资源描述
外文出处：The Evolution of Project ManagementThe Evolution of Project ManagementBy Sandro Azzopardi Importance of Project Management is an important topic because all organisations, be they small or large, at one time or other, are involved in implementing new undertakings. These undertakings may be diverse, such as, the development of a new product or service; theestablishment of a new production line in a manufacturing enterprise; a public relationspromotion campaign; or a major building programme. Whilst the 1980s were about quality and the 1990s were all about globalisation, the 2000s are about velocity. That is, to keep ahead of their competitors, organisations are continually faced with the development of complex products, services and processes with very short time-to-market windows combined with the need for cross-functional expertise. In this scenario, project management becomes a very important and powerful tool in the hands of organisations that understand its use and have the competencies to apply it. The development of project management capabilities in organisations, simultaneously with the application of information management systems, allow enterprise teams to work in partnership in defining plans and managing take-to-market projects by synchronising team-oriented tasks, schedules, and resource allocations. This allows cross-functional teams to create and share project information. However, this is not sufficient, information management systems have the potential to allow project management practices to take place in a real-time environment. As a consequence of this potential project management proficiency, locally, nationally or globally dispersed users are able to concurrently view and interact with the same updated project information immediately, including project schedules, threaded discussions, and other relevant documentation. In this scenario the term dispersed user takes on a wider meaning. It not only includes the cross-functional management teams but also experts drawn from the organisations supply chain, and business partners. On a macro level organisations are motivated to implement project management techniques to ensure that their undertakings (small or major) are delivered on time, within the cost budget and to the stipulated quality. On a micro level, project management combined with an appropriate information management system has the objectives of: (a) reducing project overhead costs; (b) customising the project workplace to fit the operational style of the project teams and respective team members; (c) proactively informing the executive management strata of the strategic projects on a real-time basis; (d) ensuring that project team members share accurate, meaningful and timely project documents; and (e) ensuring that critical task deadlines are met. Whilst the motivation and objectives to apply project management in organisations is commendable, they do not assure project success. However, before discussing the meaning and achievement of project success it is appropriate at this stage to provide a brief history of project management. Brief History of Project Management Project management has been practiced for thousands of years dating back to the Egyptian epoch, but it was in the mid-1950s that organisations commenced applying formal project management tools and techniques to complex projects. Modern project management methods had their origins in two parallel but different problems of planning and control in projects in the United States. The first case involved the U.S Navy, which at that time was concerned with the control of contracts for its Polaris Missile project. These contracts consisted of research, development work and manufacturing of parts that were unique and had never been previously undertaken. This particular project was characterised by high uncertainty, since neither cost nor time could be accurately estimated. Hence, completion times were based on probabilities. Time estimates were based on optimistic, pessimistic and most likely. These three time scenarios were mathematically assessed to determine the probable completion date. This procedure The Evolution of Project Management 2 was called program evaluation review technique (PERT). Initially, the PERT technique did not take into consideration