CHAPTER 1

Introduction to the Integrated Project

Planning and Management Cycle (lPPMC)

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS

The key to economic and social growth in all countries-developed or devel-

oping-is better management in all sectors: agriculture, industry, public
works, education, public health, government. In the u.s. in recent years,
investigators have studied waste and mismanagement on a wide range of
construction projects, including nuclear power plants, in the federal govern-
ment itself, and in numerous other situations. 1,2,3
Remedial actions are being attempted in both education and practice.
There is a growing awareness of the need to improve both the productivity
and quality of projects. For example, in 1969 a report by the American
Society for Engineering Education (A SEE) indicated only 10 bachelor's
level programs in engineering management. 4 Yet, according to the Engineers
Joint Council, two-thirds of all engineers are likely to spend the last two-
thirds of their careers as managers. s With schools of engineering becoming
more aware of the need to include management in the curriculum, the num-
ber offering engineering management programs had risen by 1979 to 25. 6
In 1979 Kocaoglu surveyed the status of graduate programs in engineering
management and found 70 with some offered jointly with a school of busi-
ness. 7 In 1980 Bennett reviewed the history of engineering management pro-
grams, including a survey of related activities by national professional engi-
neering societies. 8
Engineering management programs are mostly in civil and industrial en-
gineering departments, with some interaction with business administration.
Surprisingly, management receives little or no attention in one of the newer
engineering disciplines-environmental. The need to better understand the
impacts of various projects on the environment and public health is inti-
mately related to project planning and management. The National Environ-
mental Protection Act (NEPA), signed into law on January 1, 1970, encour-
ages harmony between man and his environment. The Act imposes
environmental impact statement requirements on all agencies and depart-

L. J. Goodman, Project Planning and Management

© Van Nostrand Reinhold Company Inc. 1988
2 PROJECT PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT

ments, requiring identification of adverse environmental impacts, consid-

eration of alternatives, and public distribution of these documents.
Internationally, the environment emerged as an important public issue
during the 1960's. At that time it was perceived almost exclusively as a con-
cern of the industrialized countries. For urbanization and industrialization,
which had created great benefits for these societies, were also producing
unexpected costs in: (1) pollution of a\r, soil and water; (2) destruction of
natural resources; and (3) deterioration in the quality of urban life. In June
1972 the United Nations held a conference on the human environment in
Stockholm. The conference had two significant results: (1) establishing the
environment as an important item on the agenda of governments through-
out the world; and (2) creating the United Nations Environment Program
to assist developing countries.
Yet, in spite of the widely acknowledged idea that man needs to under-
stand and manage the relationship between the environment and economic
and social projects, there remains a major gap: We still deal with pollution
problems in compartments neatly related to single parts of the environ-
ment-air, land, and water. This fragmentation is compounded by the even
more serious fragmentation of project planning, design, implementation,
and management. Indeed, my experience with over 700 public works proj-
ects in the United States, Ecuador, Egypt and Asia confirms the outstanding
need for more unified control of all projects, both public and private, from
inception to completion.
Unfortunately, engineering management education and practice have not
fully addressed this need for a unified approach. On many projects we con-
tinue to encounter serious problems of waste and mismanagement of finan-
cial, human, and natural resources. On most projects, this waste stems from
the aforementioned fragmented approach. Beyond the waste and reduced
productivity is the adverse impact of mismanagement of the environment
itself-pollution of air, soil, and water with resulting degradation of vegeta-
tion, water supply systems, and public health.

EXAMPLES OF PROJECT* PROBLEMS

Since its completion in 1977, much has been written about the Trans-Alaska
Pipeline System (TAPS).9 While originally budgeted at $900 million in 1968,
by the time of its completion, the project actually cost over $8 billion (later

*By definition, a project achieves a given objective within a set time frame. Projects should
be a response to a readily apparent need for economic and social growth in any sector in
both developing and developed societies. Therefore, the terms "development project" and
"project" have the same meaning.