ABSTRACT
Project management has its operational roots in technology, forms of engineering and technical expertise, sometimes supported by institutes. The management of projects (MoP) also encompasses the strategic front-end, which is rooted in broader management issues. Yet the dominant belief system is technical and technological. There are project sectors located at the ‘softer’ end, and some do not necessarily see themselves as managing projects, for example events management, media campaigns, film making. Drilling down into project management using the tools and techniques to regulate time–cost–quality/scope leads to a focus upon task management, that is, ‘getting the job done’. In other words, the focus tends to be the micro-level and less the wider implications, for example programme management, the project business portfolio and clients. The structuring of most project businesses echoes this perspective whereby the project is the primary or sole unit of consideration, and indeed, serves to reinforce the perspective (see also Chapters 1 and 2 ).
