The technical management on the project is the management of the technology inherent in the project—not the technology used by the team to manage the project. The technical complexity on a project can vary significantly. The technological challenges required to build a bridge to span a five-hundred-meter canyon are significantly different from those required to span a five-thousand-meter body of water. The technological complexity of the project will influence the organizational approach to the project. The technological complexity for a project reflects two aspects: the newness of the technology and the team’s familiarity with the technology. The newness refers to the degree to which the technology has been accepted in the industry. The more accepted the technology is in the industry usually means that more knowledge and experience will be available to the team. Familiarity refers to the experience the project team has with the technology. The less familiarity the team has with the technology, the more energy and resources the team will expend on managing the technological aspect of the project. For projects with high levels of project technology, a specialist may be hired to advise the technology manager.
Indiana Steel Company
A steel company in Indiana purchased a new coal injection technology that would improve the quality of steel, reduce the cost to produce the steel, and reduce air and water pollution. The contract to design and construct the new plant was awarded to an engineering and construction company. No one on the engineering and construction team had experience with the coal injection technology. The client’s team understood the technology and provided guidance to both the project engineering and construction teams. The client owned the coal injection technology, and the engineering and construction team brought the project management technology.
- 1386 reads
