![the experiment advised by the author of Émile. Left alone by the loss
of a tenderly loved wife, this father, a learned and thoughtful man,
had taken his infant son to a retired place in the country; and not
allowing him communication with any one, he had cultivated the
child’s intelligence through the sight of the natural objects placed
near him, and by the study of the languages, almost without books,
and in carefully concealing from him all idea of God. The child had
reached his tenth year without having either read or heard that
great name. But then his mind found what had been denied it. The
sun which he saw rise each morning seemed the all-powerful
benefactor of whom he felt the need. He soon formed the habit of
going at dawn to the garden to pay homage to that god that he had
made for himself. His father surprised him one day, and showed him
his error by teaching him that all the fixed stars are so many suns
distributed in space. But such was then the disappointment and the
grief of the child deprived of his worship, that the father, overcome,
acknowledged to him that there was a God, the Creator of the
heavens and the earth.”[175]
333. The Savoyard Vicar’s Profession of Faith.—Rousseau has at
least attempted to retrieve, by stately language and an impassioned
demonstration of the existence of God, the delay which he has
spontaneously imposed on his pupil.
The Savoyard Vicar’s Profession of Faith is an eloquent catechism
on natural religion, and the honest expression of a sincere and
profound deism. The religion of nature is evidently the only one
which, in Rousseau’s system, can be taught, and ought to be taught,
to the child, since the child is exactly the pupil of nature. If Émile
wishes to go beyond this, if he needs a positive religion, this shall be
for himself to choose.
334. Sophie and the Education of Women.—The weakest part of the
Émile is that which treats of the education of woman. This is not
merely because Rousseau, with his decided leaning towards the
romantic, leads Émile and his companion into odd and extraordinary](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-59-320.jpg)
![4. The error in this hypothesis is that of exaggeration or of
disproportion. Education is neither a work of nature alone, nor
of art alone, but is a natural process, supplemented, controlled,
and perfected by human art. What education would become
when abandoned wholly to “nature” may be seen in the state
of a perfected fruit which has been allowed to revert to its
primitive or natural condition.
5. Man is distinguished from all other creatures by the fact
that he is not the victim of his environment, but is endowed
with the power to control his environment, almost to re-create
it, and so to rise superior to it. This ability gives rise to human
art, which is a coördinate factor with nature in the work of
education.
6. This convenient fiction of “Nature,” conceived as an
infallible and incomparable guide in education, has introduced
countless errors into educational theory; and Miss E. R. Sill is
amply justified in saying that “probably nine-tenths of the
popular sophistries on the subject of education, would be
cleared away by clarifying the word Nature.”[176]
7. In spite of its paradoxes, its exaggerations, its
overwrought sentiment, and florid declamation, the Émile, in
its general spirit, is a work of incomparable power and of
perennial value.]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-64-320.jpg)
![FOOTNOTES:
[169] Dom Joseph Cajet, Les Plagiats de J. J. R. de Genève sur
l’éducation, 1768.
[170] Œuvres diverses, Tome I. p. 12.
[171] De l’éducation des enfants, La Haye, 1722; Pensées libres
sur les instructions publiques des bas collèges, Amsterdam, 1727.
[172] Spectacle de la nature, Paris, 1732, Vol. VI. Entretien sur
l’éducation.
[173] Lettre critique sur l’éducation, Paris, 1751.
[174] Projet pour l’éducation de M. de Ste-Marie.
[175] Report of Villemain on the work of the Père Girard (1844).
[176] Atlantic Monthly, February, 1883, p. 178.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-65-320.jpg)
![left original routes which it remains to follow. From out their errors
and conceptions of systems there emerge some new outlooks and
some definite truths.
339. Condillac (1715-1780).—An acute and ingenious psychologist,
a competitor and rival of Locke in philosophy, Condillac is far from
having the same authority in matters pertaining to education; but
still there is profit to be derived from the reading of his Course of
Study, which includes not less than thirteen volumes. This important
work is a collection of the lessons which he had composed for the
education of the infant Ferdinand, the grandson of Louis XV., and
heir of the dukedom of Parma, whose preceptor he became in 1757.
340. Abuse of the Philosophic Spirit.—It is certainly a matter of
congratulation that the philosophical spirit is entering more and
more largely into the theories of education, and there would be only
words of commendation for Condillac had he restricted himself to
this excellent declaration, that pedagogy is nothing if it is not a
deduction from psychology. But he does not stop there, but with an
indiscretion that is to be regretted, he arbitrarily transports into
education certain philosophical principles which it is not proper to
apply to the art of educating men, whatever may be their theoretical
truth; thus Condillac, having established the natural order of the
development of the sciences and the arts in the history of humanity,
presumes to impose the same law of progress upon the child.
“The method which I have followed does not resemble the usual
manner of teaching; but it is the very way in which men were led to
create the arts and the sciences.”[177]
In other terms, the child must do over again, on his own account,
“that which the race has done.” He must be compelled to follow,
step by step, in its long gropings, the slow progress made by the
race.[178]
There is, doubtless, an element of truth in the error of Condillac.
The sciences and the arts began with the observation of particulars,](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-67-320.jpg)
![and thence slowly rose to general principles; and to-day no one
thinks of denying the necessity of proceeding in the same manner in
education, so far as this is possible. It is well at the first to present
facts to the child, and to lead him step by step, from observation to
observation, to the law which governs them and includes them; but
there is a wide distance between the discreet use of the inductive
and experimental method, and the exaggerations of Condillac. No
one should seriously think of absolutely suppressing the synthetic
method of exposition, which, taking advantage of the work
accomplished through the centuries, teaches at the outset the truths
that have been already acquired. It would be absurd to compel the
child painfully to recommence the toil of the race.[179]
Graver still, Condillac, led astray by his love for philosophizing,
presumes to initiate the child, from the very beginning of his studies,
into psychological analysis.
“The first thing to be done is to make the child acquainted with
the faculties of his soul, and to make him feel the need of making
use of them.”
In other terms, the analysis of the soul shall be the first object
proposed to the reflection of the child. It is not proposed to make
him attentive, but to teach him what attention is.
How can one seriously think of making of the child a little
psychologist, and of choosing as the first element of his education
the very science that is the most difficult of all, the one which can be
but the coronation of his studies?
341. Must we reason with Children?—Rousseau had sharply
criticised the famous maxim of Locke: “We must reason with
children.” Condillac tries to restore it to credit, and for this purpose
he invokes the pretended demonstrations of a superficial and inexact
psychology.
“It has been proved,” he says, “that the faculty of reasoning
begins as soon as the senses commence to develop; and we have
the early use of our senses only because we early began to reason.”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-68-320.jpg)
![that you assure your salvation. They will cease to pray, and you will
believe that they assure their salvation. Strange contradiction, which
turns aside ministers from the Church to give bad ministers to the
State.”[180]
347. Diderot (1713-1784).—To him who knows nothing of Diderot
save his works of imagination, often so licentious, it will doubtless be
a surprise to see the name of this fantastic writer inscribed in the
catalogue of educators. But this astonishment will disappear if we
will take the trouble to recollect with what versatility this mighty
spirit could vary the subject of his reflections, and pass from the gay
to the solemn, and especially with what ardor, in conjunction with
D’Alembert, he was the principal founder of the Encyclopédie, and
the indefatigable contributor to it.
348. His Pedagogical Works.—But there is no room for doubt.
Diderot has written at least two treatises that belong to the history
of education: first, about 1773, The Systematic Refutation of the
Book of Helvetius on Man, an incisive and eloquent criticism of the
paradoxes and errors of Helvetius; and, in the second place, about
1776, a complete scheme of education, composed at the request of
Catherine II., under the title, Plan of a University.[181]
349. His Merits as an Educator.—Doubtless Diderot did not have
sufficient gravity of character or sufficiently definite ideas to be a
perfect educator; but, by way of compensation, the natural and
acquired qualities of his mind made him worthy of the confidence
placed in him by Catherine II. in entrusting him with the
organization, at least in theory, of the instruction of the Russian
people. First of all, he had the merit of being a universal thinker,
“sufficiently versed in all the sciences to know their value, and not
sufficiently profound in any one to give it a preference inspired by
predilection.” Engaged in the scientific movement, of which the
Encyclopédie was the centre, he at the same time cherished an
enthusiastic passion for letters. He worshipped Shakespeare and](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-73-320.jpg)
![examinations, of appointing the presidents of colleges, of excluding
bad pupils, and of deposing professors and tutors.
352. Criticism of French Colleges.—Secondary instruction, what was
then called the Faculty of Arts, is the principal object of Diderot’s
reflections. He criticises the traditional system with extreme severity,
and his charge, thought sometimes unjust, deserves to be quoted:—
“It is in the Faculty of Arts that there are still taught to-day, under
the name of belles-lettres, two dead languages which are of use only
to a small number of citizens; it is there that they are studied for six
or seven years without being learned; under the name of rhetoric,
the art of speaking is taught before the art of thinking, and that of
speaking elegantly before having ideas; under the name of logic, the
head is filled with the subtilties of Aristotle, and of his very sublime
and very useless theory of the syllogism, and there is spread over a
hundred obscure pages what might have been clearly stated in four;
under the name of ethics, I do not know what is said, but I know
that there is not a word said either of the qualities of mind or heart;
under the name of metaphysics, there are discussed theses as
trifling as they are knotty, the first elements of scepticism and
bigotry, and the germ of the unfortunate gift of replying to
everything; under the name of physics, there is endless dispute
about the elements of matter and the system of the world; but not a
word on natural history, not a word on real chemistry, very little on
the movement and fall of bodies; very few experiments, less still of
anatomy, and nothing of geography.”[182]
353. Proposed Reforms.—After such a spirited criticism, it was
Diderot’s duty to propose earnest and radical reforms; but all of
those which he suggests are not equally commendable.
Let us first note the idea revived in our day by Auguste Comte and
the school of positivists, of a connection and a subordination of the
sciences, classified in a certain order, according as they presuppose
the science which has preceded, or as they facilitate the study of the
science which follows, and also according to the measure of their](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-75-320.jpg)
![utility.[183] It is according to this last principle in particular, that
Diderot distributes the work of the school, after having called
attention to the fact that the order of the sciences, as determined by
the needs of the school, is not their logical order:—
“The natural connection of one science with the others designates
for it a place, and the principle of utility, more or less general,
determines for it another place.”
But Diderot forgets that we must take into account, not alone the
principle of utility in the distribution of studies, but that the essential
thing of all others is to adapt the order of studies to the progress of
the child in age and aptitudes.
354. Preferences for the Sciences.—Although equally enamored of
letters and the sciences, Diderot did not know how to hold a just
balance between a literary and a scientific education. Anticipating
Condorcet and Auguste Comte, he displaces the centre of
instruction, and gives a preponderance to the sciences. Of the eight
classes comprised in his Faculty of Arts, the first five are devoted to
the mathematics, to mechanics, to astronomy, to physics, and to
chemistry. Grammar and the ancient languages are relegated to the
last three years, which nearly correspond to what are called in our
colleges the “second” and “rhetoric.”[184]
The charge that must be brought against Diderot in this place, is
not merely that he puts an unreasonable restriction on literary
studies, but also that he makes a bad distribution of scientific studies
in placing the mathematics before physics. It is useless for him to
assert that “it is easier to learn geometry than to learn to read.” He
does not convince us of this. It is a grave error to begin by keeping
the child’s attention on numerical abstractions, by leaving his senses
unemployed, by postponing so long the study of natural history and
experimental physics, those sciences expressly adapted to children,
because, as Diderot himself expresses it, “they involve a continuous
exercise of sight, smell, taste, and memory.”](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-76-320.jpg)
![To excuse Diderot’s error, it does not suffice to state that his pupil
does not enter the Faculty of Arts till his twelfth year. Till that period,
he will learn only reading, writing, and orthography. There is ground
for thinking that these first years will be rather poorly employed; but
besides this, it is evident that even at the age of twelve the mind is
not sufficiently mature to be plunged into the cold deductions of
mathematics.
355. Incomplete Views as to the Scope of Literary Studies.—Diderot’s
attitude with respect to classical studies is a matter of surprise. On
the one hand, he postpones their study till the pupil’s nineteenth and
twentieth year. On the other, with what enthusiasm this eloquent
scholar speaks of the ancients, particularly of Homer!
“Homer is the master to whom I am indebted for whatever merit I
have, if indeed I have any at all. It is difficult to attain to excellence
in taste without a knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. I
early drew my intellectual nourishment from Homer, Virgil, Horace,
Terence, Anacreon, Plato, and Euripides on the one hand, and from
Moses and the Prophets on the other.”
