Is Project Management More Of A Science Or More Of An Art Form Essay - 1,447 words

Is project management more of a science or more of an art form The aim of this paper is to answer the question Is project management more of a science or more of an art form?. To answer this question, lets try to understand whether project management is sufficiently controllable according to good design principles that we should expect routine successes, or so inherently unpredictable and political that our expectations should be lowered. First of all, lets define the concept of project management. It is generally accepted that project management is the discipline that teaches us to define and achieve the goals necessary for our project or certain set of activities we have to execute to fulfill our project (Adams 36). At the same time project management helps us to optimize the resources we use (for example, people, energy, money, time, space, to mention a few). According to Wikipedias article Project Management, a project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service. The total duration of project is the time from its very beginning to its completion.


It can take weeks, months and even dozens of years. Project management consists of several types of activities (Wikipedia, n.p.): Planning the work Assessing risk Estimating resources Organizing the work Acquiring human and material resources Assigning tasks Directing activities Controlling project execution Reporting progress Analyzing the results based on the facts achieved (Wikipedia, n.p.). Project Management seems to be a daunting task, isnt it? Is project management sufficiently controllable? Probably, it isnt. Project Management tries to get control over several variables: Time The project manager defines the amount of time he will require to complete the planned project. However, the planned time required to complete each task can depend on other circumstances, and, therefore, cannot be controlled 100%. Cost The cost of project is usually calculated from the time variable. Quality The overall quality of the project is usually determined as the amount of time put into individual tasks (Wikipedia, n.p.).


Although there are tasks that do not require much time for their fulfillment, there are certain cases when, given more time they could be completed exceptionally (Wikipedia, n.p.). Quality variable can have great impact on time and cost variables, and vice versa. Scope The requirements specified for the end result: The overall definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish, and a specific description of what the end result should be or accomplish (Wikipedia, n.p.) Risk Risk represents the potential points of failure. However, the major part of risks or failures can be resolved if we give to them enough resources or time. These are the main variables deciding whether the project will be successful or not. How do we define success? Should we suppose routine success in case we accept that project management is sufficiently controllable according to good design principles? Or, probably, project management is something unpredictable? I believe, the truth is somewhere in the middle. For example, Michael Greer gives us 14 main principles for Project Management success.


He considers that: Project managers must focus on three dimensions of project success (time, budget and quality); Planning is everything and ongoing; Project managers must feel, and transmit to their team members a sense of urgency; Successful projects use a time-tested, proven project life cycle; All project deliverables and all project activities must be visualized and communicated in vivid detail; Deliverables must evolve gradually, in successive approximations; Projects require clear approvals and sign-off by sponsors; Project success is correlated with thorough analyses of the need for project deliverables; Project managers must fight for time to do things right; Project manager responsibility must be matched by equivalent authority; Project sponsors and stakeholders must be active participants, not passive customers; Projects typically must be sold, and resold; Project managers should acquire the best people they can and then do whatever it takes to keep the garbage out of their way; And, finally, he underlines that top management must actively set priorities (Michael Greer's Project Management Resources web site) What about success during achieving the goals? Definitely, each person has his own interpretation and understanding of success based on his previous experience, motivation, and goals he wants to achieve. Every person can define his own criteria for success in the project activity. Certainly ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: project management, project manager, management, manager, design principles

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