology was a university that merged with Western Reserve University to form Case Western Reserve University, Ohio, USA.
13
xxvi
xxvii
xxviii
See also A Simple View of Complexity in Project Management: www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_070.html The USAF was establishing joint project offices from 1951. The first for the B47 bomber was set up in Feb. 1951; these offices focused on coordination between engineering and production with a focus on systems management. By 1954 the practice was extended to Weapons system Project Offices (WSPOs). During the 1950s project and program management was very closely aligned with systems management in the US military. The Navy Special Projects Office (SPO) for the Fleet Ballistic Missile th program (Polaris) was created on Nov. 17 1955, this organisation developed PERT (Program Evalation and Review Technique) in 1957/58. The project was led by General Groves (his leadership is seen as vital). Groves identified five elements leading to its success: there was a clear objective, the project was divided into tasks that together would achieve the objective, there was clear direction of the project at all levels, authority was delegated with appropriate authority, existing resources were used where ever possible, there was full backing from the government. The words used are Groves, modern usage would describe a program of works decomposed into projects all of the other factors including the full support of the sponsor are still essential for successful project and program delivery.
14
xxix xxx
AIPM = Australian Institute of Project Management. PMI = Project Management Institute (USA)
15
xxxi
16
This project was known as the Ethics, Standards and Accreditation (ESA) project. The project developed a Code of Ethics, the BoK with 6 knowledge areas (scope, cost, time, quality, human resources and communications) and guidelines for the accreditation of courses offered by academic institutions and the certification of individuals. The 1986 - 87 version of the PMBOK added the concept of a project framework and added risk and procurement management as separate knowledge areas to the document. The project Management Body of Knowledge was published in August 1987. The next update was initiated in 1991 and published in 1996. The title was changed to A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide ). This was followed by the 2000 update and then the Third Edition in 2004. The next edition of the PMBOK Guide will be published in 2008.
xxxiii
xxxiv
17
xxxv
From an interview with Russ Archibald, PMI Founder: Initially, the discussion was primarily focused on PERT, CPM, and related planning and scheduling methods and systems. In fact the January 29 1968 letter from Ned Engman says we are discussing forming a National CPM Society. At our later meetings in New Orleans we had long discussions on the scope and name of the association and gradually the group moved toward a consensus that we should be targeting the broader subject of project management. Published in PM World Today October 2008 (Vol X, Issue X)
18
Conclusions
Based on the research outlined in this paper, it is entirely reasonable to argue that the evolution of modern project management is a direct consequence of the need of professional schedulers for a forum to discuss and develop their new discipline, combined with the need to make effective use of the data generated by schedulers in an attempt to identify, manage and control their critical paths (not to mention the expectations a schedule generates in the minds of senior managers). These needs and requirements led directly to the formation of the early associations that evolved into todays project management associations, and then to the development of a defined and documented project management body of knowledge by these associations. After the body of knowledge was formulated, it became possible for the associations to define project management competencies, formally examine project management knowledge and start the process of creating a true profession of project management. Project management has evolved in its specialist area along very similar lines to general management theory. In the early days, project management closely mirrored the classical school of management with a focus on scientific processes (scope, time and cost). More recently the emphasis has shifted towards the soft skills more closely aligned with the human relations and human resources schools of management theory including more focus on stakeholders, communications and leadership. One wonders if the next phase will mirror the chaos theory (or have we already arrived?). Finally, I believe this paper has identified the reason for the sudden development of CMP like tools at the CEGB in the UK, the Polaris SPO and du Pont in the period 1956 to 1961. These developments can be directly linked to their roots in Operations Research (OR) and the development of computers. In particular books and conferences focusing on OR would have provided the conduit for the spread of the ideas underpinning CPM. Therefore, in conclusion I believe this paper has clearly demonstrated that the spread of CPM and the arrival of professional schedulers was the genesis of modern project management, and the 50th anniversary of its beginning will be the 7th May 2007 when du Pont committed funds to the project to develop its CPM software and methodology.
