Overall, I believe that project management ultimately depends on the way you look at the project, whether it is the same industry or within several industries. While all projects follow the same PDCA cycle as mentioned by someone in an earlier post, the nuances between a top-down approach and a bottom-up approach is different. A top-down approach is a major project started by top management that trickles its way down to functional groups. Here, project management is essentially the same in no matter any industry you look at. Top level executives deal with project life cycle, the stages of a project, and study how one phase of a project transitions into another as mentioned in the lecture. This process is typically used in any industry, in a top-down approach.

The difference is in a bottom-top approach. Here, functional teams create the projects and relay them to their managers and eventually up the corporate ladder. The way the projects are managed are different in different industries. Take for example an aerospace industry would have to apply technical skills in aerodynamics and design whereas an IT group would have to take into consideration software and coding expertise into their projects. While sometimes top-down models are trickled down into functional groups and become technical projects, other times, projects are created by functional teams that eventually reach up to management. Project management across industries depends on the way the the project is going.

To answer the second part of the question, it depends on which end of the corporate ladder that I am being thrown in. If I am being thrown into a top level management side where my main focus is to ensure the proper steps are being followed as per my plan and whether or not we’re on schedule and meeting our goals, I can do this in any industry. However, if I am being thrown into the functional side and I have to take into consideration coding or software skills (as in an IT company) or structural stability and engineering (in a construction company), the results will be different.