March 2004 Cutter Benchmark Review: Project Management: Part II -- Skills and Morale

by Robert D. Austin

This month's CBR is the second half of our close look at project management. In the February issue (Part I), we focused on the "hard" factors that play into project success or failure (methods, tools, etc.). Now in Part II, we turn to the intangible, elusive, and extremely important "soft" factors. Leadership and interpersonal communication skills, levels of morale and training, and that ultimate intangible -- trust -- are usually presumed to matter greatly in managing projects. Advice on these soft categories, though, often sounds like a collection of platitudes -- suggestions to do things that anyone would normally do. Thanks to the powerful thinking brought to bear by Cutter Consortium experts, this CBR goes beyond platitudes to provide helpful advice.