Fundamentals of Project Planning & Management

Instructor: Adenew Taffa (PhD)

 Chapter 1:

Historical contexts of the

development of project planning
and management
Definition of Project, Project Management and General Management

 Project is
 “a temporary group activity designed to produce a unique
product, service or result” (Project management institute, 2013)

Characteristics of Unique
Temporary Projects

 Temporary – Definitive beginning and end

 Unique – New undertaking, unfamiliar ground
 Definition of Project, Project Management and General Management

Temporary
 A project has a definite beginning and definite end
 The duration of a project is finite
 The opportunity or market window is usually temporary, most projects have a
limited time frame in which to produce the product or service
 The project team - as a team - seldom outlives the project. Most projects are
performed by a team created for the sole purpose of performing the project

Unique result
 Projects involve doing something that has not been done before in the same
environment
 The project may require some innovation to be completed
 Chapter 1:
Definition of Project, Project Management and General Management

 project management (PM) is

 “the application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to project
activities to meet the project requirements” (Project management
institute, 2013)
 “the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of company
resources for a relatively short-term objective that has been established
to complete specific goals and objectives” Kerzner K (1984:4)

 General management (GM) is

“the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of company resources
for an indefinite period with no time limit or deadlines to achieve
organizational objectives.”
Relationship between
PM and GM
 Chapter 1:
Relationship between PM and GM

 Both PM and GM use scientific methods of management:

 Planning
 Organizing
 Directing and
 Controlling of
Either organizational or project resources
 Chapter 1:
Relationship between PM and GM
 Both PM and GM requires managerial skills
Technical
Analytical
Diagnostic
Conceptual
Flexible
Interpersonal
Human
Communication
Decision making
Administrative
Differences between
PM and GM
 Major differences between PM and GM
S.No General Management
1 Continuous process
2 Single state
3 Organizational objective
4 No clear start and end point
5 Lower emphasis on planning
6 Resource and machine related
7 Product or process oriented
8 Repetitive and non-unique
9 Simple team building
Project Management
Only during the project period
Moves from one state to the other-results in change
Single and clear objective
Definable start and end points
Greater need and emphasis on planning
More human resource related
Project oriented
Non-repetitive and unique
Complex team building
Historical Development
of PM
 Historical Development of PM
 PM has been practiced for as long as humanity inhabited earth.

 There are many examples in history of challenging projects

that were successfully completed.
 Many of these projects necessitated:
an enormous workforce,
large scope,
many years of work,
Resources,
advanced planning and
 Historical Development of PM
 Some scholars divide the history of PM into two major time lines
 Ancient history (2550 BC to 1900)
 Modern history (1900 to Present day)

Ancient History
The Great Pyramids of Giza (2,550 These projects used:
B.C.)  Exceptional planning
The Great Wall of China (221 B.C. -  Coordination
206 B.C.)  Allocation of
 Hundreds of thousands of workers
Growing complexity of commerce seen  Paid and Slave labor.
in transportation and manufacturing.  Managing resources
Example is the 1862 Transcontinental  Maintaining a schedule
 Coordinating different groups
Railroad-the first large scale project
 Historical Development of PM
 Some scholars divide the history of PM into two major time lines
 Ancient (2550 BC to 1900)
 Modern (1900 to Present day)

Ancient History
Give examples from Ethiopian side that can be considered as
ancient project activities.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.?????
 Historical Development of PM (Cont’d)
 Regrettably, despite all of these monumental
achievements, very little documentation of their
methods and techniques exists.
 It’s not until the 1950s that organizations have
started to apply systematic tools and techniques to
complex projects.
 Historical Development of PM

Modern History
Modern PM came from:
 Construction
 Engineering
 Defense
Henry Gantt (1861-1919)
 the forefather of project management
 Designed a project scheduling model for
increasing the efficiency of project execution
and completion
 Gantt chart is known for:
 planning,
 controlling and
 scheduling of project activities
 Historical Development of PM