How are we to explain this contradiction of an inconsistent and
ungrateful humanist who extols the humanities to the skies, and at
the same time puts such restrictions on the teaching of them as
almost to annihilate them? The reason for this is, that, in his opinion,
the belles-lettres are useful only for the training of orators and
poets, but are not serviceable in the general development of the
mind. Consequently, being fancy studies, so to speak, they are fit
only for a small minority of pupils, and have no right to the first
place in a common education, destined for men in general. Diderot is
not able to discern what, in pedagogy, is their true title to nobility,—
that they are an admirable instrument of intellectual gymnastics, and
the surest and also the most convenient means of acquiring those
qualities of justness, of precision, and of clearness, which are
needed by all conditions of men, and are applicable to all the special
employments of life.[185]](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/83741-250323222647-e7a7aa3b/85/Project-Management-Theory-and-Practice-2nd-Edition-Richardson-77-320.jpg)
Project Management Theory and Practice 2nd Edition Richardson
- 1. Instant Ebook Access, One Click Away – Begin at ebookgate.com Project Management Theory and Practice 2nd Edition Richardson https://ebookgate.com/product/project-management-theory-and- practice-2nd-edition-richardson/ OR CLICK BUTTON DOWLOAD EBOOK Get Instant Ebook Downloads – Browse at https://ebookgate.com Click here to visit ebookgate.com and download ebook now
- 2. Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) available Download now and explore formats that suit you... Making Things Happen Mastering Project Management Theory in Practice Scott Berkun https://ebookgate.com/product/making-things-happen-mastering-project- management-theory-in-practice-scott-berkun/ ebookgate.com Personal Conflict Management Theory and Practice 2nd Edition Suzanne Mccorkle https://ebookgate.com/product/personal-conflict-management-theory-and- practice-2nd-edition-suzanne-mccorkle/ ebookgate.com Project Management in Practice 4th Edition Samuel J. Mantel https://ebookgate.com/product/project-management-in-practice-4th- edition-samuel-j-mantel/ ebookgate.com Cheetah Project Management 2nd Edition Michelle Labrosse https://ebookgate.com/product/cheetah-project-management-2nd-edition- michelle-labrosse/ ebookgate.com
- 3. Financial management theory and practice 10th edition Study guide Ehrhardt https://ebookgate.com/product/financial-management-theory-and- practice-10th-edition-study-guide-ehrhardt/ ebookgate.com Project Management Case Studies 2nd Edition Harold Kerzner Ph.D. https://ebookgate.com/product/project-management-case-studies-2nd- edition-harold-kerzner-ph-d/ ebookgate.com Project management the managerial process 2nd ed Edition Gray https://ebookgate.com/product/project-management-the-managerial- process-2nd-ed-edition-gray/ ebookgate.com The Theory and Practice of Change Management 4th Edition John Hayes https://ebookgate.com/product/the-theory-and-practice-of-change- management-4th-edition-john-hayes/ ebookgate.com Educational Management Redefining Theory Policy and Practice 1st Edition Tony Bush https://ebookgate.com/product/educational-management-redefining- theory-policy-and-practice-1st-edition-tony-bush/ ebookgate.com
- 5. Project Management Theory and Practice Gary L. Richardson Second Edition
- 9. Project Management Theory and Practice Gary L. Richardson Second Edition
- 10. CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2015 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Version Date: 20140626 International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-4822-5497-6 (eBook - PDF) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot assume responsibility for the valid- ity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or uti- lized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopy- ing, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, please access www.copyright.com (http:// www.copyright.com/) or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. CCC is a not-for-profit organization that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com
- 11. v CONTENTS Preface xxi Acknowledgments xxiii Author xxv Part 1 Conceptual Overview of the Project Environment Chapter 1 Introduction 3 1.1 Project Management 4 1.2 Role of the PM 4 1.3 PM Skills 5 1.3.1 Success Management 6 1.4 Book Content and Organization 6 1.4.1 Book Structure 7 Appendices 9 References 9 Chapter 2 Evolution of Project Management 11 2.1 Early History of Project Management 12 2.2 Application of Analytical Science 12 2.3 Frederick Taylor and Scientific Management 12 2.4 Frank and Lillian Gilbreth 14 2.5 Henry Gantt 14 2.6 Mary Parker Follett 15 2.7 Elton Mayo 15 2.8 Phases of Project Management Evolution 16 2.9 Project Management Challenges 21 2.10 Project Management Benefits 21 2.10.1 At the Macrolevel 21 2.10.2 At the Microlevel 22 References 22
- 12. vi • Contents Chapter 3 Project Management Body of Knowledge 23 3.1 High-Level Overview 23 3.2 History of PMBOK® Guide Development 24 3.3 Structure of the PMBOK® Guide 24 3.3.1 Project Domains 24 3.3.2 Knowledge Areas (KAs) 28 3.4 Introductory Vocabulary Terms 32 3.5 Ancillary Models 34 3.6 Summary 34 Reference 35 Chapter 4 Industry Trends in Project Management 37 4.1 Standardizing Project Management 37 4.2 Enterprise Project Management 37 4.3 EPM in Operation 39 4.4 Implementation and Advantages of EPM 40 4.5 Other Trends Impacting Project Management 40 4.6 Project Management Perspective 41 Discussion Questions 42 References 42 Chapter 5 Project Types 43 Reference 47 Chapter 6 Project Organization Concepts 49 6.1 PM’s Role 49 6.2 Reporting Relationships 50 6.3 Team Resources 50 6.4 Team Productivity and Size 51 6.5 Team’s Physical Location Issues 51 6.6 Virtual Organizations 53 6.7 Organizational Culture 54 6.8 Summary 55 References 55 Chapter 7 Project Life Cycle Models 57 7.1 Overview of Project Methodologies 57 7.2 Life Cycle Management Process 58 7.2.1 Feasibility Review 59 7.2.2 Project Plan 59 7.2.3 Logical versus Physical Design 59 7.2.4 Quality Control and Quality Assurance 60 7.2.5 Monitor and Control 60 7.2.6 Periodic Status Reviews 60 7.2.7 Milestone or Stage Gate Reviews 60 7.2.8 Project Close 60 7.2.9 Project Communication Processes 61 7.2.10 Life Cycle Models 61 7.2.11 Templates 62
- 13. Contents • vii 7.3 Key Project Management Artifacts 62 7.3.1 Initiating 62 7.3.2 Planning 62 7.3.3 Execution 63 7.3.4 Monitoring and Control 63 7.3.5 Baseline 63 7.4 Project Methodology Models 63 7.5 Summary Points 65 References 67 Chapter 8 Quick Start Example 69 8.1 Project Management Work Packages 69 8.2 WP Dictionary 69 8.3 Multiple WPs 71 8.4 Psychology of Estimating 72 8.5 Procrastination 72 8.6 Developing the Whole Project View 73 8.7 Project Scope 74 8.8 Example: Pool Project Mechanics 75 8.9 Quick Start Wrap-Up 79 Discussion Questions 79 Reference 79 Concluding Remarks for Part 1 80 Part 2 Projects as State Change Vehicles Chapter 9 Role of Projects in the Organization 85 9.1 Project Valuation Models 85 9.2 Project Selection Strategies 88 9.3 Conclusion 90 References 91 Chapter 10 Project Initiation 93 10.1 Introduction 93 10.2 Environmental Factors to Consider 98 10.2.1 User Involvement 99 10.2.2 Executive Management Support 99 10.2.3 Experienced PM 100 10.2.4 Communications 101 10.2.5 Clear Business Objectives 101 10.2.6 Minimized Scope 102 10.3 Other Success Factors 103 10.3.1 Agile Development Approaches 103 10.3.2 Existence of a Standard Process Infrastructure 104 10.3.3 Use of a Standard Methodology 104 10.3.4 Reliable Time Estimates 105 10.3.5 Availability of Appropriate Skills 105 10.3.6 Industry and Organizational Culture 105
- 14. viii • Contents 10.4 Project Success Trends 106 10.5 Forecasting the Success of Technology Projects 106 10.6 Conclusion 109 References 109 Part 3 Defining the Triple Constraints Chapter 11 Project Plan Development 115 11.1 Arguments for Planning 116 11.1.1 Project Monitoring and Control 117 11.1.2 Conflicting Expectations 117 11.1.3 Overlooking the Real Solution 117 11.1.4 Competing Solutions 118 11.1.5 Misaligned Goals 118 11.1.6 Quality Solutions 118 11.1.7 Summary 118 11.2 Plan Process and Components 118 11.3 Initial Planning View 119 11.4 Plan Artifacts 120 11.5 Real-World Planning Process 121 11.6 Conclusion 121 References 122 Chapter 12 Scope Management 123 12.1 Defining Project Work Units 124 12.2 WP Planning Variables 125 12.3 Multiple WPs 126 12.4 Developing the Project View 126 12.5 Developing Project WBS 127 12.6 WBS Mechanics 130 12.6.1 WBS Numbering Scheme 132 12.6.2 WBS Dictionary 133 12.6.3 Other WBS Views 133 12.6.4 Tracking Status of the WP 136 12.7 WBS Construction Mechanics 137 12.8 Requirements “ibilities” 139 12.9 Moving Forward 141 References 142 Chapter 13 Time Management 143 13.1 Defining Project Work Activities 144 13.1.1 Define Activities 145 13.1.2 Activity Sequencing 146 13.1.3 Estimating Activity Resources 146 13.1.4 Estimate Activity Duration 146 13.2 Tips for Accurate Estimating 147 13.2.1 Types of Estimates 148 13.3 Estimating Techniques 149 13.3.1 Expert Judgment 149
- 15. Contents • ix 13.3.2 Analogous Estimating 150 13.3.3 Heuristic Estimating 150 13.3.4 Delphi Technique 151 13.3.5 Parametric Estimating 152 13.3.6 Phased Estimating 153 13.3.7 Effort Distribution Estimating (Top-Down) 155 13.3.8 Bottom-Up Estimating 156 13.3.9 Monte Carlo Simulation 157 13.4 Activity Sequencing 158 13.4.1 Activity on Arrow 158 13.4.2 Activity on Node Model 159 13.5 Time Calculation 159 13.6 Network Mechanics 160 13.7 Establishing the Project Activity Sequence 161 13.7.1 Sample Project Definition 161 13.8 Forward Pass Calculation 162 13.9 Backward Pass Calculation 162 13.10 Defining Critical Path 164 13.11 Manipulating the Schedule 165 13.11.1 Automated Calculation Tools 165 13.12 Formatting Activity Results 166 13.13 Which Diagram Format Wins? 166 13.14 Summary 168 13.15 Estimating Checklist 168 Problems 169 References 170 Chapter 14 Cost Management 173 14.1 Project Cost Planning Basics 174 14.2 Cost Planning 174 14.3 Cost Accuracy 175 14.4 Organizational Overhead 176 14.5 Scope, Time, and Cost Alignment 176 14.5.1 Scope Replanning 176 14.5.2 Fast Tracking 176 14.5.3 Schedule Crashing 177 14.6 Indirect Costs 178 14.7 Resource Alignment 180 14.8 Budget Reserves 183 14.8.1 Plan Dynamics 183 14.8.2 Risk Events 184 14.8.3 Management Reserve 184 14.9 Resources Have Different Colors 185 14.9.1 Budget Expense Categories 185 14.9.2 Assets versus Expenses 186 14.9.3 Budget Cost Components 187 14.10 Management Approval and Baselines 187 14.11 Summary 188
- 16. x • Contents References 189 Concluding Remarks for Part 3 189 Part 4 Planning Support Processes Chapter 15 Human Resource Management 195 15.1 HR Planning 195 15.2 HR in Execution 196 15.3 Acquire Project Team 196 15.4 Project Organizations 198 15.4.1 Dotted Lines 199 15.4.2 People Issues 199 15.5 Role Specifications 200 15.6 Responsibility Assignment Matrix 200 15.7 Resource Histograms 201 15.8 Staffing Management Plan 202 15.9 Motivation Theory 202 15.10 Individual Motivation Theories 203 15.11 Team Motivation 206 15.12 Hygiene Dissatisfiers 207 15.13 Employee Satisfaction 207 15.14 Conflict Management 208 15.14.1 Conflict Sources 209 15.15 Negotiation Skills 210 15.16 Techniques for Handling Conflict 211 15.17 Conflict Management Scenario Case 212 15.18 Leader versus Manager? 213 15.19 Attributes of a Leader 213 15.20 Training Programs 214 15.21 Summary 215 References 216 Chapter 16 Project Communications 217 16.1 Introduction 217 16.2 Engaging Employees: A Case Study 217 16.3 Communications Management Processes 218 16.4 Plan Communications 218 16.5 Distribute Information 220 16.6 Report Performance 221 16.7 Human Communications Model 221 16.8 Communication Channels 225 16.9 Communicating Information 227 16.10 Improving the Effectiveness of Communication 227 16.11 Effective Listening 227 16.12 Barriers to Effective Communication 228 16.13 Communication Tension 228 16.14 Communication Styles 229 16.15 Communications: The Impossible Goal? 229 16.16 Conclusion 230
- 17. Contents • xi Discussion Questions 230 References 231 Chapter 17 Stakeholder Management 233 17.1 Introduction 233 17.2 Identifying Stakeholders 234 17.2.1 Communications Planning 234 17.2.2 Stakeholder Composition 235 17.2.3 Communication Steps 235 17.2.4 Content Definition 236 17.2.5 Delivery Media 236 17.2.6 Success/Failure Syndrome 238 17.3 Stakeholder Classification 239 17.3.1 Managing Stakeholder Expectations 240 17.4 Project Operational Integration 241 17.5 Final Thoughts 243 References 243 Chapter 18 Procurement Management 245 18.1 Introduction 245 18.2 Procurement Management 245 18.3 Make or Buy Decision 246 18.4 Procurement Management Processes 247 18.5 Planning for Procurement 248 18.5.1 Planning Stage Outputs 248 18.5.2 Procurement SOW 249 18.6 Conduct Procurements 249 18.6.1 Requests for Information 250 18.6.2 Requests for Proposals 250 18.6.3 Requests for Quotation 250 18.6.4 Invitations for Bid 251 18.6.5 Invitation to Negotiation 251 18.7 Bidding Process 251 18.8 Selecting Sellers 251 18.9 Contract Negotiation 252 18.10 Contracts 254 18.11 Conduct Procurement 256 18.12 Procurement Audits 256 18.13 Contract Review and Reporting 256 18.13.1 Record Keeping and Audits 257 18.14 Close Procurements 258 18.15 Procurement of Human Services 258 18.16 Ranking Vendor Proposals 259 18.16.1 Instructions 260 18.17 Summary 261 Discussion Questions 262 Glossary of Procurement Terms 262 Appendix: Contractual Legal Terms 264 References 265
- 18. xii • Contents Chapter 19 Quality Management 267 19.1 Introduction 267 19.2 Evolution of Quality 267 19.3 Definition of Quality 268 19.4 Project Quality Management 270 19.5 Quality Perspective 270 19.6 Implications for Project-Planning Stage 271 19.7 Quality Planning 272 19.7.1 Quality Policy 272 19.7.2 Quality Objectives 273 19.8 Quality Management Components 273 19.9 Quality Definition 274 19.10 Quality Design 275 19.11 Quality Assurance 275 19.12 Quality Control 276 19.13 QA versus QC Operational Roles 276 19.14 Quality Gurus 277 19.14.1 Edwards Deming 277 19.14.2 Joseph Juran 278 19.14.3 Philip Crosby 278 19.14.4 Kaoru Ishikawa 279 19.14.5 Armand Feigenbaum 279 19.14.6 Genichi Taguchi 279 19.14.7 Six Sigma 279 19.14.8 Other Gurus 280 19.15 Quality Management Programs 280 19.15.1 ISO 9000 280 19.15.2 Zero Defects 280 19.15.3 Total Quality Management 280 19.15.4 Six Sigma 281 19.16 PMBOK® Guide Quality Process Model 286 19.17 Other Programs 286 19.18 Evaluating Quality 287 19.18.1 Benchmarking 287 19.19 Continuous Improvement 288 19.20 Failure Mode and Effects Analysis 288 19.21 Quality Tools 289 19.22 Other Quality Analysis Techniques 292 19.22.1 Design of Experiments 292 19.22.2 Quality Function Deployment (QFD) 292 19.23 Organizational Roles and Responsibilities 294 19.24 Issues in Quality Management 295 19.25 Toyota Quality Perspective 296 19.26 Future of Quality Management 298 19.27 Worksheet Exercise: Are You Meeting Quality Goals? 299 Discussion Questions 301 References 301
- 19. Contents • xiii Chapter 20 Risk Management 303 20.1 Introduction 303 20.2 Risk Management Process 307 20.3 Risk Management Planning 308 20.3.1 Developing an RBS 310 20.4 Risk Identification 310 20.5 Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Analysis 314 20.6 Risk Assessment 315 20.7 Risk Contingency Budget 319 20.8 Risk Response Planning 319 20.9 Risk Control 321 20.10 Risk Events versus Issues 321 20.11 Project Risk Assessment Worksheet 322 20.12 Risk Case Study 322 20.12.1 Mishap Foils Latest Attempt at a 25-Mile Skydive 322 20.13 Conclusion 324 Discussion Questions 325 References 325 Chapter 21 Integrating the KAs 327 21.1 Reviewing Plan Components 327 21.2 Plan Approval Process 328 21.2.1 Review Major Planning Artifacts 329 21.3 Project Management Plan 329 21.4 Financial and Control Structures 330 21.4.1 Scope Reserve 333 21.4.2 Risk Reserve 333 21.4.3 Level of Effort 333 21.4.4 Overhead 334 21.4.5 Management Reserve 334 21.4.6 Profit 335 21.5 Budget Structure and Format 335 21.6 Control Structure 336 21.7 Documentation Plan Packaging 337 21.8 External Communication Process 338 21.9 Planning Stage Close 339 Discussion Questions 340 Part 5 Advanced Planning Models Chapter 22 Analyzing Variable Time Estimates 343 22.1 History of Variable Time Estimates 343 22.2 Modifying PERT for Commercial Projects 345 22.3 Defining Variable Time Estimates 346 22.4 Central Limit Theorem 348 22.5 Triangular Distributions 349 22.6 Calculating Probability of Completion 351 22.7 Summary 352 References 353
