I was asked a question in an online survey today that got me intrigued as to why it took the approach it did.

Here is the question.......

In your opinion, what is the most important aspect to project management - scope, schedule, cost, quality or communication?

........and this was my answer......

This is an interesting question as what has been posed is a sub-set of the nine knowledge areas of PMBOK, missing out integration, HR, risk and procurement. So before I look at what is important in project management, let me first explain what is important in a project.

I believe there are two critical aspects to the successful completion of a project:

• The requirement or functional architecture. This drives other aspects of the project including the design or solution, the tests and trials, and the quality. The requirement is an articulation of what the user or customer wants to achieve or do. If this isn't satisfied, the project has not been as successful as it should have perhaps been.

• The solution, design or physical architecture. This is determined by the requirement together with the constraints on the design such as safety and physical dimensions. It is the design, development testing/trialling and manufacture and assembly of the solution that drives the cost and schedule.

Together, the requirement and solution drives the scope. The scope will inevitably impact on schedule, cost and quality. Therefore, in terms of meeting the success criteria of a project, scope is the most important.

But, I haven't discussed communications. Communications is a crucial management skill. Without communicating decisions, risks, delays, cost data, issues, challenges, successes and so on, we will be left with a disorganised and disjointed effort within a project.

So in conclusion, I would need to argue that from the project's perspective scope is most important, but from the management perspective, communications is most important.

I was intrigued because I am not sure why that question was asked:

• Was it was because they simply wanted to challenge your understanding of project management?
• Was it because the person who designed the question thought these were the most important aspects of project management?
• Perhaps the person who designed the question didn't understand project management?

I'm not sure I will ever get an answer from the survey folk, but I am intrigued enough by the question to do a few follow ups to this blog with a bit of research around other blogs and they answers they provide. Stay tuned!!