The maturity of project management in different industries: An investigation into variations between project management models

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the nature and extent of variations between project management practices in six industries. The investigation had the practical purpose of supporting a group of pharmaceutical R&D organizations in their search for an optimum project management model. A total of 10 ‘domains’ was identified using qualitative methods and these formed the basis for a programme of 31 in-depth interviews with knowledgeable project management practitioners in 21 organizations drawn from the six industries. Each interview elicited a quantitative assessment of the practices relating to the domain, using pre-determined scales, and qualitative comments on the practices based on the experiences of the interviewee. Differences between companies and industries were found to exist in each domain. The most highly developed project management models (which might be said to equate to measure of project management maturity) were found in the Petrochemical and Defence industries, which on average scored highly on most dimensions. Other industries (Pharmaceutical R&D, Construction, Telecommunications, and Financial Services) displayed some interesting differences in different domains, but did not display the coherence or scores of the two leading industries.