Improving Performance Through Understanding
The question is, how to make the development process work better? Good books
and articles on project management and appropriate management tools and techniques
are available to the manager for reference and the number is steadily growing.
Too few are read by the specialists involved in the process as they are not seen
as relevant to their work.
Yet projects are built by people and their effective interaction through understanding.
Successful companies succeed by putting together people who work well together,
whether from within their organization or outside it. Virtually all their effort
is committed to the common objectives, rather than the conflicts to which the
complex relationships of the project are naturally prone. The twin keys are commitment
and communication - commitment by team members to pre-established project objectives
and continuous and effective communication of those objectives. Not necessarily
more communication is required, but rather better quality and better directed
information and understanding.
Even our educational establishments seem to be slow in taking this up as a
challenge in the specific context of project work. It is the more regrettable,
considering information and communication techniques properly handled on a project
can result in substantial savings.
And bear in mind that in North America, the industry as a whole represents
over a quarter of the gross national product.
The following diagrams have been developed from information on a large number
of building projects, typifying the project development process.
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The
Project Plan
