Chapter 2: Research Trends in the 1990s - The Need now to Focus on the Business Benefit of Project Management

Peter W. G. Morris, Ph.D. University College, London, UMIST, and INDECO Ltd.

Overview

It is notable how little impact project management has either in the business schools or indeed in the business management literature. Yet speak to many managers, particularly of engineering-based organizations, and typically they will wax strong and enthusiastic about the importance of the effective management of projects. Why the disconnect?

One reason often given is that project management is pre-eminently a practical discipline, whereas much of general business management is more knowledge based. Another, however, is that project management is too often inadequately focused, concentrating on middle management tools and techniques and organizational issues and not sufficiently on the things that deliver real business benefit.

Neither point necessarily precludes the other. Both can be right. Nevertheless, it is the contention of this chapter that the subject as it is too often presented is insufficiently connected to the question of business success; and that its conceptual framework is inadequate to the job it should really be addressing. Since there is not a lot of benefit, on this basis, for doing research, it is not surprising that most of what gets done is seen as "techy" and of little interest to project management practitioners.

This chapter prosecutes this argument by:

• Reviewing recent evidence of project-related concerns in major enterprises.

• Proposing a new model of project management.

• Reviewing recent publications in the principal project management research journals.

• Suggesting a refreshed research agenda for the discipline.