TY - GEN
T1 - Should project management be based on theories of economics or production?
AU - Koskela, Lauri
AU - Ballard, Glenn
PY - 2006/3/1
Y1 - 2006/3/1
N2 - According to adherents of lean construction, project management theorists and practitioners, when drawing from the concepts and principles of economics, have neglected the management of production. The consequences of this neglect are said to include poor control (low reliability) of handoffs between design, supply and construction specialists, and a tendency to promote adversarial relationships - reducing value delivered and increasing waste. There is increasing agreement in the construction community that these problems must be solved and that the production perspective must be integrated into project management theory and practice. But how is it best to do so? Is it a matter of supplementing existing project management theory and practice with an additional perspective, or should we start from a conceptualization of projects as temporary production systems? This paper explores the alternative of subordinating the economics-based theory of project management to the theory of production. A recent synthesis of an economics-based project management approach is critically assessed, and an alternative, production-based approach is outlined.
AB - According to adherents of lean construction, project management theorists and practitioners, when drawing from the concepts and principles of economics, have neglected the management of production. The consequences of this neglect are said to include poor control (low reliability) of handoffs between design, supply and construction specialists, and a tendency to promote adversarial relationships - reducing value delivered and increasing waste. There is increasing agreement in the construction community that these problems must be solved and that the production perspective must be integrated into project management theory and practice. But how is it best to do so? Is it a matter of supplementing existing project management theory and practice with an additional perspective, or should we start from a conceptualization of projects as temporary production systems? This paper explores the alternative of subordinating the economics-based theory of project management to the theory of production. A recent synthesis of an economics-based project management approach is critically assessed, and an alternative, production-based approach is outlined.
KW - Contract management
KW - Lean construction
KW - Production
KW - Production management
KW - Project management
KW - Risk management
KW - Theory of production
KW - Theory of project
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33644516041&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/09613210500491480
DO - 10.1080/09613210500491480
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33644516041
VL - 34
SP - 154
EP - 163
JO - Building Research and Information
JF - Building Research and Information
SN - 0961-3218
ER -