By Russ Archibald , PhD

Editor’s Note:  This paper by Russell Archibald was presented at the first conference ever sponsored by or held in the name of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), conducted at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, USA in October 1969.  In addition, it was the first paper presented that day, making this the first paper ever presented or published for or by PMI.  Amazingly, it is just as relevant today as it was in 1969, the year that PMI was founded.  The paper is republished here with the approval and permission of Dr. Russ Archibald, PMI Fellow and PMI member number six.

I. INTRODUCTION

Why Are We Here?

The one common factor which brings us together at this meeting, which I hope is the first of many productive sessions of this type, is our interest in projects. As we get acquainted with each other in these two days, we will            find that we represent a very wide variety of organizations, industries, agencies, special backgrounds, and specific personal interests. Nevertheless, we are all interested in projects, and that's why we are here: to talk about projects, and the management of projects.

What Are Projects?

Since projects are the central focus of our interest, I believe it is germane to ask that question at this point, since all of the speakers and panel discussions that are to follow will be dealing with some aspect of projects and project management.

Projects are complex efforts:

• To achieve specified results within a schedule and budget
• That typically cut across organizational and functional lines
• That are unique, and not completely repetitious of come previous effort.

This definition of projects has weathered considerable exposure, but I would welcome your reaction and improvement on it. Perhaps this is a project which the Project Management Institute should take on: development of a sound definition of a project in systematic terms.

The Management of Projects

Managing projects is, without question, a difficult job. It is a rare organization these days that is satisfied with its performance on projects in meeting the schedule and budget, achieving the desired quality of the end result, and controlling the effort without too many buckets of blood sloshed around mahogany row.

Managing projects is considerably different from managing stable organizations. The traditional concepts we learn in the graduate business school don't apply very well when it comes to projects. In fact, severe conflicts usually exist between organization or functional or line management on one hand, and project management on the other. Project management requires special concepts, tools, procedures and systems, and we will be hearing about some of these later in this conference. We must be careful of over-developing these areas without commensurate development of a sound understanding of them, and of the needed skills to use them effectively.

Managing projects requires two basic categories of skills which are relatively new, at least in some industries. These are:

• Skills in managing projects

• Skills to operate and develop the project management systems which support the Project Manager.

These skills must be developed in each organization concurrently with the systems, but we frequently have failed to recognize this fact. Project Management is emerging as an important area of management specialization throughout institutional, governmental, business and industrial areas. In some industries or agencies, it is well-known and well-established (if not always well-liked or well-understood!) In others, it is a brand new idea. I would venture to predict that project management will take its rightful place on the charts in most organizations within the next few years, along with financial management, production management, marketing  management, engineering management, and general management

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