Margaret Mead supposedly told her students, “You’re absolutely unique, just like everyone else.” Projects are like that. Whatever sets a project apart, it shares other characteristics with projects in its class. An opera house may be one of a kind because of its design and location, but it still has plenty in common with other opera houses, and we can learn a lot about how to construct a particular opera house by looking at opera houses in general and considering our opera house to be “one of those.” The category of opera houses is the reference class.