cost. However, the cost feature was later included using the same estimating approach as with time. Due to the three estimation scenarios, PERT was found (and still is) to be best suited for projects with a high degree of uncertainty reflecting their level of uniqueness. The second case, involved the private sector, namely, E.I du Pont de Nemours Company, which had undertaken to construct major chemical plants in U.S. Unlike the Navy Polaris project, these construction undertakings required accurate time and cost estimates. The methodology developed by this company was originally referred to as project planning and scheduling (PPS). PPS required realistic estimates of cost and time, and is thus a more definitive approach than PERT. The PPS technique was later developed into the critical path method (CPM) that became very popular with the construction industry. During the 1960s and 1970s, both PERT and CPM increased their popularity within the private and public sectors. Defence Departments of various countries, NASA, and large engineering and construction companies world wide applied project management principles and tools to manage large budget, schedule-driven projects. The popularity in the use of these project management tools during this period coincided with the development of computers and the associated packages that specialised in project management. However, initially these computer packages were very costly and were executed only on mainframe or mini computers. The use of project management techniques in the 1980s was facilitated with the advent of the personal computer and associated low cost project management software. Hence, during this period, the manufacturing and software development sectors commenced to adopt and implement sophisticated project management practices as well. By the 1990s, project management theories, tools and techniques were widely received by different industries and organisations. Four periods in the development of modern project management. 1 Prior to 1958: Craft system to human relations. During this time, the evolution of technology, such as, automobiles and telecommunications shortened the project schedule. For instance, automobiles allowed effective resource allocation and mobility, whilst the telecommunication system increased the speed of communication. Furthermore, the job specification which later became the basis of developing the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) was widely used and Henry Gantt invented the Gantt chart. Examples of projects undertaken during this period as supported by documented evidence include: (a) Building the Pacific Railroad in 1850s; (b) Construction of the Hoover Dam in 1931-1936, that employed approximately 5,200 workers and is still one of the highest gravity dams in the U.S. generating about four billion kilowatt hours a year; and (c) The Manhattan Project in 1942-1945 that was the pioneer research and development project for producing the atomic bomb, involving 125,000 workers and costing nearly $2 billion. 2 1958-1979: Application of Management Science. Significant technology advancement took place between 1958 and 1979, such as, the first automatic plain-paper copier by Xerox in 1959. Between 1956 and 1958 several core project management tools including CPM and PERT were introduced. However, this period was characterised by the rapid development of computer technology. The progression from the mainframe to the mini-computer in the 1970s made computers affordable to medium size companies. In 1975, Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft. Furthermore, the evolution of computer technology facilitated the emergence of several project management software companies, including, Artemis (1977), Oracle (1977), and Scitor Corporation (1979). In the 1970s other project management tools such as Material Requirements Planning (MRP) were also introduced. Examples of projects undertaken during this period and which influenced the development of modem project management as we know it today include: (a) Polaris missile project initiated in 1956 that had the objective of delivering nuclear missiles carried by submarines, known as Fleet Ballistic Missile for the U.S Navy. The project successfully launched its first Polaris missile in 1961; (b) Apollo project initiated in 