Road to Effective Project Management

Abstract

A study to determine what skills and traits make effective project managers was conducted. A questionnaire was developed and distributed across the country to office managers of an engineering organization involved in the transportation field. The questionnaire contains 13 questions. The first 11 questions consist of determining the degree to which the respondent agrees or disagrees with the statement. Question 12 asks the respondent to rank seven items in order of importance. The last question is open ended, intended to draw out the unique and not‐so‐obvious thoughts about effective project management. The results are systematized. Conclusions are drawn from the tabulated results and recommendations are offered. The problem of project managers becoming “bogged down” and running out of time and money is evident from the survey. An effective project manager needs to delegate and maintain control of the project. One type of delegation can be achieved through ajob enrichment program. The report also contains other development techniques that can help build a successful and effective project manager.