Project Business as a New Industry

PBO also implies a new type of industry – Project Business. PBO looks at all project-based companies (e.g. construction, engineering, ETO manufacturing, professional services, etc.) as fundamentally similar – they deliver products and services to their customers through projects.

This label is similar to Retail or Manufacturing. If we think of a Retail Business, it is about reselling goods to consumers. It doesn’t matter what goods you sell. You could sell clothes, tires, cars, light bulbs or stuffed animals. Whatever it is, if you sell it to consumers you are a Retail Business.

If we think of a mass Manufacturing Business, it is about producing products and usually selling those products to a distributor or retailer. It doesn’t matter what products you make. You could make clothes, phones, furniture, or televisions. Whatever it is, if you manufacture it you are a Manufacturing Business.

Project Business is the same. It is about running projects as your business. It doesn’t matter what the end product or service is. It could be a building, a bridge, an airplane, custom software, a corporate tax report, a new business strategy, or an engineering design. Whatever it is, if you produce it by running and delivering projects to your customers you are a Project Business. Therefore, you should look for a Project Business system to support your business.

PBO is a system for Project Business.

Project Businesses have been operating unproductively for decades. We see PBO as a catalyst for a sea-change for Project Businesses to demand more from their business systems, and for technology vendors to step up to the plate and deliver accordingly.