THE CONCEPT AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION

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Engineering Project Organization Journal

This essay reflects on Peter Morris’s concerns about the the way that project management has been articulated through the advocacy of those institutions and associations that were formed to recognise project management as a distinct area of activity. The essay considers how project management has wrestled with the challenge of being recoginised as both a discipline and a profession and how there has been both progress and concern at how our understanding and practice of project management has evolved. The essay concludes with a recognition that the developments in both the understanding of the discipline of project management and the profession of project management have been in directions that Peter Morris was recommending for many years but, as he also made clear, we cannot rest on our laurels as there is still more to be done.

JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT, 2006

Knowledge on construction project management is a key issue in today's construction industry across Europe. This applies to the whole range of project participants from inception to conclusion of construction undertakings thereby involving professionals focusing in distinct perspectives yet working for a common goal. Several countries in Europe, with special relevance to the UK, have developed substantial knowledge in this topic through academic courses, professional training and experience of practitioners. Other countries have not achieved this stage but the need to prepare professionals to work in the open European market is impelling efforts for convergence in this matter. This article reports a survey on professional training needs in four European countries presently partnering in a Leonardo da Vinci project on management of construction infrastructure projects. The survey was carried by a questionnaire administered to a set of organisations of the construction cluster of ...

The combination of the economic pressures, maturity and limitations of project management and the dynamic nature of the construction industry clients’ requirements has triggered the need for the adoption and implementation of programme management as a de facto means of aligning, coordinating and managing a portfolio of construction projects to deliver benefits that would not be achievable if the projects were managed independently. Despite the benefits achievable in the practice of programme management, the awareness and understanding of its practice in the construction industry remains vague as a result of a lack of clarity and inconsistencies associated with its definitions. To fully understand the core essence of programme management, it is imperative that its quintessential definition, practice and context are clearly understood and documented. This research is based on a pragmatic synthesis of literature review and industrial questionnaire survey which establishes the relationship, similarities and differences between programme management and project management and subsequently draws comparisons of the practices relevant to programmes between programme and non-programme organisations. The research further highlights the implications of unawareness and lack of understanding that can affect the effective implementation and practice of programme management in the UK construction environment.

International Journal of Project Management, 2000

Project managers in today's construction industry are faced with a situation whereby the fundamental roles and functions they perform are witnessing a gradual shift in focus. To maintain their professional competency, practising project managers in construction adapt to this changing industry environment by relying on knowledge and skills acquired through training and experience. The extent to which such training enables project managers to eectively adapt to changing demands have considerable relevance not only for the training of future project managers, but more importantly, the kind of management and general manpower development policies that construction organisations can adopt. The paper presents a study that focuses on the development of construction project managers and how they maintain their professional skills in a changing construction business environment. The paper ®rst sets out the areas of knowledge and skill required for project management certi®cation, and argues that the traditional engineering orientation of these requirements are insucient for today's construction project manager. It identi®es the general knowledge and skill elements that are perceived as essential for developing project management competency through a survey of project managers in the construction industry. #

2007

With the increasing complexity of constructing and maintaining infrastructure facilities, there has been a growing need for civil and environmental engineers to supplement their technical and managerial skills through advanced degrees in engineering and management. ASCE has clearly supported this idea by adopting the master's degree (or its equivalent) as the first professional degree. The means to acquire additional technical expertise has been addressed quite adequately by a variety of master's degree programs at many universities throughout the country, but the challenge to impart the requisite managerial skills has not been satisfied very effectively. The latter is based on the premise that an MBA education is not ideal for managing large public and private projects which require managers with considerable technical expertise, as well as managerial skills. The Master of Project Management (MPM) program at Northwestern University has been established in response to this specific need in the construction industry.

journal of engineering science and technology, 2018

The construction management education is by far still evolving in meeting the 21stcentury education challenges in producing highly capable and competitive graduates. This circumstance is in part contributed by inadequate planning in designing programmes. The development of programmes till adapts the traditional approach in the design which seems short in providing and delivering a comprehensive program. One significant finding that contributes to this issue was related to an absence of a generally accepted term of reference. This study aims to test a working common recognize term of reference framework against the available construction management programme offered in the Malaysian public university. A qualitative approach has been chosen as the primary method which uses document analysis as the main technique to test the framework with the assistance of N-Vivo software. In this study, a working reference framework has been tested by mapping several undergraduate construction manage...

2008

This paper considers whether there is evidence that the project management industry has reached a level of sophistication to be recognised as a profession. In the paper the following definition of a profession has been adopted: 'A disciplined group of individuals who adhere to high ethical standards and uphold themselves to, and are accepted by, the public as possessing special knowledge and skills in a widely recognised, organised body of learning derived from education and training at a high level, and who are prepared to exercise this knowledge and these skills in the interest of others. Inherent in this definition is the concept that the responsibility for the welfare, health and safety of the community shall take precedence over other considerations ' (Professions Australia 1997). Particular emphasis will be placed on the last paragraph of this definition. This in effect is a fiduciary relationship. A history of other recognised professional callings will be considered against what constitutes a profession. The paper continues with an investigation into the skills required by a project manager, the bodies that regulate the industry and the bodies of knowledge that set the standard.

Programme management involves the alignment; coordination and execution of a portfolio of construction projects to achieve certain benefits that are not always possible if the projects are managed individually. Programmes have always been complex in nature, with the potential for intense cross-project integration, conflicting stakeholders and socio-econo-political pressures. Any problems from one project automatically affect others in the programme. With this high level of synergy and integration, programmes require highly skilled and competent managers to ensure that they are operated and delivered successfully. The complexity of programmes, and their roots in project management, brings about pressure for the managers to think and rethink, search and research, and view and review, for skills and competencies that can put them at the top of their demanding jobs. The findings in this research were achieved through a triangulation of literature review, industrial questionnaire survey, and semi-structured interviews conducted with programme management experts. The paper offers a critical review and an analysis of the skills and competencies required by programme managers to effectively discharge their responsibilities. The number of skills and competencies was reduced and categorised using factor analysis for the ease of administration and training by managers and educators.

Programme management is the alignment; coordination and executing a group of related projects to achieve certain benefits that are not always possible if the projects are managed individually. Programmes are always complex in nature with the potential for intense cross-project integration, conflicting stakeholders, econo-socio-political pressure. With a high level of synergy and integration, programme management require essential skills and competencies to efficiently and successfully deliver the anticipated benefits. A total of 119 useable questionnaires were received from the construction industry and analysed using statistical approaches. The research discussed in this paper is based on on-going doctoral research in successful adoption and implementation of programme management in the UK construction industry. The paper documents the definitional issues, critical review of the ranking for the importance and the analysis of the skills and competencies that programme managers require to effectively discharge their responsibilities.