- 20. xiv • Contents Chapter 23 Project Simulation 355 23.1 Traditional Time Modeling Tools 355 23.1.1 Near-Critical Path Activities 355 23.1.2 Task Existence Risk Modeling 356 23.1.3 Conditional Activity Branching 356 23.1.4 Correlation between Task Durations 356 23.2 Simulation in Risk Management 356 23.3 Pertmaster Modeling 358 23.4 Other Pertmaster Metrics 360 23.5 Summary 361 References 362 Chapter 24 Critical Chain Management Model 363 24.1 Introduction 363 24.2 CCM Concepts 364 24.3 CC Mechanics 365 24.4 CCM Model 367 24.5 Principles of the CC Model 368 24.6 Buffer Management 369 24.6.1 Buffer Types 370 24.7 Building the CC Schedule 372 24.8 Resource Allocation 373 24.9 Implementation Challenges 374 24.9.1 Organizational Barriers 374 24.9.2 Leadership Challenges 377 24.9.3 Skill Requirements 380 24.10 Buffer Management 383 24.11 Organizational Challenges of the CC 383 24.12 CC Implementation Strategies 384 24.13 Conclusion 385 References 386 Part 6 Project Execution: Working the Plan Chapter 25 Project Execution Management 389 25.1 Introduction 389 25.1.1 Magic Twelve Success Indicators 389 25.2 Status View 391 25.2.1 Status-Tracking Processes 391 25.2.2 Turning the Management Control Knobs 393 25.3 Human Relations and Communications Issues 395 25.3.1 Team Acquisition 395 25.3.2 Manage Project Team 398 25.3.3 Meetings as Information Sources 399 25.4 Project Team Member Dissatisfiers 402 25.5 Project Team Member Motivators 403
- 21. Contents • xv 25.6 Conclusion 404 Discussion Questions 404 References 405 Part 7 Monitoring and Controlling Techniques Chapter 26 Change Management 411 26.1 Introduction 411 26.2 Integrated Change Control 411 26.3 Change Control System 413 26.4 Configuration Management 415 26.5 Change Management Workflow 416 26.6 External Communication Issues 417 26.7 Change Request Checklist 419 26.8 Summary 420 References 420 Chapter 27 Project and Enterprise Metrics 421 27.1 Introduction 421 27.2 Fundamentals 421 27.2.1 Alignment with Organization Goals 422 27.3 Alignment with Organizational Maturity 422 27.4 Drivers of Performance and Change 424 27.5 KPI Categories 424 27.6 Metrics Evaluation Criteria 426 27.7 Establishing a Baseline and Setting Targets 427 27.8 Beware of the Metrics Pitfalls 428 27.9 Mechanics 430 27.9.1 Miscellaneous Issues 430 27.10 Industry Standard Metrics for Monitoring and Control 433 27.11 Conclusion 434 References 434 Chapter 28 Earned Value Management 435 28.1 Basic Principles 436 28.2 Calculating EV Parameters 438 28.3 Interpreting EV Parameters 439 28.4 EVM Criteria 440 28.5 EVM Simplified 441 28.6 EVM for Commercial Applications 442 28.7 Emerging Applications of EVM 444 28.7.1 Earned Schedule 444 28.8 ES Mathematical Formulation 445 28.8.1 ES Formulae 447 28.8.2 ES Indicators 447 28.9 EVM Pros and Cons 448 28.10 Conclusions 448
- 22. xvi • Contents Appendix 449 A. Summary Review of EV Metrics and Performance Parameters 449 B. EV Formulae and Interpretation 450 C. Using a Summary Project Plan Spreadsheet to Calculate EV Parameters 450 D. EV Earning Rules 450 Problems 451 References 453 Further Reading 454 Chapter 29 Tracking Project Progress 455 29.1 Introduction 455 29.2 Status Tracking 455 29.3 Tracking Metrics 457 29.4 Information Distribution 458 29.5 Control 459 29.5.1 Project Plan 459 29.5.2 Issue Management Process 460 29.5.3 Configuration Management (CM) 460 29.5.4 Integrated Change Control (ICC) 460 29.6 KA Controls 461 29.6.1 Scope Control 461 29.6.2 Schedule Control 461 29.6.3 Cost Control 461 29.6.4 Quality Control 462 29.7 Project Status Tracking Case Study 463 29.8 Conclusion 464 References 465 Chapter 30 Enterprise Reporting Using the Balanced Scorecard 467 30.1 Introduction 467 30.2 Scorecard Implementation 468 30.2.1 Communicating Strategic Objectives 468 30.2.2 Communicating Strategy 468 30.2.3 Assigning Responsibility 469 30.2.4 Aligning Strategy 469 30.2.5 Process Integration 469 30.3 BSC Implementation Principles 469 30.3.1 Best Practices 470 30.3.2 Barriers to Success 470 30.4 BSC Model 471 30.4.1 Financial Perspective 472 30.4.2 Internal Business Process Perspective 473 30.4.3 Learning and Growth Perspective 473 30.4.4 Customer Perspective 474 30.5 BSC as a Strategic Management System 474 30.5.1 Overcoming the Vision Barrier 474 30.5.2 Overcoming the People Barrier 475
- 23. Contents • xvii 30.5.3 Overcoming the Resource Barrier 475 30.5.4 Overcoming the Management Barrier 476 30.6 BSC as a Communication Tool 476 30.7 Balancing the BSC Components 476 30.8 Advantages and Disadvantages of BSC 477 30.8.1 Advantages 477 30.8.2 Disadvantages 478 30.9 Future of the BSC 478 30.10 Conclusion 479 References 479 Part 8 Closing the Project Chapter 31 The Closing Process 483 31.1 Project Implementation Review 484 31.1.1 Normal Project Termination 485 31.2 Abnormal Termination 485 31.3 Termination Model 485 31.4 Project Termination Checklist 486 31.5 Project Team and Client Relationship 488 31.6 Creating Lessons Learned Documentation 488 31.7 Lessons Learned Report 488 31.8 Project Team Celebration 489 31.9 Conclusion 490 References 490 Part 9 Contemporary Topics Chapter 32 Organizational Maturity 495 32.1 Introduction 495 32.2 Capability Maturity Model 496 32.3 SEI’s Capability Maturity Model 497 32.4 CMM Structure 498 32.5 CMM Maturity Levels 498 32.5.1 Initial Level (Level 1) 498 32.5.2 Repeatability Level (Level 2) 499 32.5.3 Defined Level (Level 3) 499 32.5.4 Managed Level (Level 4) 499 32.5.5 Optimizing Level (Level 5) 499 32.6 Capability Maturity Model Integration 499 32.7 Value of Organizational Maturity 500 32.8 Organizational Project Management 502 32.9 Overview of OPM3 503 32.10 OPM3 Components 503 32.10.1 Knowledge 503 32.10.2 Assessment 504 32.10.3 Evaluation Process 505
- 24. xviii • Contents 32.11 Best Practices 505 32.12 Improvement Planning Directory 506 32.13 OPM3 Processes 507 32.14 Applying OPM3 in an Organization 508 32.15 OPM3 Benefits and Case Studies 511 32.16 Conclusion 513 References 513 Chapter 33 Project Portfolio Management 515 33.1 Introduction 515 33.2 Role of PPM 516 33.3 Improving Project Selection Decisions 516 33.4 Improving Visibility of Project Performance 517 33.5 Better Understanding of Project Value 517 33.6 Conducting “What If” Analysis 517 33.7 Project Investment Management 517 33.8 Who Needs a PPM? 518 33.9 PPM Goal Structure 519 33.9.1 Subgoal 1: Strategic Goal Alignment 519 33.9.2 Subgoal 2: Resource Investment Focus 519 33.9.3 Subgoal 3: Better Project Control/Governance 520 33.9.4 Subgoal 4: Efficiency 520 33.9.5 Subgoal 5: Balance 521 33.9.6 Subgoal 6: Value Optimization 521 33.10 Models of PPM 522 33.11 Hybrid Model 523 33.12 Efficient Frontier 523 33.12.1 Project Assessment 524 33.13 Keys to Implementing PPM 525 33.14 PPM Principles 526 33.15 Finding the Approach that Fits 526 33.16 Executive Support 526 33.17 Governance Framework 527 33.18 Value-Measurement Framework 527 33.19 Institute Effective Processes 528 33.20 PPM Implementation Roadmap 528 33.21 External Expertise 529 33.22 Implementation Goals 529 33.23 Key PPM Interfaces 530 33.24 PPM Implementation Challenges 531 33.25 Advantages of Implementing PPM 531 33.26 Summary 532 References 532 Chapter 34 Enterprise Project Management Office 535 34.1 Introduction 535 34.2 PMO Functions 535 34.3 Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) 536 34.4 Communication 537
- 25. Contents • xix 34.5 Performance Metrics 537 34.6 Status Reporting 538 34.7 EPMO Communication Linkages 539 34.8 EPMO Organizational Models 540 34.8.1 Weather Station Model 540 34.8.2 Control Tower Model 541 34.8.3 Resource Pool Model 543 34.8.4 Which Model Is the Right One? 544 34.9 EPMO Maturation Stages 545 34.9.1 EPMO Tools and Technology 546 34.10 Evaluating and Prioritizing New Projects 549 34.11 Weighted Criteria Example 550 34.12 Summary 550 References 550 Chapter 35 HR Outsourcing 553 35.1 Introduction 553 35.2 Management Drivers 554 35.3 First Wave Outsourcing 555 35.4 Offshoring Wave 556 35.5 Issues with Outsourcing Relationships 556 35.6 Outsourcing Success and Failures 557 35.7 Best Outsourcing Practices 558 35.8 Outsourcing Vendor Evaluation Worksheet 562 35.9 Conclusion 562 References 563 Chapter 36 High-Productivity Teams 565 36.1 Background and Overview 565 36.2 Introduction to TSP Concepts 566 36.3 PP Concepts 567 36.3.1 PP Example 568 36.3.2 Introducing PP to the Team 570 36.4 TP Process 570 36.5 TP Work Objects and Principles 570 36.5.1 TP Launch Structure 571 36.6 TP Launch Details 573 36.7 Teamwork Process 574 36.8 Quality Management 575 36.9 Experience Examples and Evaluation 575 36.10 TSP Qualitative Feedback Results 576 36.11 Future Trends 577 36.12 Large, Multidisciplined Projects 578 36.13 Summary 579 References 579 Chapter 37 Project Governance 581 37.1 Introduction 581 37.2 Need for Project Governance 581
- 26. xx • Contents 37.3 Project Governance Definition 582 37.4 Organizational Level Project Governance Principles 583 37.5 Tactical Level Project Governance 584 37.6 Operational Governance Model 585 37.7 Defining Responsibilities 587 37.8 Populating the Project Governance Framework 588 37.9 Governance Life-Cycle Maturity Model 590 37.10 Governance Value Process 592 37.11 Corporate Governance and Project Teamwork (Halas) 594 37.12 Commentary 596 37.13 Conclusion 596 References 597 Part 10 Professional Ethics and Responsibility Chapter 38 Ethical Project Management Practices 601 38.1 Learning Objectives 601 38.2 Introduction 601 38.3 PMI’s Code of Professional Conduct 604 Review Questions 605 Reference 609 Appendix A: Financial Metrics 611 Appendix B: Templates 617 Appendix C: Project Repository Architecture 619
- 27. xxi PREFACE Broad interest in the topic of project management has been growing and maturing over the last 20 years; however, this subject is still in a relatively neophyte maturity stage. The roots of this effort go back many years in my attempts to install standard project development methodologies into large organizations. Through all of those past experiences I was involved with projects of one kind or another. Around 2003, I moved to the University of Houston to create a project management program, thinking that it would be an easy subject given my previous experience. However, it soon became obvious that this subject was not well docu- mented in a readable format and students struggled to get a real flavor of the topic. Most of the textbooks on the market were either too academic, too much IT, or too much real-world “silver bullet” quick fix advice types. Based on that assessment, the vision of correcting that oversight began to take shape. After four years of thrashing around with the topic, this text organization is the result. You the reader will have to decide how well it matches the goal of a readable overview of project management model theory with a real-world view. The academic program at the University of Houston is heavily based on the Project Management Institute’s (PMI) model concepts and that bias formed the foundation for the text, even though more topics are included in the final scope. Overall, the text mate- rial stays reasonably close to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) model, but there is also an attempt to show how this model fits the real world. In this regard, the material in the text is viewed as a companion to the technical guide and should be of help to someone studying for various project management certifications, but does not duplicate the breath of definition described in the guide. There are several project-related model frameworks sponsored by PMI today, and many of these are covered in various segments of the text. Specifically, the following five topics are discussed in some detail: • Work breakdown structures (WBS) • Earned value management (EVM) • Enterprise project management (EPMO) • Portfolio management (PPM) • Professional responsibility and ethics In addition, there are multiple chapters related to various other associated contempo- rary topics that are currently emerging in the industry.
- 28. xxii • Preface Deciding how to define what additional material should be covered was difficult once the basic core topics were listed. For many of the major sections, the PMI Global Accreditation curriculum learning objectives were adapted with permission of PMI and used to guide the content. Note that each of the 10 text sections has a set of learning objectives stated in the header. Learning objectives for those topics not covered by PMI were developed by the author. Many industry experts have willingly shared their work and thoughts in this effort. Their comments have been incorporated, and hopefully the resulting material did not distort their content. Based on the logic outlined above we believe that the result repre- sents a good overview of the project management environment today, but also recognize that there is more left to evolve. The writing style used is not meant to be overly formal in the hopes that it will be more readable. It is recognized that formal project management technical material can be similar to a dentist visit for a root canal. Also, recognize that frequent references to the PMBOK® Guide are meant more to provide linkages to that material rather than to duplicate it. This is viewed as a complementary perspective of the common topic areas. Also, recognize that there are parts of the text that clearly push beyond the basic model view and extrapolate beyond current reality. Please accept these few ventures as an attempt to broaden the current perspectives and offer a potential future pathway for the overall topic. These jumps in faith were carefully taken and directionally seem appropriate. At least they should stimulate thinking beyond the pragmatic, since any professional working in this field needs to understand both the current views and be prepared to evolve with these over time. One should view the resulting document as both a theoretical model description and sufficient real-world perspective combined. TEXT ORGANIZATION The initial text structure starts with very basic organizational and project concepts. There is no reader background assumed in Parts 1 and 2 other than a very general knowledge of organizations and projects. Lack of any real-world exposure will make some of these topics seem abstract, while exposure will make the reader more willing to believe that projects really can be this poorly managed. Each major section of the text focuses on what is considered a key topic goal area. Part 1 is intended to level set the reader with background up to a Quick Start project plan. Parts 2 through 8 focus on life cycle “domains,” which basically translate to major project stage activities. Part 9 covers management areas that are considered to be contemporary, meaning that they exist in the real world, but the topics are in transition. Finally, Part 10 deals with the ethical framework that must be understood by the professional project manager. One only has to read the daily newspaper to see the rationale for this topic being included. Scattered throughout the text are sample empirically oriented worksheets used to demonstrate various management decision or analysis-oriented tools. I hope that you find your journey through this material interesting and worthwhile. Gary L. Richardson University of Houston
- 29. xxiii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No effort of this scope and complexity could have been accomplished by one person in any reasonable time frame. This book is no exception to that rule. During the early incu- bation period several colleagues provided stimulus for this effort. First, Walter Viali, who is a 30-year professional associate, convinced me that the PMBOK® Guide and the PMI were the right thought leaders to provide the foundation structure for the univer- sity academic program. This has proven to be a successful core strategic decision for our university program as well as for this book. Rudy Hirschheim, Dennis Adams, and Blake Ives were instrumental in helping me move from industry to academia and then supporting me as I tried to become a professor again. Later, Michael Gibson provided the final push and support to allow me time to complete the draft material. Ron Smith (PMP and CSPM) provided several of his published worksheets and helped customize these for use as end of chapter examples. As a result of this involvement, he became a reviewer of the book and a great supporter. Charles Butler, who has been my collabora- tor on so many past ventures, edited much of the text and through that made the content better. And thanks to Teri, who taught me about chip theory and a lot of other soft skills. Industry gurus Watts Humphrey, Walt Lipke, Tom Mocal, Max Wideman, Frank Patrick, Lawrence Leach, and Don James contributed ideas, reviews, and material in their respective areas of expertise. Other sources such as The Standish Group, QPR, QSM, and the Software Engineering Institute shared their intellectual property. Jerry Evans and Dan Cassler, my University of Houston office mates, continually pro- vided an environment of friendly warmth and fun that may well be the most important support of all. Last but not least, Bob Fitzsimmons continued our 55-year friendship with frequent moral support and became the chief graphics artist along the way. Over the past ten years, I have been blessed with over 400 captive project manage- ment graduate students digging through voluminous technical sources to generate a library of raw material from which much of this text is drawn. The resulting text material is a compendium of intellectual thoughts and ideas from all of the sources mentioned above, plus my own experiences. I have tried to credit all of the sources that were used, and if any were missed it was unintentional. Finally, my wife Shawn’s tolerance through all of my seemingly endless nights and weekends in the study upstairs must be recognized. Without her support this effort could not have been accomplished.
