Adopting the latest advances in the field of psychology for effective project management

The paper was awarded the best whitepaper across all industries in the national conference.

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In our knowledge based economy the influence of human factors in projects is growing rapidly. Project managers are expected to manage hard factors of scope, schedule, budget etc. on one side and human aspects on the other side to achieve project success.

This Article elaborates how Project Managers can leverage recent advances in the field of psychology to manage the human aspects effectively. For example, Evidence Based Management, a branch of Psychology, provides a reliable and valid methodology for project managers to make decisions based on best evidence currently available in management and decision-making field. Likewise, Positive Psychology which focuses on what goes well will enable Project Managers to build more productive teams. Industrial/Organizational Psychology on the other hand offers solutions for effective internal and external stakeholder management.

The main discussion point of the article includes
– The dimensions of human interactions at different levels covering Organization, Project Team and an Individual in a project
– The various touch points across the project management lifecycle for the above dimensions of human Interaction and associated challenges
– New advances in the field of psychology and how they can be used to address the challenges

The article takes examples from real life case studies and provides implementable recommendations for today’s project managers. This will ensure effective human factor management across the project management life-cycle.

Published in: Project Management Institute (PMI) National Conference, India, 2014