ABSTRACT
This chapter serves to introduce the reader to the two core topics of the book – project management and Lean Management. For this purpose, the key terms of both domains are described in a definitional way.
In summary, a project is an activity that has a unique character in its entirety, pursues a clear goal, is limited in time and has a certain organisational and technical complexity. The management of projects aims to achieve the defined objectives within the given constraints. The aim is to achieve a balanced intensity of project management that promotes the performance of the project team – as neither too much nor too little is conducive to achieving the goal.
In terms of methodology, project management must be distinguished from the technical and progressive development of project products on the one hand and the higher-level project portfolio management on the other. For the former, the chapter briefly touches on some typical process models, such as the waterfall or spiral model. For project management, on the other hand, a general reference model is presented, the so-called Unified Project Management Framework, which has been developed at the University of Applied Sciences Centralhesse (GER). This is universal because it generally postulates a procedure according to the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and defines ten central sub-disciplines of PM.
With regard to Lean Management, this chapter describes its roots in the production sector. Following the central paradigm of avoiding waste, the types of waste known from production are briefly characterised. In particular, the core principles of Lean Management according to Womack and Jones are discussed: Customer and Value Stream orientation, Flow, Pull and Perfection, as these are to be adapted for Lean Project Management in the following chapters.
