Political deadlines on prestige projects add too much pressure and are contrary to good project management according to Richard Schofield, chairman of the RICS project management faculty.

Schofield made the statement on the first day of the body's Project Management 360 event on 16 May.

"I don't think there's anyone that hasn't been affected by political pressures that are contrary to good practice," he said. "Politicians management - maybe we should add that to our project management toolbox."

Schofield said another barrier to good project management is getting too caught up in the excitement of a project early on.

"It's a new relationship, it's exciting and we get caught up in the romance of it. With everyone getting caught up in the excitement and challenges, they bite off more than they can cope with. It's about early planning and resisting the temptation to get the project running too soon," he said.

Starting too soon can mean not enough time is spent laying the foundations for a smooth project, and sometimes means the project team doesn't fully understand what the client wants, he said.

n Peter Sell, partner at Davis Langdon, also spoke at the event. He said unstructured data in emails and on computers is going to grow "exponentially" so businesses need to manage emails more effectively and look at IT document management.

"If you came here thinking we have it sussed, I have to tell you we haven't got it sussed. Nobody's got it sussed. If you don't know what you've got and where it is then you're at risk," he said.

Sell added that managing content more effectively could decrease risk for businesses and therefore reduce insurance premiums.

Source

QS News