This module has introduced the subject of project management. The integration of scope, schedule and budget into a project plan is not an easy task. Engineering education has prepared you with the requisite skills to develop the technical part (scope) of the plan. The other elements, scheduling and budgeting, and contracting methods for services, will require additional information and experience. In addition to the "mechanics" of project management, there is a human dimension, that of team "players" and leaders. A successful project benefits all participants.

Some people view project management as a tool for forcing people into meeting schedules and keeping to budgets. It is easy to envision this scenario: "Our data shows that you are late! Get back on schedule!" If the contract allows, a far more effective scenario is for the project manager to approach an owner who appears to be at risk of missing a scheduled commitment, and asking "is there any help you could use that would enable you to meet this upcoming commitment?"

Often, success is not possible without a leader (as differentiated from a manager). When it seems impossible to achieve the goals, a leader's determination and vision can change things. George Bernard Shaw best summarized a leader when he said: "You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream of things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'"

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