successful project management - Commonwealth of Learning

To come up with a quality product and service, somebody has to oversee or
supervise the project. This applies to any project in any field of human endeavour
other than projects in distance education. It can then be underscored that unlike the
conventional face-to-face classroom situation, DE practitioners have to bear in mind
that the management of projects, in the various sections, drives a given DE
institution. This is what makes working in a DE environment exciting and
distinguishable from other pedagogic and andragogic circumstances. What is more,
some of the projects in DE are not just confined to one institution. For example, a
generic teaching initiative to be disseminated across partner institutions can override
institutional autonomy. Thus, according to Andersen, Grude and Hang, 1995:173)
distance education projects can make “demands for change in areas of complexity”.
Having appreciated the fact that project management is the mainstay of the situation
under discussion, it is necessary to inform and discuss the subject by answering
these questions.
• When was project management legitimised as a discipline in its own right?
• What developments have taken place in project management to date?
• What is the significance of project management in organisations, in general,
and in DE situations, in particular?
The justification
‘Project Management’ is an important topic because all organisations, large and
small, are involved in implementing new undertakings as diverse as the development
of a new product or service, or a public relations campaign. To keep ahead of their
competitors, every organisation is faced with development of complex services and
processes. These need cross-functional expertise in a given organisation.
The justification for undertaking project management in any organisation lies at two
levels, namely, the macro and the micro levels. On the macro or broader level, an
organisation is motivated to implement project management techniques to ensure
that what is undertaken, small or major, is delivered on time, within budget and to
specified standards. On the micro level, project management has the objectives of:
• making the project workplace conducive to teamwork;
• ensuring that deadlines are met;
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