Project management under uncertainty

Working on large, complex projects, such as those in the technology fields, often involves high levels of uncertainty in relation to time, cost, and scope as well as uncontrollable external forces such as inflation, regulation, and financing restrictions. These influences can all affect a project management system's capacity to help project managers lead and monitor projects. This paper examines a process for applying decision analysis techniques to the practice of project management, a process that can help project managers enhance their ability to make decisions under uncertain conditions, a process that can help project managers confront and resolve the realities of managing projects--uncertainty, external influences, and risk. In doing so, it discusses the function of managing projects in relation to decision-making under uncertainty; it describes the uncertainty that disrupts the project management process and that interferes with the project manager's attempts to manage a project.