1960 with the objective of sending man to the moon; and (c) E.I du Pont de Nemours chemical plant project commencing in 1958, that had the objective of building major chemical production plants across the U.S. The Evolution of Project Management 3 3 1980-1994: Production Centre Human Resources. The 1980s and 1990s are characterised by the revolutionary development in the information management sector with the introduction of the personal computer (PC) and associated computer communications networking facilities. This development resulted in having low cost multitasking PCs that had high efficiency in managing and controlling complex project schedules. During this period low cost project management software for PCs became widely available that made project management techniques more easily accessible. Examples of major projects undertaken during this period that illustrate the application of high technology, and project management tools and practices include: (a) England France Channel project, 1989 to1991. This project was an international project that involved two governments, several financial institutions, engineering construction companies, and other various organisations from the two countries. The language, use of standard metrics, and other communication differences needed to be closely coordinated; (b) Space Shuttle Challenger project, 1983 to 1986. The disaster of the Challenger space shuttle focused attention on risk management, group dynamics, and quality management; and (c) xv Calgary Winter Olympic of 1988, which successfully applied project management practices to event management. 4 1995-Present: Creating a New Environment. This period is dominated by the developments related to the Internet that changed dramatically business practices in the mid 1990s. The Internet has provided fast, interactive, and customised 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. Furthermore, many of todays project management software have an Internet connectivity feature. 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, while working independently at a remote site. An example of a major project undertaken during this period is the Year 2000 (Y2K) project.The Y2K Project, known as the millennium bug referred to the problem that computers may not function correctly on January lst, 2000 at 12 AM. This was a global phenomenon and was highly problematic because resolving the problem at ones organisation did not guarantee immunity, since a breakdown in the organisations supply chain could affect the organisations operating capability. Many organisations set up a project office to control and comply with their stakeholders regarding the Y2K issue. Furthermore, use of the Internet was common practice that led to the establishment of the virtual project office. The goal of this virtual project office was: (a) to deliver uninterrupted turn-of-the-century; (b) monitor Y2K project efforts; (c) provide coordination; (d) develop a risk management plan; and (e) communicate Y2K compliance efforts with various stakeholders. Thus, the virtual project office was a focal point for all the project works, and it increased the awareness and importance of risk management practices to numerous organisations. Why Project Management? There is no doubt that organisations today face more aggressive competition than in the past and the business environment they operate in is a highly turbulent one. It should be emphasised that the causes for the failure to deliver on time, on budget and to the quality of performance expected could be addressed by the application of project management practices. Furthermore, the failure to deliver on time, on budget and to the quality of performance expected does not necessarily mean that the project was itself a failure. At this stage what is being discussed is the effectiveness and efficiency of project execution and not whether a project is a success or failure. Conclusion Project management should be viewed as a tool that helps organisations to execute designated projects effectively and efficiently. The use of this tool does not automatically guarantee project success. (project success will be discussed in a subsequent issue). However, in preparation for the next issue, I would like you to think about the distinction between project success and