Psychology:The psychology of projects: What the bodies of knowledge don’t tell us

New project managers often enthuse about the methods, models, processes, charts, gates and procedures that enable projects to deliver. They are keen to jump straight in and apply the tools and methods to deliver the promised results. Such tools are certainly useful and essential but they are limited. Over the last few chapters we have considered issues to do with people, teams, resistance to change, politics, expectations, communication and leadership. Indeed, various surveys focused on project failures serve to remind us that our lack of understanding of the ‘softer issues’ is contributing to the failure of projects. Yet, the bodies of knowledge we utilise in project management are reasonably silent over such matters