Project Management: Art vs. Science
The science of project management is obvious. Calculating resource needs against upcoming work, mapping the critical path for your project timeline, or managing your budget based on a fluctuating scope. But there’s also an art to project management. It’s an area that goes beyond what you learn from the PMBOK – it’s something that requires confidence and finesse.
The art of project management is all about managing relationships. You must ease your clients’ concerns, whether those clients are internal partners or external customers. You must push back carefully when your clients’ pipe dreams force scope creep. And you need to create a strong rapport with your internal project team in order to help prioritize your own project tasks when they may compete with other concurrent projects.
In my opinion, the art is far more important than the science. It’s also more difficult to master. You learn these soft skills over time. Your first project with a challenging client can give you invaluable experience. A dozen more, and you are on your way. And those skills translate beyond project management. They’re useful in nearly any profession.
My recommendation is to force yourself to balance your project management training with direct relationship management. Don’t expect your peers or clients to follow the rules of project management. People are unpredictable, and adding some art to your project management science can help you prepare for any challenge.
Related posts: