Project management reform: a public body case study

Many projects are not being delivered in accordance with predetermined requirements. Even if one could conclude that a particular project has been successful, the general record for projects is not a good one, with overruns in time and cost being commonplace. The indications are that the private sector is no worse but, quite likely, no better than the public sector. However, the public sector uses public money and, for that reason at least, the current demands for more effective management are axiomatic. This paper examines the implications that certain factors had on changing the project management approach of a public-sector organisation that uses engineers as project managers on capital works engineering projects. The results of this research, if such results can be applied to the whole sector, would indicate that the public sector is in need of reform on how it handles the project-side of its business. Greater or lesser amounts of reform would be dependent upon the project management maturity of any single public body.