Project production management

Project Production Management (PPM) is the application of operations / production management to the project delivery process. PPM views projects as production systems, (projects produce a desired result) wherein the goal is to use resources as effectively as possible in accordance with stated project objectives.
In the world of PPM, projects are understood to be the means to delivering a specific benefit such as create a new product or service, enhance an existing product or service, decommission an existing asset, etc. Therefore, operations / production management principles and techniques can be used to optimize performance.
PPM consists of four primary elements, definition, design, control and improvement. In production system definition, specific objectives are defined related to throughput, cost, time and quality. During production system design, these objectives are translated into specific targets related to throughput, cycle-time and work-in-process as set forth in Little’s Law. Production control is defined as the systematic planning and allocation of resources. Improvement focuses on the use of performance indicators and business processes to continuously improve production system performance in accordance with project objectives and production targets.
Numerous operations and production management books classify projects as a form of a production system including Roger W. Schmenner in Production / Operations Management Fifth Edition. Regardless of the fact that these researchers define projects as a form of production, none of their books set forth a framework or connect how operations / production management can be applied to the project delivery process.

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