Concluding Comments
One major drawback in the origins of project management outlined in this paper was the focus on tools and systems that lasted from the 1960s through into the 1990s. Only in the 21st century has the people side of project management started to move into prominence despite the fact it is
xxxvi
Note: AIPM joined the IPMA as the Australian national association in 2010
19
For more on this see: A Simple View of Complexity in Project Management www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_070.html For more on this see: Avoiding the Successful Failure! www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_046.html For more on this see: Trends in Modern Project Management, Past, Present & Future www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_061.html For more on this see: Understanding Programs and Projects - Oh, there's a difference www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_078.html
________________________________
References
1 2
5 6
7 8
9 10 11 12 13
14
Chin-Ning Chu at PMI Global Congress, Bangkok 2006 A guide to the Project Management Body Of Knowledge, Third Edition. ISBN 1-930699-45-X, 2004. Project Management Institute Inc. Pennsylvania. Stretton, Alan,(1994) "A short history of project management: part one: the 1950s and 60s," The Australian Project Manager 14 (1): 36-37 Kenley R. Improving Site Performance Solving the Work Crew Management Problem. International Construction Conference 2005, Malaysia. Weaver P. A Brief History of Scheduling. www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources_Papers_042.html Kelley E.J., Walker M.R. (1959) Critical Path Planning and Scheduling. Proceedings, Eastern Joint Computer Conference, March 1959. Briggs S. Email dated 31/8/2006. Fondahl, John W (1987) Precedence Diagramming Methods: Origins and Early Development. Project Management Journal Vol XVIII No 2 June pp 33-36. Construction Project Management Control System at the H.B. Zachry Company. IBM 1963. Morris P.W.G. (1994) The Management of Projects Thomas Telford Ltd, London (p47) Morris P.W.G. (1994) The Management of Projects Thomas Telford Ltd, London (p 217) Barnes M. Email dated 14/12/2005 and interview Jan. 2006. Kolltveit B.J, Karlsen J.T., Gronhug K. Perspectives on project management. . International Journal of Project Management (2007), 25(1) 3-9. Morris P.W.G. (1994) The Management of Projects Thomas Telford Ltd, London (p4-5)
20
17 18
19 20
21 22 23
24
25
26 27 28 29 30
Morris P.W.G. (1994) The Management of Projects Thomas Telford Ltd, London. Miles, R.E. Theories of Management: Implications for Organizational Behavior. 1975. McGraw-Hill New York Hargroves K, Smith M. The Natural Advantage of Nations. Earthscan, London 2005 p17 Whitty S.J., Schulz, M.F. The impact of Puritan ideology on aspects of project management. International Journal of Project Management (2007), 25 (1) 10-20 Beasley J.E. OR-Notes. http://people.brunel.ac.uk/~mastjjb/jeb/or/intro.html Kelley J.E. Jr and Walker M.R. The Origins of CPM, A Personal History. pmNetwork Vol III, No. 2, Feb 1989. PMI, USA. Mosley M. Email dated 6/3/2007 Archibald R. Email dated 26/11/2005*. Bugos G.E. Programming the American Aerospace Industry, 1954 - 1964. Business and Economic History (1993) 22(1) 210-222 Morris P.W.G, Crawford L., Hodgson D., Shepherd M.M., Thomas J. Exploring the role of formal bodies of knowledge in defining a profession The case of project management. International Journal of Project Management(2006), 24:8 pp710-721 Turner R.J. Towards a Theory of Project Management (3 parts). International Journal of Project Management (2006), 24(1) 1-3; (2) 93-95; (3) 187-189. Barnes M. Email dated 14/12/2005. OBrien J. Email dated 26/11/2005*. Ockman S. Email dated 31/8/2006. Woodward H. Email dated 26/11/2005*. Hovey B. Email dated 27/4/2006 (AIPM historian). Doyle B. Interview 15/1/2007 (PMF Founding Secretary). * An email based discussion including, among others, Russell Archibald, Eric Jenett, Stuart Ockman, James (Jim) OBrien, Hugh Woodward, Jon Wickwire, J. Gordon Davies and Fran M Webster, ran through November 2005. The quotes included in this paper were part of this discussion. There were no dissenting comments from any of the group regarding the formation of PMI primarily by schedulers.
___________________________________
Additional papers on all aspects of project management are available for download free of charge at: www.mosaicprojects.com.au/Resources.html
The Stakeholder Circle tool mentioned in this paper is commercially available. For additional information and to download a free version of the tool you are invited to visit the Stakeholder Management Pty Ltd website: http://www.stakeholder-management.com
21