- 31. xxv AUTHOR Gary L. Richardson is the PMI endowed professor of project management at the University of Houston College of Technology graduate project management program. This program serves both the internal and external professional community in regard to the the- ory and practice of project management. He comes from a broad professional background including indus- try, consulting, government, and academia. During the early phase of his career, he was an offi- cer in the U.S. Air Force, followed by industry stints at Texas Instruments as a manufacturing engineer, and then by consulting assignments at the Defense Communications Agency, Department of Labor, and the U.S. Air Force (Pentagon) in Washington, D.C. The latter half of his career was spent with Texaco, Star Enterprise (Texaco Aramco joint venture), and Service Corporation International in various IT and CIO level management positions. Interspersed through these periods he was a professor at Texas A&M, the University of South Florida, and the University of Houston, and also did other adjunct professor stints at three other universities. Gary has previously published five computer and project management related books and numer- ous technical articles. Through his experiences in over 100 significant sized projects of various types, he has observed frequently encountered management issues and has been an active participant in the evolution of management techniques that have occurred over this time. Gary received a BS in mechanical engineering from Louisiana Tech, an AFIT post- graduate program in meteorology at the University of Texas, an MS in engineering management from the University of Alaska, and a PhD in business administration from the University of North Texas. He currently teaches the PMP Prep course and other graduate-level project management courses at the University of Houston, plus various continuing education courses.
- 33. 1 Conceptual Overview of the Project Environment LEARNING OBJECTIVES This initial section is designed to level set the reader with various aspects of the project management field. Upon completion, the following concepts should be understood: 1. Definition of a project and its general characteristics 2. Basic history of project management 3. An understanding of the typical challenges faced by project managers (PMs) 4. Benefits of the project management process 5. An introductory overview of the Project Management Institute’s (PMI’s) project model 6. Some of the contemporary trends that are changing the view of project manage- ment. Basic project scope, time, and budget mechanics 7. Key project vocabulary that is needed to understand the more detailed sections that follow later in the book
- 35. 3 1 INTRODUCTION The term project occupies the central theme of this book and it is a frequently used descriptor; however, there are many different perspectives regarding what the term means. A collection of keywords from various sources and individuals will typically include the following in their definitions: 1. Team 2. Plan 3. Resources 4. Extend capability 5. Temporary 6. Chaos 7. Unique 8. Create 9. State transition From these diverse views, it would be difficult to construct a universal definition that neatly included all the terms, but collectively, they do say a lot about a project’s composi- tion. The PMI defines a project as A temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result. (PMI, 2013, p. 553) One key thesis of this book is that all projects fit the same conceptual model with only degrees of variation across the elements. That view has now become reasonably accepted as users begin to understand the concept of variability. Some projects have very high risk and others less so. The same is true for high versus low use of third-party vendors, and so on. The common key in all these is that a team of skilled workers is collected to produce a defined outcome, hopefully within a planned schedule and bud- get. The management model outlined here fits this description and there is no intent to focus on information technology (IT), construction, manufacturing, or any other area of endeavor. It is important to understand that the model is universal. It also fits lawsuits and medial research. Thinking the same way, one’s personal life is a project and all of these same variables are at play in that context as well. So, let your mind stay open and test the concept. In the modern organization, the project model is used to accomplish many of its planning goals, that is, moving the organization from state A to state B (state
- 36. 4 • Project Management Theory and Practice transition). For these endeavors, resources are allocated to the target, and through a series of work activities, the project team attempts to produce the defined goal. Typical goals for this type of activity involve the creation of a new product, service, process, or any other activity that requires a fixed-time resource focus. Figure 1.1 is a visual metaphor to illustrate what a project is attempting to accomplish. The two fuzzy clouds depict an organization moving from a current state to a future state. The arrow represents the project team driving this movement. From an abstract point of view, the role of a project is to create that movement, whether that represents an organizational process, new product development, or some other desired deliverables. Projects should be envisioned as formal undertakings, guided by explicit manage- ment charters and focused on enterprise goals. Practically speaking, this is not always the case, but given the nature of this book, we need to reject projects that are not focused on improving the goal status for the organization and those that do not have the explicit support of the management. Any other initiatives are not examples of a project, but rather “ad hoc chaos.” 1.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT The management of a project consists of many interrelated management pieces and parts. PMI defines this activity as The application of knowledge, skills, tools, and techniques to project activities to meet the project requirements. (PMI, 2013, p. 554) One of the first management issues is to define the scope, schedule, budget, and resources required to produce the required output. These parameters are fundamen- tal to all projects. Closely related to this set is the concept of quality, which relates to both the project target and the work processes used to achieve that target. Collectively, these items represent some of the most visible components involved in project manage- ment. Supporting this activity is another group of items related to “how” the goal will be accomplished. This second grouping of the management focus activities involves more aspects of human resources (HRs), plus issues related to procurement, communications, and risk. During the course of the project, all these topic areas interact with each other and therein lays the management complexity related to this topic. 1.2 ROLE OF THE PM Essentially, the role of a PM is to “make it happen.” This does not mean that he is the best engineer, programmer, or business-process technician. It does mean that he has the necessary skills to acquire, develop, and manage a team of individuals who are capable of producing the desired product. Every project has unique characteristics and therefore the roles required change accordingly. The current state of understanding for this role As is To be Figure 1.1 Project state transition process.
- 37. Introduction • 5 has defined the basic knowledge areas involved in this activity, but the operational tech- niques for creating productive project teams are still a fragile art form. Many project success and failure studies have documented the basic factors leading to these conclusions. As projects have become more complex, there is growing recognition that a skilled PM is the glue that brings these elements together. This involves the more mechanical management elements, but probably, more important is the use of softer management skills for team motivation, conflict resolution, user communications, and general negotiation. We must not forget that project management involves humans and will never be reduced to a mechanical exercise. Nevertheless, the mechanical aspects are an important part of the overall management process in identifying what actions are required to influence changes. For example, to know that a project schedule is over- running requires a complex set of decision processes, but does not in itself do anything about resolving the issues. Conceptualize the mechanical side of the management role as a meter—if your car’s gas gauge is nearly empty, this will stimulate the driver to seek out a gas station. Similarly, if the project schedule is not going according to the plan, the mechanical management processes help identify where and why. Recognize that another management action follows the meter readings. 1.3 PM SKILLS We are tempted to say that the ideal PM skills are the ability to “leap tall buildings with a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet, and more powerful than a locomotive” (that comes from the classic Superman comic book hero) but that statement might be a little excessive. However, it is accurate to say that this individual needs to understand how to deal with the various knowledge areas involved, with additional high skills in both personal and organizational areas. Project dynamics create an amazing array of daily issues to resolve. If one cannot organize this activity into some workable process, the project will stagnate. Through all of this, it is the PM’s goal to achieve the plan. Industry project failure statistics indicate that this is more difficult than is understood by most. At the highest level, the PM needs to bring structure and organization to his project team. One senior PM once described this problem as “putting a lot of mush in a small bucket.” A significant aspect of this is formalizing the roles and relationships of the vari- ous players in regard to their functions in the life cycle. A second PM-level skill view is that he needs to be recognized as a leader of the effort. This does not mean that he is out front shouting “follow me,” but he has to ensure that the team continues to move toward the required target. During early project phases, the target is not well defined; so, the leadership role at that point is to bring the proper play- ers together and help resolve various conflicts that typically emerge. The third critical skill involves dealing with the various HR issues related to the proj- ect. The most noticeable group will be the project team that ultimately will be the “build- ers.” They collectively have the skills to execute the plan, but there are many human relationship issues that can get in the way of that effort. Project team members must be managed and nurtured through the life cycle. To properly do this, the PM needs to be an operational psychologist who understands individual and group needs. Project teams are a cauldron of human emotions. Kept at the right temperature, they can produce amazing results. When allowed to boil, the conflict can destroy the process. Finally, during this process, an additional role of the PM is to improve the skills of the team members and ensure that they are properly relocated at the end of the project.
- 38. 6 • Project Management Theory and Practice In addition to the internal project team, there will be other human interactions with external groups such as users, management, and organization entities. Each of these has a different perspective regarding the project and all their views must be dealt with. In all these cases, the PM is never given enough formal power to edict solutions even if he knew what the solution was. These human relationships require a more open commu- nication, and motivational style with the approach being to build partnerships. Each of the human interface groups holds a piece of the project success and the PM must extract that piece from each. This aggregation of project participants is called stakeholders. 1.3.1 Success Management The first step in success management is understanding the factors that lead to that con- clusion. The basic management model outlined in the book offers a reasonably clear set of processes to achieve that goal. However, the organizational environment in which a project exists may contain factors that still make success unlikely. In some cases, a PM is assigned Project Titanic (i.e., a good ship may still sink because of unlikely circum- stances). When this happens, it is important to realize that recent evidence indicates decisions made by the crew of the Titanic. This view suggests that if the ship had been left where it was rather than moving it off the iceberg, it would likely have stayed afloat for at least a little time longer. So, a catastrophe could have been mitigated with the right management decisions. Here, we see that bad management decisions can make a tough situation disastrous. The same scenario is valid for the project environment. A good PM might well be able to salvage the worst of projects. So, success management requires a series of strategies. First, understand where suc- cess (or failure) comes from and mitigate as many of those factors as possible. Second, through the course of the project, influence the right set of actions to correct any devia- tions that threaten to become a major problem. Third, when a threat surfaces, take quick action using all the management skills at hand. Finally, if the boat is in fact sink- ing, you will have told all participants how to handle the situation. The management will have been informed along the way and similar warnings would have been given to others. In all these modes, the PM must be both a leader and an honest broker of information. If we follow all these prescriptions, will every project be successful? Probably not! There are too many uncontrollable variables to expect that, but proper use of the tools and techniques described here should significantly improve the outcome. If we continue to look at what went wrong with the last project and try to ensure that the previous item does not recur, the next project should progress better. Experience from the Japanese quality programs has taught us how continuous improvement actions over a long period can take a country from a crude tool maker to Toyota Lexus manufacturer in 50 years. We must realize that project management is not an event; it is a process. Organizations must focus on it and individuals must study it to achieve the desired results. 1.4 BOOK CONTENT AND ORGANIZATION This book looks at the project experience from the view of a PM. The material covered in the book has been selected from a personal database of “things I wished that I had known more about” at one point or another along the way. Also, in recent years, the PMI has documented a great deal of professional project experience into the published
- 39. Introduction • 7 archives on this topic and the PMI documentation is respected internationally. Over the past several years, the author has been heavily involved in teaching this topic after many years in the industry attempting to master it. These two experiences lead to the amalga- mation found here. The book content is a mixture of the PMI model view and compara- ble views of practitioners. Attempts to translate this material to university and industry groups indicated that a proper source document with a reasonable dose of theory and vocabulary would help someone desiring to understand the breadth of this topic. This was the initial goal that started this effort. The book material makes a reasonable attempt to stay consistent with the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) defining a document from PMI, as well as other supporting project-related standards such as OPM3, WBS, Professional Ethics, and others (each of these will be explained later). The collection of material con- tained here is a compilation of project management models, concepts, vocabulary, and trends. Through all these elements, the goal was to make each item fit into the big pic- ture and more importantly keep the discussion on an understandable level. If the reader wades through this material to the end, we will even share the secret PM handshake (this is probably the only joke in the book; so, it needs to be tagged). Another stimulus for this effort has been the emergence of a formal educational cur- riculum accreditation process for PMs (PMI Accreditation, 2001). This initiative is titled Global Accreditation Curriculum (GAC) and it offers more specific guidance regard- ing the role of a PM. Prior to this, individuals seeking project management certification studied various reference sources and then pursued the formal certification exam hop- ing that they had been exposed to the right material. In an attempt to ensure that the material covered fits the PMI accreditation structure, that document was used to cross- reference the section’s material content. The header for each major section will reference the accreditation goals where applicable and these will be defined as learning objectives for that section. This is intended to give the book legitimacy in regard to that section’s topic content. 1.4.1 Book Structure The book material is partitioned into 10 major sections that are essentially envisioned as “peeling the onion” away from the real-world core. Each major section represents a layer of that onion and each opens up a new more complex layer related to the topic. Each of the sections builds on the previous layer and there is no assumption made to regarding the readers background other than the fact that they have some understand- ing of an organization and have hopefully seen a project in action. This material has been tested on university students during the development stage, and graduates from the program have been successful in both their future project endeavors and passing the PMI certification exams. On the basis of this experience, there is general confi- dence that the approach helps in the conceptual understanding of project management and the PMI model. The summary below outlines the goal of each major section. Part I. Conceptual overview: This section consists of eight chapters that collectively lay the foundation for the rest of the book. Basic vocabulary and concepts are covered here. Part II. Projects as state change vehicles: This section is designed to sensitize the reader to the role of a project in the organization and the general mechanics
- 40. 8 • Project Management Theory and Practice required to properly initiate that effort. Basically, the project should focus on an organization goal that helps move the organization toward that goal. Part III. Defining the triple constraints: Most projects primarily focus on time, cost, and scope. This set of processes represents only a starting point for the PM, but there is sufficient theoretical material in this area to justify its isolation. This topic area is isolated from other more complex concepts to help focus on these mechanics and managing the project’s triple constraints represents a core activ- ity for the PM. Part IV. Planning support processes: In addition to the core management activi- ties, the PM must also understand the role of other knowledge areas—those related to HR, communications, procurement, quality, risk, stakeholders, and integration. Each of these topics represents critical management issues for the PM and they collectively have to be dealt with along with the core items to produce a viable project outcome. Upon completion of this section, the reader has been introduced to the full set of knowledge processes recognized in the basic model. Part V. Advanced planning models: This section expands the project view by show- ing three contemporary techniques for management. That is, variable time durations, simulation, and the Critical Chain theory. Each of these topics adds a new level of understanding to the management process. Part VI. Project execution—Working on the plan: At this point, the book material has defined processes to produce a viable project plan. The management chal- lenge in execution is to produce the planned output as defined in the earlier sec- tions. Unfortunately, the process becomes muddier at this stage. There is more human conflict emerging as well as more change dynamics. A dose of reality enters the scene and the real management complexity is now uncovered. If these dynamics are absent, the management role in execution would be that of a “task checker.” The reality metaphor for this stage is to compare it to an airplane pilot in rough weather with various mechanical and environmental problems to deal with. Most of the material used here is still model driven, but an attempt is made to give the model a reality flavor. PartVII.Monitoringandcontroltechniques:Therearemanycontrol-orientedaspects at this stage of the project life cycle. Rather than attempting to bundle them all together, the key techniques have been separated for discussion. Each of these represents a control knowledge component that the PM needs to understand. Part VIII. Closing the project: The proper shutdown of a project is an important management activity. The rationale for this and the associated mechanics are the theme of this section. Part IX. Contemporary topics: It is important to emphasize that the art and sci- ence of project management are not yet matured. There are several emerging topic areas that seem destined to enter the project scene and these are bundled for discussion in this section. Since there is no recognized standard for these items, there is a certain amount of literary license taken in this section. The reader must understand that view and the related model regarding this topic will morph over time. Nevertheless, it is important to have a perspective as to where the model will likely evolve toward in the coming years and this section selects topics that fit that category.
