How to Manage Projects Like Investments (Not Just Deliverables)

The Digital Project Manager

Project managers are often tasked with delivering “on time and on budget”—but what if that’s not enough? In this episode, Galen Low sits down with Stephen Devaux, a longtime project management theorist and the mind behind techniques like critical path drag and value breakdown structures. Together, they unpack why project leaders need to start managing their work like investors—not just builders—and why this mindset shift matters more than ever in the AI era.

From projects that save lives to projects that launch products, Stephen explains how understanding a project’s value profile—not just its deliverables—is the key to smarter decision-making. They cover real-world applications of treating projects as investments, explore the bridge-building metaphor that will stick with you for life, and discuss how AI could (and should) support project managers in this paradigm shift.

Resources from this episode:

• Join the Digital Project Manager Community
• Subscribe to the newsletter to get our latest articles and podcasts
• Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn
• Stephen’s books:
  • Managing Projects as Investments: Earned Value to Business Value
  • Total Project Control: A Practitioner’s Guide to Managing Projects as Investments

Chapters

1. Framing The Investment Mindset (00:00:00)

2. Why Budgets Aren’t Value (00:05:44)

3. ROI Beyond Money And Saving Lives (00:11:42)

4. Stakeholder Info And Time Value (00:19:03)

5. Moneyball, Bill James, And Expected ROI (00:27:15)

6. Enablers, Generators, And The Bridge (00:35:24)

7. Advocating Resources With Time Value (00:43:43)