project management success. This distinction will provide further insight to the questions: Why are some projects perceived as failures when they have met all the traditional standards of success, namely, completed on time, completed within budget, and meeting all the technical specifications? Why are some projects perceived to be successful when they have failed to meet two important criteria that are traditionally associated with success, namely, not completed on time and not completed within budget? Sandro Azzopardi is a professional author who writes articles on various subjects on his web site and local newspapers and magazines. You can visit information about this article and others on The Info Pit 项目管理的演变 桑德罗阿泽帕迪 项目管理的重要性，是一个重要的课题，因为所有的组织，无论是或大或小，在同一时间或其他参与实施新的事业。这些事业可能是多种多样的，例如，开发一个新产品或服务；建立一个新的生产线；在制造企业公共关系推广活动或重大建设方案。 80年代有关质量； 90年代关于全球化，二十一世纪关于速度。也就是说，要保持领先其竞争对手，组织不断面临发展复杂的产品，服务和进程在很短的时间与市场的窗口相结合还有跨职能专业知识的需要。在这种情况下，项目管理成为在了解它的使用者手中的非常重要和强大的工具。在组织发展中的项目管理能力，同时与信息管理系统的应用，使企业团队工作定义计划和管理团队同步。考虑到市场项目的合作伙伴面向的任务，时间安排和资源分配。这允许跨职能团队创建和共享项目信息。然而，这是不够的，信息管理系统有可能使项目管理者根据地方环境采取实时管理方案。在当地，由于这种潜在的项目管理能力，使国家或分散在全球各地的用户能够同时查看和具有相同互动；立即更新的项目信息的能力，包括项目进度，主题讨论，和其他有关文件。在这种情况下，长期分散的用户需要有更广泛的意义。它不仅仅包括跨职能的管理团队。专家们还定义组织的供应链和业务合作伙伴。在宏观层面上组织积极实施项目管理技术以确保他们的事业（小的或主要的）在成本预算范围内按时交付，并保证规定的质量。在微观层面上，与项目管理相结合信息管理系统的目标是：（一）减少项目间接费用；（二）自定义项目的工作场所，以适应项目团队和各自的团队成员的运作风格；（三）主动通知执行管理；（四）确保项目团队成员实时的基础的战略项目分享准确，有意义和及时的项目文件及确保关键任务完成最后期限。虽然应用项目管理的动机和目标组织是值得称赞的，他们不保证项目的成功。然而，在讨论的意义和实现项目的成功，它是适当的在这个阶段，提供了项目管理的简要历史。项目管理简史：项目管理已实行多年，历史可以追溯到埃及数千年前，但它是在1950年中期，某项目组织正式开始申请管理工具和技术复杂的项目。现代项目管理方法有两个平行的，但不同的问题，在规划和控制它们的起源是在美国的项目。 第一个案例，当时这是美国海军关注与控制北极星导弹项目合同。这些合同包括研究，开发。工作是独特的部分制造业和从未进行的行业。这个特定项目的特点是高度的不确定性，因为没有成本，也没有准确时间。因此在概率的基础上。时间估计是根据乐观，悲观和最有可能。通过这三个方案数学评估，以确定可能的完工日期。此过程中的演化出项目管理被称为“计划评审技术（PERT）。最初，“PERT技术不考虑到成本。然而，后来包括使用相同的成本功能随着时间的估算方法。通过三个估计方案，发现PERT是（现在仍然是）最适合项目的，也反映他们的水平高的不确定性程度独特之处。 第二个例子，私营部门的参与，即杜邦的内穆尔公司，进行了在美国兴建大型化工厂，不同海军北极星项目是这些建设事业需要精确的时间和成本估计。由这家公司开发的方法作为项目最初规划和调度（聚苯硫醚）。 PPS的现实估计需要的时间和成本，因而是比PERT的更明确的方法。 PPS的技术，后来发展成关键路径法（CPM）在建造业成为非常受欢迎的。PERT和CPM在20世纪60年代和70年代，在增加他们的知名度。各个国家，美国宇航局和大型国防部门工程和建筑公司用全球广泛应用的项目管理原则和工具来管理庞大的预算，时间表驱动的项目。在使用普及这些项目管理工具，在此期间，在项目管理专业正值发展计算机及相关包。然而，最初，这些电脑包是非常昂贵的，只在大型机执行或微型计算机。在20世纪80年代便利个人电脑和相关的成本低的项目管理软件的问世后项目管理技术才得到广泛应用。因此，在此期间，制造和软件开发部门开始采取和实施以及复杂的项目管理实践。在20世纪90年代，项目管理理论，工具和技术被不同行业和组织广泛接受。 现代项目管理的发展可分为四个时期。1958年之前：工艺系统，人与人之间的关系。在此期间，进化技术，如，汽车，电信，缩短项目进度。例如，汽车，有效的资源配置和流动，而通信系统增加了通信速度。此外，工作规范后来做为发展工作分解结构的基础（WBS），被广泛使用，亨利甘特发明的甘特图。（一）建设建造胡佛水坝，现在仍然是一个在美国最高的重力坝生产能力约40亿千瓦小时，及在1942年的曼哈顿计划 - 1945年是为生产原子弹的先驱研究和发展项目，涉及125000工人，耗资近20亿美元。1958年至1979年：管理科学中的应用重大的技术进步了，例如，第一台自动普通纸施乐复印机问世在1959年。在1956年和1958年有几个核心的项目管理工具，包括CPM和PERT的相继出台。然而，这一时期的特点是快速发展计算机技术。从大型机到微型计算机，在1970年中等规模的公司生产的电脑能负担得起。 在1975年，比尔盖茨和保罗艾伦创办了微软。此外，计算机技术的发展促进了出现了几个项目管理软件公司，包括阿蒂米斯（1977），甲骨文公司（1977），和Scitor公司（1979年）。在1970年的其他项目管理工具物料需求计划（MRP）等也被引入。项目的例子，在此期间开展和发展今天我们所知道的现代项目管理包括：（一）北极星导弹项目启动在1956年提供核导弹潜艇进行客观的，被称为中美海军舰队弹道导弹。该项目成功地推出了其第一宝来导弹在1961年;（二）阿波罗计划于1960年开始与发送人到月球;（三）EI杜邦的内穆尔化工厂于1958年开始的项目，在美国的主要化学品生产厂建设进行项目管理，1980年至1994年：生产中心的人力资源。 20世纪80年代和90年代根据信息管理部门与革命的发展特点引进的个人计算机（PC）和相关的计算机通信网络设施。这种发展导致成本低的多任务电脑能高效率的管理和控制复杂项目进度。在此期间低成本项目管理软件的PC被广泛使用，使得项目管理技术更容易获得。在此期间开展重大项目的例子，技术和项目管理工具和做法包括：（一）英国法国通道项目，1989年1991该项目是一个国际项目，该项目涉及两个政府，多家金融机构，工程建设公司，以及其他涉及两国的各种组织。语言，使用标准的指标，其它都需要密切协调沟通;（二）航天飞机 “挑战者”项目，1983年至1986年。 “挑战者”号航天飞机的灾难使人们重视风险管理，团体动力学，质量管理;以及卡尔加里1988年的冬季奥运会，它成功地应用项目管理方法。 1995年至今创建了一个新的环境，这期间主要是互联网的发展，在中期显着重要的意义。互联网提供了快速，互动，定制新的媒介，使人们浏览，购买轨道产品和网上的服务更及时。这导致公司更具生产力，更高效，更以客户为导向。此外，许多今天的项目管理软件有一个互联网连接功能。这使得数据自动上传，因此，世界各地的人标准的浏览器可以同步：（一）输入分配给他们的任务最近期的状态;（二）找出整个项目如何做;（三）被告知在日程中的任何延误或进步;在此期间进行了重大项目的一个例子是2000年（Y2K）项目。千年虫的项目，被称为“千年虫”的问题，计算机可能不正确运作上，2000年1月1号在12 AM。这是一个全球性的现象，被高度重视问题，因为没有解决问题的组织保证豁免权，因为在该组织的供应链的崩溃，可能会影响该组织的经营能力。许多组织成立了项目办公室，以控制和遵守他们对千年虫问题的利益相关者。此外，使用互联网是共同的的做法，导致了虚拟项目办公室成立。这个虚拟的目标项目办公室：（a）提供不间断转动的世纪;（b）监测Y2K项目努力;（c）提供协调;（d）制定风险管理计;及（e）沟通位置提到的合规性工作，与各利益攸关方。因此，虚拟项目办公室是一个协调中心所有项目点工作，并增加风险的意识和重要性许多组织的管理实践。为什么要项目管理？毫无疑问，该组织今天面临着比过去更加激烈的竞争他们经营的营商环境，是一个高度动荡环境。 应当强调，失败的原因，以按时交付，预算和预期的性能质量，可以由项目申请管理实践。此外，未能按时交付，预算和的预期性能的质量并不一定意味着该项目本身就是一个失败。在这个阶段，正在讨论的是项目的有效性和效率执行，而不是一个项目是否是一个成功或失败。结论应被视为一种工具，帮助组织执行项目管理指定工程项目，有效和高效。使用这个工具不会自动保证项目的成功。 （项目的成功将在随后的问题讨论）。然而，在为准备下一个问题，我想你想想区别项目的成功和项目管理的成功。这种区别将提供进一步了解的问题：为什么有些项目被视为失败时，他们有符合所有传统的成功标准，即，完成时间，完成内预算，并满足所有的技术规格？为什么有些项目被认为是成功时，他们并没有满足两个重要的标准是传统与成功相关，即，不按时完成，而不是在预算之内完成。8
展开阅读全文