- 41. Introduction • 9 Part X. Professional ethics and responsibility: One only needs to read the daily news to see why this topic is worthy of inclusion. PMI has issued a code of conduct for the PM and the tenets of this code must be understood, as well as some motiva- tional examples to show that it is a real topic. APPENDICES The following three additional topics exist without a clear place to slot them in the sub- ject continuity list: A. Financial analysis mechanics B. Project templates C. Document repository In each case, the material here is relevant to what a working PM should understand and use as part of his tool kit. Reading this book will not accomplish all that one needs to know about the subject of project management, but it does a reasonable job in a single source in covering the major topics that one should understand. REFERENCES PMI Accreditation, 2001. Accreditation of Degree Programs in Project Management. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute. PMI, 2013. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide), 5th edition. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
- 43. 11 2 EVOLUTION OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project management is an increasingly important topic of discussion today because all organizations at one time or another, be they small or large, are continually involved in implementing a new business process, product, service, or other initiative. When we examine how organizations pursue changes, invariably it involves organizing a team of people with chosen skills to do the job. Management of the activities to complete this class of task is what project management is about. We are indeed living in interesting times as regards to the topic of project manage- ment. On the one hand, it is now generally recognized that a disciplined approach to managing projects yields positive value in the resulting cost, schedule, and functional- ity. However, there remains great conflict over exactly what discipline is to be used in this process. In addition to this philosophical discord, technology itself continues to bring new challenges to the organization such that it is often difficult to repeat one suc- cessful approach multiple times. Manipulating the project variables the same way can produce different outcomes based on the subtle relationships inherent in the process. Also, new tools, techniques, and products continue to enter the marketplace making even five-year-old project management strategies look very dated. So, the challenge in navigating this mine-strewn environment is to explore the subject and distill nuggets of information that have stood the test of time and then attempt to pave a pathway that can survive the next wave of technical discontinuity. To understand how the current sit- uation got to its present state let us take a quick look at some of the not-too-distant evo- lutionary stages that the approach to project management has moved through. History offers subtle insights into broad-scale phenomenon such as this. The stages outlined below are somewhat arbitrarily grouped, but are designed to highlight the more obvious driving factors that have changed the approach to managing high technology projects. By scanning any library or book store today, you will find shelves stocked with vol- umes of books explaining in varying detail methods useful for successful completion of projects. Each author has their own guaranteed project management strategy designed to ensure a triumphant conclusion; yet real-world statistics still show marginal results for most projects. This section does not intend to attempt to trace all the trodden paths related to this topic, but does attempt to look back at the people and concepts in his- tory that have formed the foundations of project management on which modern day approaches are based.
- 44. 12 • Project Management Theory and Practice 2.1 EARLY HISTORY OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT The basic principles related to the science of project management have evolved over many decades. The evolution of this body of knowledge mostly evolved since the early 1900s and accelerated after the 1950s. Some very early projects were quite impressive in their scale, but they did not follow what we would call the modern project management style of design. Incubation of the modern thought process can be traced to the industrial age during the latter 1880s, which provided much of the catalyst for the application of a more scientific approach to the management of project and manufacturing processes. Studies and experiments conducted by pioneers in the field during the early part of the twentieth century further paved the way for the understanding of project management as it is known today. One has to look only at the historical structures and monuments left behind in past centuries to conclude that some form of managing a project was in place at that time. It is unfathomable to imagine that the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Great Wall of China, or any of the ancient Greek or Roman projects could have been completed without some type of project management that basically guided the work process and managed the variables involved. Each of these undertakings was constructed with nothing more than simple tools and manpower, often slave labor. The early PMs were technicians or engineers, generally multiskilled generalists who could deal with many situations (Kozak-Holland, 2007). The manager skill base was most likely the architect/designer of the project who understood how it needed to be constructed and they were given the authority for allocating sufficient resources to that goal. This style of the multiskilled technical generalist overseeing projects was the norm through the nineteenth century. 2.2 APPLICATION OF ANALYTICAL SCIENCE As organizational processes became more complex, many underlying aspects of get- ting work accomplished began to change. Most noticeably, the manufacturing process moved out of the craftsman’s homes into formal factory settings where the products could be mass produced. This necessitated a tighter coupling of work processes and more refined versions of them. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, new technolo- gies using electricity and internal combustion brought a further expansion of manufac- turing complexity. Suddenly, employee (nonowner) managers found themselves faced with the daunting task of organizing the manual labor of thousands of workers and the manufacturing and assembly of unprecedented quantities of raw material (Sisk, n.d.). This phase basically marked the beginning point for the application of analytical science to the workplace. If one could point to a birth date for modern project management, it would likely be in the two decades leading up to the twentieth century, however the names summarized in the next section made the subject more visible to the masses. 2.3 FREDERICK TAYLOR AND SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT Frederick Taylor is called the father of scientific management and his influence can be traced through much of the early evolution of project management thought. Taylor came from what was considered a privileged background, but entered into employment with the Midvale Steel Company of Philadelphia as a common laborer in the late nine- teenth century. The prevailing wage system in place at the time was called piece work.
- 45. Evolution of Project Management • 13 That is, employees were compensated based on their production; more production more pay. One common practice for management was to monitor the payroll and as soon as workers began earning “too much,” they would cut the piece rate to try to entice the workers to do more for less. In reaction to this, employees scaled back their output to keep the quota lower. This practice was called “soldiering” (Gabor, 1999, p. 13). Years later, this concept would be called peer pressure and added to the behavior theory of management. Taylor saw this practice and even participated. Sometime later, he was promoted to gang boss at the mill and became determined to stop the soldiering. Being an engineer, his method of doing this was to find a way to define “scientifically” what a fair pay-for-performance formula would be. In order to do that, he had to do research on the best method for the job. Thus began Taylor’s application of systematic studies for various jobs and the time required to complete each task. He conducted time studies of various jobs using a stop- watch. This became a common activity in manufacturing organizations under the title Time and Motion study (Gabor, 1999, p. 17). By standardizing the work processes and understanding the needed times to complete tasks within those processes, Taylor was able to increase the output at the steel company. In 1899, Taylor was recruited to Bethlehem Steel Works, where he conducted what is his most famous experiment, based on the loading of pig iron (NetMBA, n.d.). The impetus for the experiment was a rise in price for pig iron due an increased demand for the product. Using his knowledge of work process and time studies, Taylor set about to increase the productivity of pig iron loading. Loading the pig iron was backbreak- ing labor, but over the course of time the workers with the proper skills were put in place. The average daily load of pig iron per worker was 13 tons. By conducting time and motion experiments to determine the proper timing of lifting and resting the workers could increase the production to 47.5 tons per day (NetMBA, n.d.). What is not so read- ily defined in history is that the workers did not adopt Taylor’s method even though he showed that it was more productive. It took several more years before the concept of group behavior was better understood. As is the case with most improvements in man- agement thought, each small step forward leaves behind other unanswered questions. In this case, why would the workers not want to produce more if they did not have to work harder? Taylor became famous after testifying before the U.S. Congress on ways in which the U.S. railway system could be made more productive. This testimony was published in the New York Times describing his theory of saving $1 million per day through his principles. One could argue that this was the first of the management “silver bul- let,” which basically means some idea or technique to solve a particular problem area. Many of the historians we examine were not afraid to tout their solutions in this way. Taylor left his mark on the industry with his 1911 publication of The Principles of Scientific Management. This described four of Taylor’s management principles as fol- lows (Ivancevich et al., 2008, p. 143): 1. Develop a science for each element of a man’s work that replaces the old rule-of- thumb method. 2. Scientifically select and then train, teach, and develop the workman, although in the past he chose his own work and trained himself as best as he could. 3. Heartily cooperate with the men so as to ensure that all the work is done in accordance with the principles of the science that has been developed.
- 46. 14 • Project Management Theory and Practice 4. There is almost an equal division of the work and the responsibility between management and workmen. Management takes over all work for which it is bet- ter fitted than workmen, while in the past almost all the work and the greater part of the responsibility were placed on the workmen. It is on these foundation concepts that others have expanded the “scientific” view of management and projects that remains in place today. 2.4 FRANK AND LILLIAN GILBRETH The fun trivia fact about these two individuals is that they were the subject of a clas- sic 1950 movie Cheaper by the Dozen. Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy were parents with 12 children and this was in reality the story of the Gilbreths. To suggest that they were experts in time and motion study would be obviously true. Frank Gilbreth and Frederick Taylor first met in 1907, which resulted in Frank becoming one of Taylor’s most devoted advocates. As a result of this influence Frank and Lillian developed what the world came to know as time and motion studies (IW/SI News, 1968, p. 37). They collected numer- ous timing data on small human motions and cataloged the timings so that a trained analyst could construct “synthetic” time standards without having to measure an actual worker. These small time units were called “Therbligs,” which is essentially Gilbreth spelled backward. Through this pioneering research, the Gilbreths contributed greatly to the knowl- edge of work measurement. Lillian was one of the first female working engineers with a PhD. Her focus was on the worker and she attempted to show how scientific man- agement would benefit the individual worker as well as the organization (IW/SI News, 1968, p. 37). Frank utilized technology including clocks, lights, and cameras to study work processes. The effort and intensity with which the Gilbreths pursued their chosen field of scientific study is most notably showcased in their time and motion study of bricklayers. In this study the Gilbreths observed the processes needed for a group of bricklayers to complete the installation of a wall. As stated in their biography printed in the September 1968 issue of the International Work Simplification Institute newsletter, the Gilbreths were able to reduce the number of basic motions needed for laying a brick from 18 to 4.5 (Gilbreth Network, n.d.). This scientific method was used to show how improved processes would make workers more productive and efficient. During this period there was an expanding recognition that the workers themselves had something to do with productivity, but for now, close supervision was the solution. 2.5 HENRY GANTT No discussion on the beginnings of project management would be complete without mentioning the contribution to the field by Henry Gantt. Gantt himself was an associate of Frederick Taylor and in the late 1890s first documented the idea that work could be envisioned as a series of smaller tasks. Gantt was influenced in his view through involve- ment in Navy ship construction during World War I. Also influenced by the research conducted by Taylor, he applied that knowledge to the construction of the ships. A concise explanation of Henry’s contribution comes from the Gantt Group’s document “Who Was Henry Gantt?” (Gantt Group, 2003). It states, “He broke down all the tasks in the construction process and diagrammed them using the now familiar grid, bars and
- 47. Evolution of Project Management • 15 milestones.” This familiar time grid is now called the Gantt chart. It remains today the most used planning and control document in industry after more than 100 years (see Figure 2.1). Note that the chart above defines tasks and times through the use of horizontal bars. The completed chart provides an overall view of the timeline and tasks needed to com- plete the project. The appearance and use of the Gantt chart has many variants, but the basic idea has changed little since its conception. We will see more of this chart later in the book in a modern context. 2.6 MARY PARKER FOLLETT With the increased study of work processes and methodologies to streamline productiv- ity and increase output, industries began looking more at how to do the work than who was doing the work. Mary Parker Follett stepped out from behind scientific manage- ment theory and instead focused on the human element. She opposed Taylor’s lack of specific attention to human needs and relationships in the work place (Ivancevich et al., 2008, p. 13). From this action, Follett takes the honor for spawning the behavior side of management and was one of the first management theorists to take this view. Follett focused on the divisions between management and workers: more specifically, the role of management instructing workers on what was to be done and how it was to be done. Follett believed that each worker had something to contribute and the amount of knowledge held by workers was not being tapped. She believed that it would benefit the workplace and all of society if instead of working as individuals or separate groups that these groups or individuals worked as a whole. Here, we see the beginnings of the team concept, although without an operational theory to support it. Treating workers as something other than a means to get the task done was a con- cept that was counter to the Taylor school of thought outlined earlier. Gabor in her book The Capitalist Philosophers states that Follett’s ideas came to be embraced by the most forward-looking management thinkers of her time, many of them also admirers of scientific management. Ironically, Follett’s views of focusing on the worker would be accidentally validated in the future from a classic scientific management experiment. 2.7 ELTON MAYO The evolution of scientific management principles continued into the mid-1920s follow- ing the concepts laid down by Taylor and his disciples. This area of study had attracted its share of detractors, such as Mary Parker Follett, but the visible quantification related to the scientific approach also attracted many to that school of thought. The Taylorites Figure 2.1 Sample Gantt chart.
