This paper suggests a novel perspective on project management and it’s value. Project management is widely accepted as a relevant perspecti’ve on the development of large engineering projects. Over time it proved its value and through incremental improvement has developed further. Although often applied for the development of projects project management’s main value is controlling and measuring the performance of a project and not as is often assumed aiding in the development. The paper suggests that this mainly has to do with its focus in time. Decision that are made early in the development often have a lasting effect during the project development and the project lifespan. The effect of these choices is substantial, while most research on project and project management success is aimed at the later stages of the development process. The paper presents a new framework focused on the early phases of project development. It provides support for the development of future projects.