A Khan

The importance of soft skills in complex projects

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to facilitate further understanding of project complexity by highlighting the factors contributing to project complexity as reported by the practitioners facing the “actuality” of projects.Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was undertaken by conducting semi‐structured interviews with the primary focus on the aerospace industry. Participants are involved in a variety of project settings, exhibiting different types and levels of complexity.Findings – Analysis of responses highlights “people” issues as the main factor contributing to project complexity and the importance of soft skills in managing complex projects.Research limitations/implications – The research is based on a limited number of respondents from the aerospace sector. This will be further refined and improved upon by compiling views of additional practitioners involved in multiple aerospace projects.Practical implications – The main research conclusions are that “hard” project ma...

The importance of human skills in project management professional development

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the importance of human skills in project management success and the apparent emphasis placed on this within the context of university education.Design/methodology/approach – An investigation into the effectiveness of a British Project Management Professional Development Programme (PMPDP) case study is reported. Using as a benchmark, the core behavioural competencies outlined in the International Project Management Association (IPMA) International Competence Baseline version 3, the paper investigates the extent to which the knowledge gained from the PMPDP effects the behaviours of delegates and graduates. The soft skills of a control group are also explored.Findings – The results deal with certain improvements in most of the behavioural competencies of delegates and graduates which the control group could not develop in the same way.Research limitations/implications – The sample is drawn from the PMPDP consortium comprising companies from the...