Do you manage a project, or what? A reply to “Do you manage work, deliverables or resources”, International Journal of Project Management, April 2000

Abstract

In the paper, some of the assertions in the editorial entitled “Do you manage work, deliverables or resources” of the recent April issue of the International Journal of Project Management are questioned. Here it is maintained that the WorkBreakdown Structure (WBS), is an essential instrument for Project Management and that it should not be considered as the result of the marriage of the ProductBreakdown Structure (PBS) and the Organization Breakdown Structure. WorkPackages are important for integration of the corners of the Iron Triangle. Next, to illustrate this, purpose and composition of both WBS and PBS are elaborated upon. Using PBS and WBS as a stepping-stone, this paper concludes by putting the project management concept in the broader perspective of the generalized requirement for ‘trees’ as instruments for project management. The larger, the more complex the project, the more galaxies of project variables will strain project management. Redressing of such galaxies into hierarchically structured trees will then be necessary for project management to remain on top.