Engineering Design Consultation Enterprise Project Management Research

1.Background of the researchThe company the author works at is an engineering design consultancy with foreign investment, the daily business of which involves management and accounting of individual projects by adopting foreign management experience related to engineering design consulting industry. However, as clients and design consultants at home are different from those abroad, a few problems exist in the actual project management:project managers do not make project budgets by predictive analyses based on the actual situation of the project but to fulfill tasks more or less instead; Attention is focused much more on the project schedule and technical issues than on costs, expenses and benefit and performance evaluation of the project during the actual process of project implementation. There are many flaws in such project management practice, for instance, it is impossible to have accurate information about the actual situation of profit and loss in the project, to assess the project management of the project manager and to establish a complete evaluation system of the project, etc. Although currently there have been done some fragmentary, sporadic researches on project management in the engineering design consulting field domestically, no complete set of scientific, practical and generally accepted project management system has be established.2.Purpose of the researchThis paper is intended to set up a project management system so as to improve project management of the engineering design consulting enterprise and enhance its competitiveness through analyses of its characteristics and current situation of project management from the perspective of an engineering design consulting enterprise.3.Main contentsChapter One, Introduction, introduces the background, aim, contents and train of thought of the research, as well as the issues to be addressed and the result expected to obtain.Chapter Two, Theoretical Analysis of Project Management in Engineering Design Consulting Enterprises, puts forward the importance and the basic framework of project management in engineering design consulting enterprises based on the characteristics of project management and engineering design consulting enterprises, following the expounding of the concept and contents of project management.Chapter Three, the Current Situation of Project Management in WR Company, briefly introduces WR Company, presents the project management system established therein and shows how the project manager of WR Company is fully motivated to make it possible to improve project management and enhance the competitiveness of the company by efficiently employing project budget management, project control management and project performance management.Chapter Four, Project Budget Management, expounds the theoretical research of project budget management and shows the actual operation of project budget management in WR Company.Chapter Five, Project Control Management, expounds the theoretical research of project control management and shows the actual operation of project control management in WR Company.Chapter Six, Project Performance Management, expounds the theoretical research of project performance management and shows the actual operation of project performance management in WR Company.Chapter Seven, Pre-conditions for and Points for Attention during Practicing Project Management in Engineering Design Consulting Enterprises, sets forth the conditions available for practicing project management in engineering design consulting enterprises:Support from the management, a qualified project manager, participation by the whole staff, and establishment of the information management system and complete performance evaluation mechanism. Points for attention in practicing project management in engineering consulting enterprises:stress should be laid on timely communication in project management and importance attached to analysis of the assessment outcome at the end of the project management.4. Major contribution By evaluating advantages and disadvantages of various project management approaches widely used nowadays and analyzing characteristics of engineering design consulting enterprises and their current situation in project management, this paper absorbs the merits of various subjects and establishes a project management system for engineering design consulting enterprises in accordance with the principle of "being scientific, rational and easy to operate", with project budget management as the guiding point, in combination with project control management and project performance management; this system can serve as a reference for project management in engineering design consulting enterprises in China.