- 48. 16 • Project Management Theory and Practice saw the factory as a complex set of processes that needed to be optimized and taught to the worker. Eldon Mayo and his research team followed that general principle in believ- ing that one of the keys to improving productivity lay in improving the physiological environment of the worker. Looking back, we see elements from both the Taylor and Follett schools of thought in this view. At any rate, this premise led to what is known as the famous Hawthorne experiments (Gabor, 1999, p. 85). The Hawthorne experiments were conducted by Mayo and his team from 1927 to 1932 in Cicero, Illinois at the Western Electric Hawthorne Works. These experiments were designed to examine physical and environmental influences (e.g., brightness of lights, humidity, etc.) on worker productivity. Later versions of this effort moved into the more psychological aspects to include work breaks, group pressure, working hours, and managerial leadership (Envison, n.d.). The initial studies focused on the effect that changing light intensity might have on productivity. The results of this experiment were very confusing to the cause-and-effect-oriented researchers. They observed that an increase in light intensity corresponded to an increase in worker output; however, as the lighting decreased, productivity continued to show an increase. The puzzled research- ers wondered what outside variables had not been considered and set about laying out a second cause-and-effect experiment in the relay assembly process. The relay assembly control test room was set up to measure the productivity of work- ers under a myriad of changing conditions. Despite varying worker environmental con- ditions regarding work break durations and length of the work day, output continued to rise regardless of the change. This simply did not fit the scientific management prin- ciples of cause and effect. Eventually, analysis of this set of experiments would open the door wide in understanding some initial concepts related to worker motivation. In these experiments, essentially none of the test variables were responsible for the worker behavior. It took more analysis before a cause-and-effect relationship was determined and this changed the field of modern management. In the aftermath of the Hawthorne experiments, interviews were held with the test subjects. The results showed that the participants had formed their own social network that did not exist on the factory floor. Also, the test subjects felt as though they belonged to something special by being a part of the experiments. They were special and someone was paying attention to them. As a result of this new feeling, they wanted to produce like special workers should. In actuality, the group was purposefully randomly selected and was no more special than the hundreds of other workers outside of the control room. The conclusion now known as the Hawthorne Effect is described in the article “The Hawthorne Effect—Mayo Studies Motivation” (Envison, n.d). The results of these studies formed the basis for the foundation of what is the modern day behavior school of management. 2.8 PHASES OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT EVOLUTION Intermingled with the basic management thought evolution was a corresponding evolu- tion of project management thought. We somewhat arbitrarily start this history in the mid-1940s when large, time-critical projects exploded on the scene as a result of World War II. Stage I: The first major epoch of modern project management came in the mid-1940s. The atomic bomb Manhattan project and other complex military programs added much insight into methods for completing this class of complex project endeavors.
- 49. Evolution of Project Management • 17 In the period following World War II, these methods were translated into formalized and documented approaches. Military projects continued to push the technology enve- lope into the 1950s and pressure to improve technical project management continued. Many credit the activities surrounding the successful design and implementation of the highly complex contractor-developed nuclear submarine project in the 1950s as the beginning of broad nonmilitary acceptance of a model-driven approach to project man- agement. This was reflected in the popularization of well-known network management methods such as program evaluation and review technique (PERT) and critical path method (CPM), which have proliferated into all industries since this time. These early planning and control models were initially able to be used only in large organizations because high-priced computing resources were required to manipulate the models. Further proliferation of these models had to wait until low-cost and robust computer processing technology emerged in the 1970s. Stage II: The 1970s and 1980s brought tremendous expansion in hardware and soft- ware technology offerings. Proliferation of minicomputers broke the cost barrier for operational modeling and this opened the door for improving planning and tracking of project status. General knowledge of the CPM-type network model existed, but there was still minimal understanding of the underlying management processes required to effectively utilize the model. Also, during this period, vendors sold “canned” method- ologies claiming that they would solve the project problem, but they seldom did. By the 1980s, the United States was in an economic boom and the key requirement for organi- zations was more toward speed of delivery than efficiency or quality. Slowing down that effort to sort through internal process improvements was low on the priority list. A second constraining factor during this period was the organizational rethinking of the central IT department that up until now had held the keys to computing power. The period around 1970 ushered in smaller computing devices (minis and personal devices) that opened up user-based computation needed to make some of the project manage- ment tools acceptable and usable. Over the next 15 years, there was a deluge of software produced for this environment and from this the masses started becoming computer literate. However, for one living through this era it seemed that little conceptual project management theory progress was made as organizations were moving from the central mainframe computers controlled by a single department to a more distributed hardware environment with a “do whatever you want by yourself” mentality. Software maturity was outrunning the infrastructure necessary to support it with usable data. During this period, academic organizations and consultants published concepts, theories, and man- agement strategies that would have moved the project discipline further along, but the general project audience was not yet convinced that project management added value to the result. Many looked at management software and the other defined documentation as requiring too much overhead and some feel to this day that the current models are not appropriate for the task. The favored development model during this period was one based on speed of product delivery and purchasing software from third parties. The lat- ter strategy was thought to take away many of the needs for project management since “the code was already written.” Subsequent massive system development failures with attempts to install these “prewritten” systems uncovered another view. That is, there is more to successfully executing a project than loading code to a computer or buying some vendor’s management tool. So, by the end of the 1980s, there was a new level of project management understanding. More “silver bullets” emerged, but none solved the issue of poor project outcome results.
- 50. Another Random Scribd Document with Unrelated Content
- 51. languages. And it is not only history and the languages; it is literature in general from which Émile is excluded by Rousseau. No book shall be put into his hands, not even the Fables of La Fontaine. It is well known with what resolution Rousseau criticises The Crow and the Fox. 318. Education of the Senses.—The grand preoccupation of Rousseau is the exercise and development of the senses of his pupil. The whole theory of object lessons, and even all the exaggerations of what is now called the intuitive method, are contained in germ in the Émile:— “The first faculties which are formed and perfected in us are the senses. These, then, are the first which should be cultivated; but these are the very ones that we forget or that we neglect the most.” Rousseau does not consider the senses as wholly formed by nature; but he makes a special search for the means of forming them and of perfecting them through education. “To call into exercise the senses, is, so to speak, to learn to feel; for we can neither touch, nor see, nor hear, except as we have been taught.” Only, Rousseau is wrong in sacrificing everything to this education of the senses. He sharply criticises this favorite maxim of Locke, “We must reason with children.” Rousseau retards the education of the judgment and the reason, and declares that “he would as soon require that a child be five feet high as that he reason at the age of eight.” 319. The Third Book of the Émile.—From the twelfth to the fifteenth year is the length of time that Rousseau has devoted to study and to intellectual development proper. It is necessary that the robust animal, “the roe-buck,” as he calls Émile, after a negative and temporizing education of twelve years, become in three years an enlightened intelligence. As the period is short, Rousseau disposes of the time for instruction with a miser’s hand. Moreover, Émile is very
- 52. poorly prepared for the rapid studies which are to be imposed on him. Not having acquired in his earlier years the habit of thinking, having lived a purely physical existence, he will have great difficulty in bringing to life, within a few months, his intellectual faculties. But without dwelling on the unfavorable conditions of Émile’s intellectual education, let us see in what it will consist. 320. Choice in the Things to be taught.—The principle which guides Rousseau in the choice of Émile’s studies is no other than the principle of utility:— “There is a choice in the things which ought to be taught as well as in the time fit for learning them. Of the knowledges within our reach, some are false, others are useless, and still others serve to nourish the pride of him who has them. Only the small number of those which really contribute to our good are worthy the care of a wise man, and consequently of a child whom we wish to render such. It is not a question of knowing what is, but only what is useful.” 321. Rousseau and the Abbé de Saint Pierre.—Among educators, some wish to teach everything, while others demand a choice, and would retain only what is necessary. The Abbé de Saint Pierre follows the first tendency. He would have the scholar learn everything at college; a little medicine towards the seventh or eighth year, and in the other classes, arithmetic and blazonry, jurisprudence, German, Italian, dancing, declamation, politics, ethics, astronomy, anatomy, chemistry, without counting drawing and the violin, and twenty other things besides. Rousseau is wiser. He is dismayed at such an accumulation, at such an obstruction of studies, and so yields too much to the opposite tendency, and restricts beyond measure the list of necessary studies. 322. Émile’s Studies.—These, in fact, are the studies to which Émile is limited: first, the physical sciences, and, at the head of the list,
- 53. astronomy, then geography, geography taught without maps and by means of travel:— “You are looking for globes, spheres, maps. What machines! Why all these representations? Why not begin by showing him the object itself?” Here, as in other places, Rousseau prefers what would be best, but what is impossible, to that which is worth less, but which alone is practicable. But Rousseau does not wish that his pupil, like the pupil of Rabelais, become an “abyss of knowledge.” “When I see a man, enamored of knowledge, allow himself to yield to its charms, and run from one kind to another without knowing where to stop, I think I see a child on the sea-shore collecting shells, beginning by loading himself with them; then, tempted by those he still sees, throwing them aside, picking them up, until, weighed down by their number, and no longer knowing which to choose, he ends by rejecting everything, and returns empty-handed.” No account is made of grammar and the ancient languages in the plan of Émile’s studies. Graver still, history is proscribed. This rejection of historical studies, moreover, is systematically done. Rousseau has placed Émile in the country, and has made him an orphan, the better to isolate him; to teach him history would be to throw him back into society that he abominates. 323. No Books save Robinson Crusoe.—One of the consequences of an education that is natural and negative is the suppression of books. Always going to extremes, Rousseau is not content to criticise the abuse of books. He determines that up to his fifth year Émile shall not know what a book is:— “I hate books,” he exclaims; “they teach us merely to speak of things that we do not know.”
- 54. Besides the fact that this raving is rather ridiculous in the case of a man who is a writer by profession, it is evident that Rousseau is roving at random when he condemns the use of books in instruction. One book, however, one single book, has found favor in his sight. Robinson Crusoe will constitute by itself for a long time the whole of Émile’s library. We understand without difficulty Rousseau’s kindly feeling for a work which, under the form of a romance, is, like the Émile, a treatise on natural education. Émile and Robinson strongly resemble each other, since they are self-sufficient and dispense with society. 324. Excellent Precepts on Method.—At least in the general method which he commends, Rousseau makes amends for the errors in his plan of study:— “Do not treat the child to discourses which he cannot understand. No descriptions, no eloquence, no figures of speech. Be content to present to him appropriate objects. Let us transform our sensations into ideas. But let us not jump at once from sensible objects to intellectual objects. Let us always proceed slowly from one sensible notion to another. In general, let us never substitute the sign for the thing, except when it is impossible for us to show the thing.” “I have no love whatever for explanations and talk. Things! things! I shall never tire of saying that we ascribe too much importance to words. With our babbling education we make only babblers.” But the whole would bear quoting. Almost all of Rousseau’s recommendations, in the way of method, contain an element of truth, and need only to be modified in order to become excellent. 325. Exclusive Motives of Action.—A great question in the education of children is to know to what motive we shall address ourselves. Here again, Rousseau is exclusive and absolute. Up to the age of twelve, Émile will have been guided by necessity; he will have been made dependent on things, not on men. It is through the possible and the impossible that he will have been conducted, by treating
- 55. him, not as a sensible and intelligent being, but as a force of nature against which other forces are made to act. Not till the age of twelve must this system be changed. Émile has now acquired some judgment; and it is upon an intellectual motive that one ought now to count in regulating his conduct. This motive is utility. The feeling of emulation cannot be employed in a solitary education. Finally, at the age of fifteen, it will be possible to appeal to the heart, to feeling, and to recommend to the young man the acts we set before him, no longer as necessary or useful, but as noble, good, and generous. The error of Rousseau is in cutting up the life of man to his twentieth year into three sharply defined parts, into three moments, each subordinated to a single governing principle. The truth is that at every age an appeal must be made to all the motives that act on our will, that at every age, necessity, interest, sentiment, and finally, the idea of duty, an idea too often overlooked by Rousseau, as all else that is derived from reason,—all these motives can effectively intervene, in different degrees, in the education of man. 326. Émile learns a Trade.—At the age of fifteen, Émile will know nothing of history, nothing of humanity, nothing of art and literature, nothing of God; but he will know a trade, a manual trade. By this means, he will be sheltered from need in advance, in case a revolution should strip him of his fortune. “We are approaching,” says Rousseau, with an astonishing perspicacity, “a century of revolutions. Who can give you assurance of what will then become of you? I hold it to be impossible for the great monarchies of Europe to last much longer. They have all had their day of glory, and every State that dazzles is in its decline.” We have previously noticed, in studying analogous ideas in the case of Locke, for what other reasons Rousseau made of Émile an apprentice to a cabinet-maker or a carpenter. 327. Émile at the Age of Fifteen.—Rousseau takes comfort in the contemplation of his work, and he pauses from time to time in his
- 56. analyses and deductions, to trace the portrait of his pupil. This is how he represents him at the age of fifteen:— “Émile has but little knowledge, but that which he has is really his own; he knows nothing by halves. In the small number of things that he knows, and knows well, the most important is that there are many things which he does not know, but which he can some day learn; that there are many more things which other men know, but which he will never know; and that there is an infinity of other things which no man will ever know. He has a universal mind, not through actual knowledge, but through the ability to acquire it. He has a mind that is open, intelligent, prepared for everything, and, as Montaigne says, if not instructed, at least capable of being instructed. It is sufficient for me that he knows how to find the of what good is it? with reference to all that he does, and the why? of all that he believes. Once more, my object is not at all to give him knowledge, but to teach him how to acquire it as he may need it, to make him estimate it at its exact worth, and to make him love truth above everything else. With this method, progress is slow; but there are no false steps, and no danger of being obliged to retrace one’s course.” All this is well; but it is necessary to add that even Émile has faults, great faults. To mention but one of them, but one which dominates all the others, he sees things only from the point of view of utility, and he would not hesitate, for example, “to give the Academy of Sciences for the smallest bit of pastry.” 328. Education of the Sensibilities.—It is true that Rousseau finally decides to make of Émile an affectionate and reasonable being. “We have formed,” he says, “his body, his senses, his judgment; it remains to give him a heart.” Rousseau, who proceeds like a magician, by wave of wand and clever tricks, flatters himself that within a day’s time Émile is going to become the most affectionate, the most moral, and the most religious of men. É
- 57. 329. The Fourth Book of the Émile.—The development of the affectionate sentiments, the culture of the moral sentiment, and that of the religious sentiment, such is the triple subject of the fourth book,—vast and exalted questions that lend themselves to eloquence in such a way that the fourth book of the Émile is perhaps the most brilliant of the whole work. 330. Genesis of the Affectionate Sentiments.—Here Rousseau is wholly in the land of chimeras. Émile, who lives in isolation, who has neither family, friends, nor companions, is necessarily condemned to selfishness, and everything Rousseau can do to warm his heart will be useless. Do we wish to develop the feelings of tenderness and affection? Let us begin by placing the child under family or social influences which alone can furnish his affections the occasion for development. For fifteen years Rousseau leaves the heart of Émile unoccupied. What an illusion to think he will be able to fill it all at once! When we suppress the mother in the education of a child, all the means that we can invent to excite in his soul emotions of gentleness and affection are but palliatives. Rousseau made the mistake of thinking that a child can be taught to love as he is taught to read and write, and that lessons could be given to Émile in feeling just as lessons are given to him in geometry. 331. Moral Education.—Rousseau is more worthy of being followed when he demands that the moral notions of right and wrong have their first source in the feelings of sympathy and social benevolence, on the supposition that according to his system he can inspire Émile with such feelings. “We enter, finally, the domain of morals,” he says. “If this were the place for it, I would show how from the first emotions of the heart arise the first utterances of the conscience, and how, from the first feelings of love and hate arise the first notions of good and evil. I would make it appear that justice and goodness are not merely abstract terms, conceived by the understanding, but real affections of the soul enlightened by the reason.”
