Conclusions

The competence of project managers is clearly a vital factor in the success of projects, yet it remains a quality that is difficult to quantify. The majority of research and standards development conducted to date relating to project management competence is based on the opinions of project management practitioners and others. The research reported here has attempted to approach the profiling of the competent project manager from a potentially more objective viewpoint, by gathering data on project management knowledge and practices, using established project management standards, and then relating this to separately derived ratings of perceived workplace performance. Analysis suggests, however, that there is little direct relationship between perceived workplace performance and performance against either project management standards or previous research findings.

The only construct that appears in the highest rankings of both project success factors (Table 1) and project manager competence (Table 2) and is also valued by senior management (supervisors), being identified in logistic regression models as a predictor of supervisor perceptions of high performance, is monitoring and controlling (integrative). While integrative planning is the literature-derived construct most consistently identified in the top rank in the literature analysis as a key factor in project success and project manager competence, the value placed on integrative planning practices by project managers does not appear to be supported by senior management (supervisors). Team development practices, although highly rated in the literature as a factor in project success and project manager competence, are not widely used and higher levels of use do not appear to have any predictive value in terms of supervisor assessment of performance.

Some constructs identified in the research-based literature, such as leadership and technical performance, are not covered by standards, while lessons learned, although included in the Australian National Competency Standards for Project Management, are not identified at all in research into project success and project manager competence.

Research results indicate that project management activities valued by project managers are not necessarily the same as those valued by senior management (supervisors), suggesting an important avenue for further research. Associated with this are apparent cultural differences in perceptions and rating of performance between countries, with supervisors in the US significantly more likely to give higher ratings than those in either Australia or the UK. Personality characteristics and application area specific technical issues are not addressed by the standards, suggesting a need for further investigation in these areas.