I’ve been giving some thought recently as to what lies behind the work we do as project managers. Too often we get caught up in the tools and techniques, the how of what we do, without looking at the concepts and ideas behind it, the why of what we do.

So far, I’ve suggested that:

• The primary aim of every project is to benefit the business.
• Project management is about making the project environment as stable as possible. What is possible varies.
• Project management needs both awareness and control of the project. Control is impossible without awareness.

But how can we control a project? What tools do we have available to us to exert control? What can we do to effect the path we are taking?

In general, we have only three areas we can work with in project management. We can vary how long we spend on a task, how much money we spend on it, and what the finished output of that task actually is.

So, for example, we could spend a week on a task, or a year. We could spend pennies, or millions. We could make something which just about works, or a gold-plated solution.

By working with these areas, we can try to influence how the project progresses. But remember, a project manager would not have ultimate control over any of these areas. They can only vary what is done to a limited extent.

A project manager can’t decide to spend a year on a task if the project is supposed to be finished in 6 months. A task which is supposed to cost pennies can not have millions spent on it on the say-so of the project manager. And the minimum quality required is set by someone outside, not by the project manager.

This brings us to the next project management concept: The project manager can control time taken, money spent, and scope fulfilled – but only within set limits.