- 58. Yes; let the child be made to make his way gradually towards a severe morality, sanctioned by the reason, in having him pass through the gentle emotions of the heart. Nothing can be better. But this is to be done on one condition: this is, that we shall not stop on the way, and that the vague inspirations of the sensibilities shall be succeeded by the exact prescriptions of the reason. Now Rousseau, as we know, was never willing to admit that virtue was anything else than an affair of the heart. His ethics is wholly an ethics of sentiment. 332. Religious Education.—We know the reasons which determined Rousseau to delay till the sixteenth or eighteenth year the revelation of religion. It is that the child, with his sensitive imagination, is necessarily an idolater. If we speak to him of God, he can form but a superstitious idea of him. “Now,” says Rousseau, pithily, “when the imagination has once seen God, it is very rare that the understanding conceives him.” In other terms, once plunged in superstition, the mind of the child can never extricate itself from it. We must then wait, in the interest of religion itself, till the child have sufficient maturity of reason and sufficient power of thought to seize in its truth, divested of every veil of sense, the idea of God, whose existence is announced to him for the first time. It is difficult to justify Rousseau. First, is it not to be feared that the child, if he has reached his eighteenth year in ignorance of God, may find it wholly natural to be ignorant of him still, and that he reason and dispute at random with his teacher, and that he doubt instead of believe? And if he allows himself to be convinced, is it not at least evident that the religious idea, tardily inculcated, will have no profound hold on his mind? On the other hand, will the child, with his instinctive curiosity, wait till his eighteenth year to inquire the cause of the universe? Will he not form the notion of a God in his own way? “One might have read, a few years ago,” says Villemain, “the account, or rather the psychological confession, of a writer (Sentenis), a German philosopher, whom his father had submitted to É
- 59. the experiment advised by the author of Émile. Left alone by the loss of a tenderly loved wife, this father, a learned and thoughtful man, had taken his infant son to a retired place in the country; and not allowing him communication with any one, he had cultivated the child’s intelligence through the sight of the natural objects placed near him, and by the study of the languages, almost without books, and in carefully concealing from him all idea of God. The child had reached his tenth year without having either read or heard that great name. But then his mind found what had been denied it. The sun which he saw rise each morning seemed the all-powerful benefactor of whom he felt the need. He soon formed the habit of going at dawn to the garden to pay homage to that god that he had made for himself. His father surprised him one day, and showed him his error by teaching him that all the fixed stars are so many suns distributed in space. But such was then the disappointment and the grief of the child deprived of his worship, that the father, overcome, acknowledged to him that there was a God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth.”[175] 333. The Savoyard Vicar’s Profession of Faith.—Rousseau has at least attempted to retrieve, by stately language and an impassioned demonstration of the existence of God, the delay which he has spontaneously imposed on his pupil. The Savoyard Vicar’s Profession of Faith is an eloquent catechism on natural religion, and the honest expression of a sincere and profound deism. The religion of nature is evidently the only one which, in Rousseau’s system, can be taught, and ought to be taught, to the child, since the child is exactly the pupil of nature. If Émile wishes to go beyond this, if he needs a positive religion, this shall be for himself to choose. 334. Sophie and the Education of Women.—The weakest part of the Émile is that which treats of the education of woman. This is not merely because Rousseau, with his decided leaning towards the romantic, leads Émile and his companion into odd and extraordinary
- 60. adventures, but it is especially because he misconceives the proper dignity of woman. Sophie, the perfect woman, has been educated only to complete the happiness of Émile. Her education is wholly relative to her destiny as a wife. “The whole education of women should be relative to men; to please them, to be useful to them, to make themselves honored and loved by them, to educate the young, to care for the older, to advise them, to console them, to make life agreeable and sweet to them,— these are the duties of women in every age.” “Sophie,” says Gréard, “has but virtues of the second order, virtues of conjugal education.” It has been said that marriage is a second birth for man, that he rises or falls according to the choice which he makes. For woman, according to the theory of Rousseau, it is the true advent into life. According to the expressive formula of Michelet, who, in a sentence, has given a marvellous summary of the doctrine, but in attaching to it a sense which poetizes it, “the husband creates the wife.” Sophie, up to the day of her marriage, did not exist. She had learned nothing and read nothing “except a Barême and a Télémaque which have chanced to fall into her hands.” She has been definitely admonished, “that were men sensible, every lettered girl will remain a girl.” It is Émile alone who is to instruct her, and he will instruct her and mould her into his own ideal, and in conformity to his individual interest. While it was only in his youth that he received the first principles of the religious feeling, Sophie must be penetrated with it from infancy, in order that she may early form the habit of submission. He commands and she obeys, the first duty of the wife being meekness. If, during her youth, she has freely attended banquets, amusements, balls, the theatre, it is not so much to be initiated into the vain pleasures of the world, under the tutelage of a vigilant mother, as to belong, once married, more fully to her home and to her husband. She is nothing except as she is by his side, or as dependent on him, or as acting through him. Strange and brutal paradox, which Rousseau, it is true, corrects and repairs in detail, at every moment by the most happy and charming inconsistencies.
- 61. Sophie, briefly, is an incomplete person whom Rousseau is not careful enough to educate for herself. In her subordinate and inferior position, the cares of the household occupy the largest place. She cuts and makes her own dresses:— “What Sophie knows best, and what was taught her with most care, is the work of her sex. There is no needle-work which she does not know how to make.” It is not forbidden her, but is even recommended that she introduce a certain coquetry into her employments:— “The work she loves the best is lace-making, because there is no other that gives her a more agreeable attitude, and in which the fingers are used with more grace and deftness.” She carries daintiness a little too far:— “She does not love cooking; its details have some disgust for her. She would sooner let the whole dinner go into the fire than to soil her cuffs.” Truly this is fine housewifery! We feel that we have here to do with a character in a romance who has no need to dine. Sophie would not have been well received at Saint Cyr, where Madame de Maintenon so severely scolded the girls who were too fastidious, “fearing smoke, dust, and disagreeable odors, even to making complaints and grimaces on their account as though all were lost.” 335. General Conclusion.—In order to form a just estimate of the Émile, it is necessary to put aside the impressions left by the reading of the last pages. We must consider as a whole, and without taking details into account, that work, which, notwithstanding all, is very admirable and profound. It is injured by analysis. To esteem the Émile at its real worth, it must be read entire. In reading it, in fact, we are warmed by contact with the passion which Rousseau puts into whatever he writes. We pardon his errors and chimeras by reason of the grand sentiments and the grand truths which we meet
- 62. at every step. We must also take into account the time when Rousseau lived, and the conditions under which he wrote. We have not a doubt that had it been written thirty years later, in the dawn of the Revolution, for a people who were free, or who desired to be free, the Émile would have been wholly different from what it is. Had he been working for a republican society, or for a society that wished to become such, Rousseau would not have thrown himself, out of hatred for the reality, into the absurdities of an over-specialized and exceptional education. We can judge of what he would have done as legislator of public instruction in the time of the Revolution, by what he wrote in his Considerations on the Government of Poland:— “National education belongs only to people who are free.... It is education which is to give to men the national mould, and so to direct their opinions and their tastes that they will become patriots by inclination, by passion, and by necessity” (we would only add, by duty). “A child, in opening his eyes, ought to see his country and nothing but his country. Every true republican, along with his mother’s milk, will imbibe love of country, that is, of law and liberty. This love constitutes his whole existence. He sees but his country, he lives but for her. So soon as he is alone, he is nothing; so soon as there is no more of country, he is no more.... While learning to read, I would have a child of Poland read what relates to his country; at the age of ten, I would have him know all its productions; at twelve, all its provinces, all its roads, all its cities; at fifteen, the whole of its history; and at sixteen, all its laws; and there should not be in all Poland a notable deed or an illustrious man, of which his memory and his heart were not full.” 336. Influence of the Émile.—That which proves better than any commentary can the high standing of the Émile, is the success which it has obtained, the influence which it has exerted, both in France and abroad, and the durable renown attested by so many works designed, either to contradict it, to correct it, or to approve it and to disseminate its doctrines. During the twenty-five years that followed the publication of the Émile, there appeared in the French language
- 63. twice as many books on education as during the first sixty years of the century. Rousseau, besides all that he said personally which was just and new, had the merit of stimulating minds and of preparing through his impulsion the rich educational harvest of this last one hundred years. To be convinced of this, it suffices to read this judgment of Kant:— “The first impression which a reader who does not read for vanity or for killing time derives from the writings of Rousseau, is that this writer unites to an admirable penetration of genius a noble inspiration and a soul full of sensibility, such as has never been met with in any other writer, in any other time, or in any other country. The impression which immediately follows this, is that of astonishment caused by the extraordinary and paradoxical thoughts which he develops.... I ought to read and re-read Rousseau, till the beauty of his style no more affects me. It is only then that I can adjust my reason to judge of him.” [337. Analytical Summary.—1. The study of the Émile exhibits, in a very striking manner, the contrast between the respective agencies of art and nature in the work of education, and also the power of sentiment as a motor to ideas. 2. What Monsieur Compayré has happily called Rousseau’s “misuse of the principle of nature” marks a recoil against the artificial and fictitious state of society and opinion in France in the eighteenth century. In politics, in religion, and in philosophy, there was the domination of authority, and but a small margin was left for the exercise of freedom, versatility, and individual initiative; while education was administered rather as a process of manufacture, than of regulated growth. 3. The conception that the child, by his very constitution, is predetermined, like plants and animals, to a progressive development quite independent of artificial aid, easily degenerates into the hypothesis that the typical education is a process of spontaneous growth.
- 64. 4. The error in this hypothesis is that of exaggeration or of disproportion. Education is neither a work of nature alone, nor of art alone, but is a natural process, supplemented, controlled, and perfected by human art. What education would become when abandoned wholly to “nature” may be seen in the state of a perfected fruit which has been allowed to revert to its primitive or natural condition. 5. Man is distinguished from all other creatures by the fact that he is not the victim of his environment, but is endowed with the power to control his environment, almost to re-create it, and so to rise superior to it. This ability gives rise to human art, which is a coördinate factor with nature in the work of education. 6. This convenient fiction of “Nature,” conceived as an infallible and incomparable guide in education, has introduced countless errors into educational theory; and Miss E. R. Sill is amply justified in saying that “probably nine-tenths of the popular sophistries on the subject of education, would be cleared away by clarifying the word Nature.”[176] 7. In spite of its paradoxes, its exaggerations, its overwrought sentiment, and florid declamation, the Émile, in its general spirit, is a work of incomparable power and of perennial value.]
- 65. FOOTNOTES: [169] Dom Joseph Cajet, Les Plagiats de J. J. R. de Genève sur l’éducation, 1768. [170] Œuvres diverses, Tome I. p. 12. [171] De l’éducation des enfants, La Haye, 1722; Pensées libres sur les instructions publiques des bas collèges, Amsterdam, 1727. [172] Spectacle de la nature, Paris, 1732, Vol. VI. Entretien sur l’éducation. [173] Lettre critique sur l’éducation, Paris, 1751. [174] Projet pour l’éducation de M. de Ste-Marie. [175] Report of Villemain on the work of the Père Girard (1844). [176] Atlantic Monthly, February, 1883, p. 178.
- 66. CHAPTER XIV. T H E P H I LO S O P H E R S O F T H E E I G H T E E N T H C E N T U RY.— C O N D I L LA C , D I D E R OT, H E LV E T I U S, A N D K A N T. THE PHILOSOPHERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY; CONDILLAC (1715-1780); ABUSE OF THE PHILOSOPHIC SPIRIT; MUST WE REASON WITH CHILDREN? PRELIMINARY LESSONS; THE ART OF THINKING; OTHER PARTS OF THE COURSE OF STUDY; PERSONAL REFLECTION; EXCESSES OF DEVOTION CRITICISED; DIDEROT (1713-1784); HIS PEDAGOGICAL WORKS; HIS QUALITIES AS AN EDUCATOR; NECESSITY OF INSTRUCTION; IDEA OF A SYSTEM OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION; CRITICISM OF FRENCH COLLEGES; PROPOSED REFORMS; PREFERENCE FOR THE SCIENCES; INCOMPLETE VIEWS ON THE PROVINCE OF LETTERS; OPINION OF MARMONTEL; OTHER NOVELTIES OF DIDEROT’S PLAN; HELVETIUS (1715-1771); PARADOXES OF THE TREATISE ON MAN; REFUTATION OF HELVETIUS BY DIDEROT; INSTRUCTION SECULARIZED; THE ENCYCLOPÆDISTS; KANT (1724-1804); HIGH CONCEPTION OF EDUCATION; PSYCHOLOGICAL OPTIMISM; RESPECT FOR THE LIBERTY OF THE CHILD; CULTURE OF THE FACULTIES; STORIES INTERDICTED; DIFFERENT KINDS OF PUNISHMENT; RELIGIOUS EDUCATION; ANALYTICAL SUMMARY. 338. The Philosophers of the Eighteenth Century.—If there has been considerable progress made in education in the eighteenth century, it is due, in great part, to the efforts of the philosophers of that age. It is no longer alone the men who are actually engaged in the schools that are preoccupied with education; but nearly all the illustrious thinkers of the eighteenth century have discussed these great questions with more or less thoroughness. The subject is far from being exhausted by the study of Rousseau. Besides the educational current set in movement by the Émile, the other philosophers of that period, in their isolated and independent march,
- 67. left original routes which it remains to follow. From out their errors and conceptions of systems there emerge some new outlooks and some definite truths. 339. Condillac (1715-1780).—An acute and ingenious psychologist, a competitor and rival of Locke in philosophy, Condillac is far from having the same authority in matters pertaining to education; but still there is profit to be derived from the reading of his Course of Study, which includes not less than thirteen volumes. This important work is a collection of the lessons which he had composed for the education of the infant Ferdinand, the grandson of Louis XV., and heir of the dukedom of Parma, whose preceptor he became in 1757. 340. Abuse of the Philosophic Spirit.—It is certainly a matter of congratulation that the philosophical spirit is entering more and more largely into the theories of education, and there would be only words of commendation for Condillac had he restricted himself to this excellent declaration, that pedagogy is nothing if it is not a deduction from psychology. But he does not stop there, but with an indiscretion that is to be regretted, he arbitrarily transports into education certain philosophical principles which it is not proper to apply to the art of educating men, whatever may be their theoretical truth; thus Condillac, having established the natural order of the development of the sciences and the arts in the history of humanity, presumes to impose the same law of progress upon the child. “The method which I have followed does not resemble the usual manner of teaching; but it is the very way in which men were led to create the arts and the sciences.”[177] In other terms, the child must do over again, on his own account, “that which the race has done.” He must be compelled to follow, step by step, in its long gropings, the slow progress made by the race.[178] There is, doubtless, an element of truth in the error of Condillac. The sciences and the arts began with the observation of particulars,
- 68. and thence slowly rose to general principles; and to-day no one thinks of denying the necessity of proceeding in the same manner in education, so far as this is possible. It is well at the first to present facts to the child, and to lead him step by step, from observation to observation, to the law which governs them and includes them; but there is a wide distance between the discreet use of the inductive and experimental method, and the exaggerations of Condillac. No one should seriously think of absolutely suppressing the synthetic method of exposition, which, taking advantage of the work accomplished through the centuries, teaches at the outset the truths that have been already acquired. It would be absurd to compel the child painfully to recommence the toil of the race.[179] Graver still, Condillac, led astray by his love for philosophizing, presumes to initiate the child, from the very beginning of his studies, into psychological analysis. “The first thing to be done is to make the child acquainted with the faculties of his soul, and to make him feel the need of making use of them.” In other terms, the analysis of the soul shall be the first object proposed to the reflection of the child. It is not proposed to make him attentive, but to teach him what attention is. How can one seriously think of making of the child a little psychologist, and of choosing as the first element of his education the very science that is the most difficult of all, the one which can be but the coronation of his studies? 341. Must we reason with Children?—Rousseau had sharply criticised the famous maxim of Locke: “We must reason with children.” Condillac tries to restore it to credit, and for this purpose he invokes the pretended demonstrations of a superficial and inexact psychology. “It has been proved,” he says, “that the faculty of reasoning begins as soon as the senses commence to develop; and we have the early use of our senses only because we early began to reason.”
