According to a book entitled "The Art of Project Management" project management is an art that requires a great deal of intuitiveness and special skill sets (Berkun 2005). For instance, the project manager must understand the steps that need to be taken and the steps that need to be avoided when attempting to complete a particular project. When the project manager has these "skills" he or she will have the capacity to develop a project management schema that is consistent with what the project requires (Worthington, 2001). So then the art of project management involves having the skills and the flexibility to manage a project that may encounter unique obstacles.
Success and Failure
Successful project management can be described as the completion of a project by the deadline, within budget and reflecting a high standard of quality. It is also important to note that a successful project is also acceptable in the opinion of the client. The aim of any project should be a successful outcome.
It is also important to recognize that because project management is not always an exact science, failures are bound to occur. Although failure is often frowned upon, failure can also be extremely useful as it relates to garnering a better understanding of how to improve on the management of projects in the future. Berkun (2005) explains that much can be learned from failure. The author asserts that failure in process management can be beneficial if project managers and others involved in the project take the time and examine what was done wrong and how it can be corrected in the future. It is through this type of examination that will allow the firm to perform more efficiently as it relates to future endeavors.
An article entitled "Doomed to failure: narratives of inevitability and conspiracy in a failed IS project" explains the importance and difficulty of recognizing failure in a project management schema. The article points out that some managers and workers have difficulty recognizing or admitting their own failures (Brown & Jones,1998). When this is the case there is little to be learned from the failure and failure will probably occur again in the future if the proper lesson are not...
It can be argued that failure allows an organization to perfect the science of project management. Others argue that failure provides the organization with the opportunity to better utilize their skills so that the art of project management can flourish.
Discussion and Conclusion
The purpose of this discussion was to examine 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. In other words we endeavored to find out whether or not project management is a science or an art. The research seems to indicate that project management can be a science or an art. It is also apparent that project management can function as both a science and an art as it relates to certain projects.
References
Brown, a.D., Jones, M.R. (Wntr, 1998) Doomed to failure: narratives of inevitability and conspiracy in a failed IS project.Organization Studies. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from; http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4339/is_n1_v19/ai_20873060
Berkun S. (2005) the Art of Project Management. O'Reily publishers
Greer M. (1999) 14 Key Principles for PM Success. excerpt from "Chapter 6: Planning and Managing Human Performance Technology Projects," Handbook of Human Performance Technology, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from; http://www.michaelgreer.com/14key.htm
Labrosse M. (2007) Project Management: Best Practices for the Public Sector Organizations Can Use a Standard System of Simple Techniques-Embedding Project Management Best Practices-to Boost Personal and Collaborative Productivity. The Public Manager. Volume: 36. Issue: 2.
Worthington P. (2001) Case Study " Developing Project Management Skills in Managing Death March Projects." Working paper, School of Business, Curtin University, Perth, AU Retrieved January 12, 2008 from; http://wawisr01.uwa.edu.au/2001/Worthington.pdf