Modern History
Henry Fayol (1841-1925) Introduced Managerial
functions:
 the forefather of project 1. planning,
management 2. Organizing,
 French engineer in steel comp. 3. Commanding,
 He believed that the functions of 4. Coordinating and
management to be universal and 5. Controlling.
similar
 Every manager performs these
functions with varying degree
 Historical Development of PM

Modern History
Fredric Taylor 14 principles of management.
 Work breakdown 1. Division of work,
 Piecemeal work 2. Authority,
 Principles of scientific 3. Discipline,
management 4. Unity of Command,
5. Unity of Direction,
6. Subordination of Interests,
7. Remuneration,
8. Centralization,
9. Scalar Chain,
10. Equity,
11. Order,
12. Stability of Tenure of Personnel,
13. Initiative,
14. Esprit de Corp.
 Historical Development of PM (Cont’d)

 Some scholars divide the period of modern PM into four

periods
 Kwak (2003) identified four periods in the history of modern
project:
 1st period-Prior to 1958,
 2nd Period-1958 – 1979,
 3rd Period-1980 – 1994, and
 4th Period-1995 to present.
 Kwak asserts that the origins of modern project management
started between 1900s and 1950s.
 1st Period
Prior to 1958 (1900-1958)
PM transformed from a craft system to Human Relations
Administration
Better transportation and telecommunication systems allowed for
higher mobility and speedy communication
Gantt charts were developed and in used for the first time at that time
on Hoover Dam
The concept of job specification needed to successfully perform a job
 Eg of projects:
1. Hoover Dam,
2. Interstate Highway and
3. Manhattan project
 2nd Period
1958-1979
The application of Management Science is the main theme

There was significant technological advancement.

Eg. introduction of the first plain paper copier by Xerox

Core project management tools such as PERT, CPM and WBS were
developed

Eg. Apollo NASA

 3rd Period
1980-1994
Characterized by the revolutionary development in the information
management sector with the introduction of PC

Multitasking Personal Computers (PC) made an impact on many

aspects of work and business including PM

The efficiency of PCs allowed for developing software capable of

handling and organizing complex data required to manage projects

low cost project management software for PCs became widely available
that made project management techniques more easily accessible
Eg. Space shuttle challenger project
 4th period
1995-present
This allows automatic uploading of data so that anyone around
the globe with a standard browser can:

a) input the most recent status of their assigned tasks;

b) find out how the overall project is doing;
c) be informed of any delays or advances in the schedule; and
d) stay "in the loop" for their project role, while working
independently at a remote site.
 4th period
1995-present
Dominated by the developments related to the Internet that changed
dramatically business practices in the mid-1990s

The Internet has provided fast, interactive, and customized new

medium that allows people to browse, purchase, and track products
and services online instantly.

This has resulted in making firms more productive, more efficient,

and more client oriented

Many of today's project management software have an Internet

connectivity
 Historical Development of PM (Cont’d)

 In the third millennium, academia started offering degrees

for project management.
 Moreover, project management theories, tools, and
techniques are now mainstream in many organizations and
industries.
 It’snot clear exactly what the future holds for project
management, but with challenges such as globalization,
diminishing resources, and increasing population there is no
more fitting vehicle for managing such issues than project
management.
Contribution of ideological wars to the
development of PM
 Historical Development of PM (Cont’d)

 World War I
 Two major powers
Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia
Austria-Hungary and Germany, and Italy
More of territorial in nature
 World War II
 Two major powers
Russia, USA, France, UK, Canada
Germany, Italy and Japan
More of ideological in nature
 Historical Development of PM (Cont’d)

 Both World War I and II forced countries involved in

the war to develop various projects which enable
them to defeat their enemies
 Unlikethe World War I, World War II has got a well
documented project which finally contributed to end
the war. Eg. Manhattan Project
 The Manhattan project was aimed in developing
nuclear bomb by US to use on its enemies,
particularly the Germans and Japans
 Historical Development of PM (Cont’d)
 The discovery of nuclear fission in 1939 by German
chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann ,
 There were fears that a 
German atomic bomb project would develop one
first, especially among scientists who were refugees
in USA from Nazi Germany and other fascist
 countries.
 In August 1939, scientists drafted a letter, warning
the potential development of "extremely powerful
bombs of a new type".
Historical Development of the Manhattan Project

 Theletter, signed by Albert Einstein and delivered to

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, urged the USA to
take steps to acquire stockpiles of uranium ore and
accelerate the research of nuclear chain reaction.
 Rooseveltthen organized an Advisory Board on
Uranium to investigate the issues raised by the letter.
 The committee reported back to Roosevelt in
November that uranium "would provide a possible
source of bombs with a destructiveness vastly greater
than anything now known
The Manhattan Project

 began in 1939,
 Employed more than 130,000 people and
 Cost nearly US$2 billion (about $23 billion in 2018
dollars).
 Over 90% of the cost was for building factories and to produce 
material,
 with less than 10% for development and production of the
weapons.
 Research and production took place in USA, UK and
Canada.
 The Cold War (1946-1991)
 After World War II there was a geopolitical tension
between Soviet Union and USA
 The western capitalist ideology was led by USA
 Promoted the idea of free market, free press,
independent organizations
 The eastern socialist ideology of Marxist-Leninst was led
by USSR
 Promoted state controlled economy, press and
organizations
 Both USSR and USA designed a number of projects in
order to expand their ideology
 The Cold War (1946-1991) (Cont’d)
 Both USSR and USA designed a established secrete projects
and managed them strategically so that they would win their
enemies
 Accordingly a number of crises emerged as a result of this
crises
 The Suez crises (1956)
 The Berlin crises (1961) International peace
 The Cuban Missile crises (1962) movement
 All the above crises and the international peace movements
had a project style which needed strategic leadership (PM)
 The Cold War (1946-1991) (Cont’d)
 Both USSR and USA created their own space programmes
 In 1957 USSR launched the first artificial satellites called Sputnik 1
into space
 In 1958 USA launched a satellite called Explorer 1
 In 1961 Russian Lt. Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit
Earth in Vostok 1
 In 1962, John Glenn’s historic flight made him the first American to
orbit Earth.
 All these developments would have been impossible without a
proper design and management of projects
 Hence ideological war has made its own contribution to the
development of PM
 International co-operation
 “International Cooperation” refers to an interaction
between two or more nations to pursue a common goal of
interests.
 The common goal could be:
 Political
 Social
 Economic
 The cooperation between developed and developing
nations are mostly based on development cooperation
 International co-operation
 The development cooperation are mostly in:
 Policy change at national and global levels
 Financial (and in kind) transfers (grants, loans,
equipment…)
 Capacity building support via
 Développement Programmes
 Développement Project…
 Most of the time development cooperations are done
through development partners or donors
 International co-operation
Développement partners / donors include among others:
 International Financial Institutions:
 IMF, Development Banks, World Bank…
 Development Partners (International development
agencies)
 UNDP , SIDA, USAID, UKAID…
 Institutional and technical partners
 WTO, ICT ….
 Private sector and non-profit:
 NGOs, CSOs…
 International co-operation
 The development partners set:
 Pre-defined criteria such as
 Thematic
 Regional,
 National
 The expected benefits of the partnership
 Means of ensuring the desired benefits
 Proper project management tools and
techniques such as
 Planning techniques
 Implementing techniques
 Evaluation techniques
 International co-operation
 They made a huge investment in the development of proper
project management tools and techniques in order to ensure
that their funds are used as per the in tended objective.
 These investment, in turn, contributed a lot for the
development of project planning and management as a
discipline.
End of Chapter 1
End of Chapter 1