Ebenezer Essilfie-Baiden
School of Finance & Financial Management, Business University Costa Rica (UNEM)
Email: essilfiebaiden@gmail.com
Abstract
It is often said that project management is both an art and a science. It is a science because project managers have to estimate time and cost that it takes to actualize the deliverables. It is an art, as they have to manage resources, people, and other stakeholders. In this context, it is very important for project managers to balance the needs of all stakeholder and especially the needs of the clients. Often, it is the case that project managers have to budget for the project and give the client an estimate of how long the project takes and how much it would cost. This means that they have to be adept at estimating the time and the cost of the project. In many cases, it is often the practice to overpromise wherein the project managers with the hope of pleasing the client often promise more than they could actually deliver. This is the reason why many projects go haywire, as the initial estimates often are very tight leaving no scope for course correction midway. Further, there is lot of pressure from marketing, the delivery managers, and the group heads in the organization who want the client to be pleased at any cost. This is the case with many Indian software companies where the project managers under pressure from organizational imperatives often overpromise to the client and once the project is underway, they realize that they cannot possibly meet the deadlines.
Keywords: Project Managers, Overpromise and Underestimate Project
