It seems only fair that I share with you the current research model I have about projects. I personally think that if you raise doubt and questions you also have to be part of the solution.

It may not come as a surprise that I view projects as a network of people that interact and have relationships. These networks are not stable and are not limited to the project itself. Networks emerge, people join and people leave, the networks collide and merge, or one network splits to become an almost independent unit. Of course almost, in the end our entire society is one big freaking network.

In the fashion of complex adaptive systems each network (=system) has global properties. In human networks this are shared properties that are projected to the outside world (the non-network members) and give the network itself direction. The global properties of the system are the result of the interactions of the members (=agents), but their value influences also the individual agents.

At this moment I recognize 4 types of relationships among the agents of interest:

Task
Interactions that are the result of intermediate steps to get to the goal of the network.

Information
The flow of information through the network. The interaction itself is communication

Coordination
I assume that the tasks cannot be done by one single person, and that the amount of resources (skills) are limited. Therefor coordination within the network is needed for the allocation of scarce resources, communication about intermediate results, coordination of goals, capabilities and forecasting of the (near) future.

Association
People have also relationships within the network (and within other networks) as means as a social expression.

Of course this view will alter. But it is the basic thinking structure I have at the moment, and I hope it will help you understand why I am posting on certain topics.