THE APPLICATION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES IN ARCHITECTURAL MANAGEMENT

Abstract

The aim of this dissertation is to investigate whether project management principles are relevant and can be applied to architectural management. Most of the literature on project management describe project management principles in terms of its functions and processes over the life period of a project. This dissertation, however, argues that the word "principle" is defined as the "basis or cause of existence of something", and that project management should be examined for its underlying principles or methodology. This dissertation puts forward the project management principles as follows: 1. Putting it down in words. 2. Action with the ends in mind. 3. Charting the path of the action. 4. Consideration from the big picture to small details. 5. Setting of performance standards and measures. 6. Monitoring and tracking of changes. Examples of applications are drawn from research literature to illustrate the application of these principles covering both aspects of business management and practice management. The subject areas covered include vision and planning, performance and client management, organisation, design management, as well as time, cost and quality management. The empirical survey complemented the literature research by giving a practice dimension to the subject being studied. It was found that the majority of the design firms recognise the characteristics of project management and that project management has generally increased the awareness of architects towards the time, cost and quality requirements of projects. The dissertation concluded that the two areas of management, project management and architectural management, shared similar generic management functions. The principles of project management as identified in this dissertation can be transferred to architectural management.