The SaaS PM Blog

Reading through this content you might get the impression that at PM Guidance we don't see value in the science of project management and are just about the people side. It is quite the contrary. The science is important for creation of project clarity and a project foundation. Without a proper project fundament the application of people skills becomes a counterproductive exercise. To make that very simple: to cooperate with people on a delivery without having clarity of what that delivery shoul...

 The art of project management is the people side of software project management. It is the tailored application of human skills—influencing, negotiation, creating clarity, applying care, and building project-appropriate relationships—within the reality of delivering projects through people.

The lack of clarity is a fundamental issue causing lack of project success. This is on many levels: steering committees operating without clarity of what exactly success is, fuzziness around the exact defin...

 As shared in the introduction article, when we refer to the science of project management we mean the different techniques and methodologies taught in formal project management education. There are quite some different programs out there, all with their pros and cons. The main differentiator is between those that originated from an Agile mindset and those that originated from a more waterfall approach, which later incorporated Agile principles as well.

The way I perceive the science of project...

You'll see the science and art of project management mentioned quite a bit within PM Guidance. And for good reason, it's not just marketing blurb. To manage projects to successful delivery, PMs need to master both the science and the art and understand what to apply when.

Let me start by shortly sharing what is meant by both. The science of project management is the clinical application of formal PM practices. Simply stated: apply what is taught in certified PM programs like PMP, Agile framewor...