Virtual global project management in eighteenth-century astronomy

Purpose This paper aims to demonstrate that virtual project management can be based on a common spirit and mutual trust to achieve project objectives, rather than the use of modern electronic devices to lower communication costs. Design/methodology/approach Evidence from the eighteenth-century files of Academies of Science and from astronomical literature is used to characterize the projects and to show how major elements of project management (such as identification of benefits to stakeholders, management of uncertainties, communication and data aggregation across related projects) were applied. Findings The analysis shows how the initiative to better measure the Astronomical Unit defined a megaproject, and how this was broken down at local Academies of Science into major projects or programs. This, in turn, resulted in individual expeditions. It demonstrates that innovations arose from the projects, and that learning from earlier expeditions resulted in the final success of the megaproject. Originality/value The author believes that this is the first paper to analyze the Venus transit projects from the project management perspective. This was a complex and global megaproject. The approaches taken to achieve the objectives relevant to different stakeholders provide lessons for today's management of megaprojects.