An article by Dr. Tom Wise, Project Management program lead at Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, appears in the first volume of a new journal focusing on project management.
The article, “Human Centered Projects and Survivorship Bias The Perceived Success of Project Outcomes?,” appears in Vol 1. No. 1 of the new journal, Beyond the Project Horizon: Journal of the Center for Project Management Innovation.
Due to the bias that process design demands, we forget the example given by failed projects, according to Wise. The tendency to focus on success was first noted during WWII and named Survivorship Bias.
“This means that as project professionals, we tend to look at projects that completed successfully to identify desirable patterns for repeatability in process and practice. This leads project professionals to seek out patterns based on successful past practice modeled by successful leaders,” says Wise. Project Managers are trained and heavily focused on Scope, Schedule, and Cost. Perhaps the common constraints and practices of project management may be positively impacted by human centered management practices regardless of the success of the process design.
The article is found at https://digitalcommons.harrisburgu.edu/beyond_project_horizon/vol1/iss1/4
Dr. Wise is an Assistant Professor of Project Management and speaker on virtual working and problem-solving concepts, and published several articles and books on agile, project management, and virtual concepts. Dr. Wise is certified by the Project Management Institute as a Project Management Professional, by the American Society for Quality as a Manager of Quality and Organizational Excellence, and has certification in Lean Six Sigma, and change, with expertise in problem-solving, continuous process improvement, agile and lean methodologies. Dr. Wise’s experience includes leadership and consulting across industries, including nuclear power, financial, entertainment, and pharmaceuticals.
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