- 69. Strange assertions, which are disproved by the most elementary observation of the facts in the case. Condillac here allows himself to be imposed upon by his sensational psychology, the tendency of which is to efface the peculiar character of the different intellectual faculties, to derive them all from the senses, and, consequently, to suppress the distance which separates a simple sensation from the subtile, reflective, and abstract process which is called reasoning. It cannot be admitted for a single instant that the faculties of the understanding are, as he says, “the same in the child as in the mature man.” There is, doubtless, in the child a beginning of reasoning, a sort of instinctive logic; but this infantile reasoning can be applied only to familiar objects, such as are sensible and concrete. It were absurd to employ it on general and abstract ideas. 342. Preliminary Lessons.—We shall quote, without comment, the first subjects of instruction which, under the title of Leçons préliminaires, Condillac proposes to his pupil: 1. the nature of ideas; 2. the operations of the soul; 3. the habits; 4. the difference between the soul and the body; 5. the knowledge of God. How are we to conceive that Condillac had the pretension to place these high philosophical speculations within the reach of a child of seven years who has not yet studied the grammar of his native language! How much better some fables or historical narratives would answer his purpose! But Condillac does not stop there. When his pupil has a systematic knowledge of the operations of the soul, when he has comprehended the genesis of ideas; in a word, when, towards the age of eight or ten, he is as proficient in philosophy as his master, and almost as capable of writing the Treatise on Sensations, what do you think he is invited to study? Something which very much resembles the philosophy of history:— “After having made him reflect on his own infancy, I thought that the infancy of the world would be the most interesting subject for him, and the easiest to study.”
- 70. 343. The Art of Thinking.—It is only when he judges that the mind of his pupil is sufficiently prepared by psychological analysis and by general reflections on the progress of humanity, that Condillac decides to have him enter upon the ordinary course of study. Here the spirit of system disappears, and gives place to more judicious and more practical ideas. Thus Condillac thinks that “the study of grammar would be more wearisome than useful if it come too early.” Would that he had applied this principle to psychology! Before studying grammar, then, Condillac’s pupil reads the poets,—the French poets, of course,—and preferably the dramatic authors, Racine especially, whom he reads for the twelfth time. The real knowledge of the language precedes the abstract study of the rules. Condillac himself composed a grammar entitled the Art of Speaking. In this he imitates the authors of Port Royal, “who,” he says, “were the first to write elementary books on an intelligent plan.” After the Art of Speaking he calls the attention of his pupil to three other treatises in succession,—the Art of Writing, or rhetoric, the Art of Reasoning, or logic, and the Art of Thinking. We shall not attempt an analysis of these works, which have gone out of date, notwithstanding the value of certain portions of them. The general characteristic of these treatises on intellectual education is that the author is pre-occupied with the relations of ideas more than with the exterior elegancies of style, with the development of thought more than with the beauties of language:— “Especially must the intelligence be nourished, even as the body is nourished. We must present to it knowledge, which is the wholesome aliment of spirit, opinions and errors being aliment that is poisonous. It is also necessary that the intelligence be active, for the thought remains imbecile as long as, passive rather than active, it moves at random.” 344. Other Parts of the Course of Study.—It seems that Condillac is in pursuit of but one single purpose,—to make of his pupil a thinking being. The study of Latin is postponed till the time when the intelligence, being completely formed, will find in the study of that
- 71. language only the difficulty of learning words. Condillac has but little taste for the study of the ancient languages. He relegates the study of Latin to the second place, and omits Greek entirely. But he accords a great importance to historical studies. “After having learned to think, the Prince made the study of history his principal object for six years.” Twelve volumes of the Course of Study have transmitted to us Condillac’s lessons in history. In this he does not take delight, as Rollin does, in long narrations; but he analyzes, multiplies his reflections, and abridges facts; he philosophizes more than he recites the facts of history. 345. Personal Reflection.—What we have said of Condillac’s Course of Study suffices to justify the judgment expressed of his pedagogy by one of his disciples, Gérando, when he wrote: “He who had so thoroughly studied the manner in which ideas are formed in the human mind, had but little skill in calling them into being in the intelligence of his pupil.” But we would judge our author unjustly if, after the criticisms we have made of him, we were not to accord him the praise he deserves, especially for having comprehended, as he has done, the value of personal reflection, and the superiority of judgment over memory. A few quotations will rehabilitate the pedagogy of Condillac in the minds of our readers. Above all else there must be an exercise in personal reflection:— “I grant that the education which cultivates only the memory may make prodigies, and that it has done so; but these prodigies last only during the time of infancy.... He who knows only by heart, knows nothing.... He who has not learned to reflect has not been instructed, or, what is still worse, has been poorly instructed.” “True knowledge is in the reflection, which has acquired it, much more than in the memory, which holds it in keeping; and the things which we are capable of recovering are better known than those of which we have a recollection. It does not suffice, then, to give a
- 72. child knowledge. It is necessary that he instruct himself by seeking knowledge on his own account, and the essential point is to guide him properly. If he is led in an orderly way, he will acquire exact ideas, and will seize their succession and relation. Then, able to call them up for review, he will be able to compare them with others that are more remote, and to make a final choice of those which he wishes to study. Reflection can always recover the things it has known, because it knows how it originally found them; but the memory does not so recover the things it has learned, because it does not know how it learns.” This is why Condillac places far above the education we receive, the education that we give ourselves:— “Henceforth, Sir, it remains for you alone to instruct yourself. Perhaps you imagine you have finished; but it is I who have finished. You are to begin anew!” 346. Excessive Devotion Criticised.—What beautiful lessons Condillac also addresses to his pupil to induce him to enfranchise himself from ecclesiastical tutelage! Written by an abbot, the eloquent page we are about to read proves how the lay spirit tended to pronounce itself in the eighteenth century. “You cannot be too pious, Sir; but if your piety is not enlightened, you will so far forget your duties as to be engrossed in the little things of devotion. Because prayer is necessary, you will think you ought always to be praying, not considering that true devotion consists first of all in fulfilling the duties of your station in life: it will not be your fault that you do not live in your heart as in a cloister. Hypocrites will swarm around you, the monks will issue from their cells. The priests will abandon the service of the altar in order to be edified with the sight of your holy works. Blind prince! you will not perceive how their conduct is in contradiction with their language. You will not even observe that the men who praise you for always being at the foot of the altar, themselves forget that it is their own duty to be there. You will unconsciously take their place and leave to them your own. You will be continually at prayer, and you will believe
- 73. that you assure your salvation. They will cease to pray, and you will believe that they assure their salvation. Strange contradiction, which turns aside ministers from the Church to give bad ministers to the State.”[180] 347. Diderot (1713-1784).—To him who knows nothing of Diderot save his works of imagination, often so licentious, it will doubtless be a surprise to see the name of this fantastic writer inscribed in the catalogue of educators. But this astonishment will disappear if we will take the trouble to recollect with what versatility this mighty spirit could vary the subject of his reflections, and pass from the gay to the solemn, and especially with what ardor, in conjunction with D’Alembert, he was the principal founder of the Encyclopédie, and the indefatigable contributor to it. 348. His Pedagogical Works.—But there is no room for doubt. Diderot has written at least two treatises that belong to the history of education: first, about 1773, The Systematic Refutation of the Book of Helvetius on Man, an incisive and eloquent criticism of the paradoxes and errors of Helvetius; and, in the second place, about 1776, a complete scheme of education, composed at the request of Catherine II., under the title, Plan of a University.[181] 349. His Merits as an Educator.—Doubtless Diderot did not have sufficient gravity of character or sufficiently definite ideas to be a perfect educator; but, by way of compensation, the natural and acquired qualities of his mind made him worthy of the confidence placed in him by Catherine II. in entrusting him with the organization, at least in theory, of the instruction of the Russian people. First of all, he had the merit of being a universal thinker, “sufficiently versed in all the sciences to know their value, and not sufficiently profound in any one to give it a preference inspired by predilection.” Engaged in the scientific movement, of which the Encyclopédie was the centre, he at the same time cherished an enthusiastic passion for letters. He worshipped Shakespeare and
- 74. modern poetry, but he was not less enamored of classical antiquity, and for several years, he says, “he thought it as much a religious duty to read a song of Homer as a good priest would to recite his breviary.” 350. Necessity of Instruction.—Diderot, and this is to his praise, is distinguished from the most of his contemporaries, and especially from Rousseau, by his ardent faith in the moral efficacy of instruction:— “Far from corrupting,” he exclaims, “instruction sweetens character, throws light on duty, makes vice less gross, and either chokes it or conceals it.... I dare assert that purity of morals has followed the progress of dress, from the skin of animals to fabrics of silk.” Hence he decides on the necessity of instruction for all:— “From the prime minister to the lowest peasant, it is good for every one to know how to read, write, and count.” And he proposes to all people the example of Germany, with her strongly organized system of primary instruction. He demands schools open to all children, “schools of reading, writing, arithmetic, and religion,” in which will be studied both a moral and a political catechism. Attendance on these schools shall be obligatory, and to make compulsion possible, Diderot demands gratuity. He goes even farther, and would have the child fed at school, and with his books would have him find bread. 351. The Conception of Public Instruction.—Like all who sincerely desire a strong organization of instruction, Diderot assigns the direction of it to the State. His ideal of a Russian university bears a strong resemblance to the French University of 1808. He would have at its head a politician, a statesman, to whom should be submitted all the affairs of public instruction. He even went so far as to entrust to this general master of the university the duty of presiding over the
- 75. examinations, of appointing the presidents of colleges, of excluding bad pupils, and of deposing professors and tutors. 352. Criticism of French Colleges.—Secondary instruction, what was then called the Faculty of Arts, is the principal object of Diderot’s reflections. He criticises the traditional system with extreme severity, and his charge, thought sometimes unjust, deserves to be quoted:— “It is in the Faculty of Arts that there are still taught to-day, under the name of belles-lettres, two dead languages which are of use only to a small number of citizens; it is there that they are studied for six or seven years without being learned; under the name of rhetoric, the art of speaking is taught before the art of thinking, and that of speaking elegantly before having ideas; under the name of logic, the head is filled with the subtilties of Aristotle, and of his very sublime and very useless theory of the syllogism, and there is spread over a hundred obscure pages what might have been clearly stated in four; under the name of ethics, I do not know what is said, but I know that there is not a word said either of the qualities of mind or heart; under the name of metaphysics, there are discussed theses as trifling as they are knotty, the first elements of scepticism and bigotry, and the germ of the unfortunate gift of replying to everything; under the name of physics, there is endless dispute about the elements of matter and the system of the world; but not a word on natural history, not a word on real chemistry, very little on the movement and fall of bodies; very few experiments, less still of anatomy, and nothing of geography.”[182] 353. Proposed Reforms.—After such a spirited criticism, it was Diderot’s duty to propose earnest and radical reforms; but all of those which he suggests are not equally commendable. Let us first note the idea revived in our day by Auguste Comte and the school of positivists, of a connection and a subordination of the sciences, classified in a certain order, according as they presuppose the science which has preceded, or as they facilitate the study of the science which follows, and also according to the measure of their
- 76. utility.[183] It is according to this last principle in particular, that Diderot distributes the work of the school, after having called attention to the fact that the order of the sciences, as determined by the needs of the school, is not their logical order:— “The natural connection of one science with the others designates for it a place, and the principle of utility, more or less general, determines for it another place.” But Diderot forgets that we must take into account, not alone the principle of utility in the distribution of studies, but that the essential thing of all others is to adapt the order of studies to the progress of the child in age and aptitudes. 354. Preferences for the Sciences.—Although equally enamored of letters and the sciences, Diderot did not know how to hold a just balance between a literary and a scientific education. Anticipating Condorcet and Auguste Comte, he displaces the centre of instruction, and gives a preponderance to the sciences. Of the eight classes comprised in his Faculty of Arts, the first five are devoted to the mathematics, to mechanics, to astronomy, to physics, and to chemistry. Grammar and the ancient languages are relegated to the last three years, which nearly correspond to what are called in our colleges the “second” and “rhetoric.”[184] The charge that must be brought against Diderot in this place, is not merely that he puts an unreasonable restriction on literary studies, but also that he makes a bad distribution of scientific studies in placing the mathematics before physics. It is useless for him to assert that “it is easier to learn geometry than to learn to read.” He does not convince us of this. It is a grave error to begin by keeping the child’s attention on numerical abstractions, by leaving his senses unemployed, by postponing so long the study of natural history and experimental physics, those sciences expressly adapted to children, because, as Diderot himself expresses it, “they involve a continuous exercise of sight, smell, taste, and memory.”
- 77. To excuse Diderot’s error, it does not suffice to state that his pupil does not enter the Faculty of Arts till his twelfth year. Till that period, he will learn only reading, writing, and orthography. There is ground for thinking that these first years will be rather poorly employed; but besides this, it is evident that even at the age of twelve the mind is not sufficiently mature to be plunged into the cold deductions of mathematics. 355. Incomplete Views as to the Scope of Literary Studies.—Diderot’s attitude with respect to classical studies is a matter of surprise. On the one hand, he postpones their study till the pupil’s nineteenth and twentieth year. On the other, with what enthusiasm this eloquent scholar speaks of the ancients, particularly of Homer! “Homer is the master to whom I am indebted for whatever merit I have, if indeed I have any at all. It is difficult to attain to excellence in taste without a knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages. I early drew my intellectual nourishment from Homer, Virgil, Horace, Terence, Anacreon, Plato, and Euripides on the one hand, and from Moses and the Prophets on the other.” How are we to explain this contradiction of an inconsistent and ungrateful humanist who extols the humanities to the skies, and at the same time puts such restrictions on the teaching of them as almost to annihilate them? The reason for this is, that, in his opinion, the belles-lettres are useful only for the training of orators and poets, but are not serviceable in the general development of the mind. Consequently, being fancy studies, so to speak, they are fit only for a small minority of pupils, and have no right to the first place in a common education, destined for men in general. Diderot is not able to discern what, in pedagogy, is their true title to nobility,— that they are an admirable instrument of intellectual gymnastics, and the surest and also the most convenient means of acquiring those qualities of justness, of precision, and of clearness, which are needed by all conditions of men, and are applicable to all the special employments of life.[185]
- 78. Welcome to Our Bookstore - The Ultimate Destination for Book Lovers Are you passionate about books and eager to explore new worlds of knowledge? At our website, we offer a vast collection of books that cater to every interest and age group. From classic literature to specialized publications, self-help books, and children’s stories, we have it all! Each book is a gateway to new adventures, helping you expand your knowledge and nourish your soul Experience Convenient and Enjoyable Book Shopping Our website is more than just an online bookstore—it’s a bridge connecting readers to the timeless values of culture and wisdom. With a sleek and user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can find your favorite books quickly and easily. Enjoy special promotions, fast home delivery, and a seamless shopping experience that saves you time and enhances your love for reading. Let us accompany you on the journey of exploring knowledge and personal growth! ebookgate.com