Modular project management

Typically, the management process changes throughout the life of an R&D project and varies from one project to the next, which increases the cost and reduces the value added for the project-management process. We present a modular approach that makes project management flexible yet predictable and more cost-effective. This methodology, which we call modular project management (MPM), defines four management modes. Each is a collection of specific procedures and operations (i.e., the management functions), but all modes share a set of core functions. Thus, moving from a simpler management mode to a more complex one means including more functions or more formal versions of the same functions. MPM enables a project manager to select a management process before a project is started, based on the project's scope and complexity. The selection process, which quantifies a project's attributes (including customer requirements), recommends a nominal management mode that managers may want to fine-tune.