Page 184 - DMGT302_FUNDAMENTALS_OF_PROJECT_MANAGEMENT

Unit 11: Future of Project Management-I

world. It was commissioned by King Zoser of the third dynasty and while the king was the Notes
“sponsor” of this project, the “project manager” was one of his ministers, Imhotep.

Thus was born the reputation of the project manager. This particular project was not without its
own problems, however. The account goes on “[previously] . . . Egyptian kings and nobles were
buried in a tomb called a mastaba . . . [but] . . . Zoser and Imhotep . . . built a stone mastaba of
unusual size and shape. It was square instead of oblong like its predecessors, and was over 200
feet on a side and 26 feet high.

“Not yet satisfied, Zoser and Imhotep enlarged this mastaba twice by adding stone to the sides.
Before the second of these enlargements was completed, the king changed his mind again. He
decided not only to enlarge the structure still further, but also to make it into a stepped pyramid,
resembling four square mastabas of decreasing size piled one atop the other. Then Zoser changed
his mind once more. The tomb ended as a stepped pyramid of six stages, 200 feet high on abase
358 by 411 feet. . .”

Did u know? Over the centuries, the classic master-servant relationship continued to serve
projects well, for major works continued to be built, including the seven wonders of the
world.
Scope Creep and Exercising Control

Since a creeping scope was clearly evident during this project’s implementation, one must
conclude that Imhotep was well acquainted with the principles of scope change management.
On the other hand, it is doubtful if Imhotep was plagued with the current-day problems of
“gaining and retaining team commitment”, for he had available to him a powerful enticement.
Those who failed to perform could be summarily executed.
Today, this form of incentive has been mostly discredited, though not entirely. Its modem-day
equivalent, summary dismissal, is to be found in the corporate world, but has the attendant
difficulties of endless litigation if not conducted in a very careful manner.
Over the centuries, the classic master-servant relationship continued to serve projects well, for
major works continued to be built, including the seven wonders of the world. It was not until the
early twentieth century, however, that serious attention was given to the idea of “management”,
and then only in the context of maintaining efficiency and continuity of an ongoing operation,
rather than for the development of a “project”. Many and varied have been the techniques
promoted from time to time, some with catchy buzz names. While some have stood the test of
time, others have passed by only as temporary “management fads”.
One suspects that many were created simply to catch the imagination for purposes of selling
consulting services to senior management — a sort of elixir of (management) life! Nevertheless,
project oriented techniques began to emerge such as work study, graphical portrayal of activities
(Gantt charts), management-by-objectives, and more recently, total quality management.

Notes Today, this form of incentive has been mostly discredited, though not entirely. Its
modem-day equivalent, summary dismissal, is to be found in the corporate world, but has
the attendant difficulties of endless litigation if not conducted in a very careful manner.

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