Human

In project management, people are players. By definition, several such players work together in projects and communicate with each other. Therefore, it is important to understand people better in order to provide them with the appropriate framework conditions so that they may develop their full potential in project work and interaction, thereby delivering the expected performance. The authors Jürg Kuster, Christian Bachmann, Mike Hubmann, Robert Lippmann, and Patrick Schneider examine the human performer from various angles that are important for successful project management. In Taylorism, the human being was supposed to function like a machine. But we now know that man is not a rational being and cannot be explained purely on the basis of cause-and-effect relationships. Instead, humans are highly complex beings with identities strongly shaped by their environment, having a brain that changes shape throughout their lives (neuroplasticity). Project work is always a personal experience that is marginal, as innovation has to be created within limited resources. This chapter explains the basic features of the modern view of man, the topics of stress and change, flow, as well as motivation and meaning. These form the basis for self-management, which aims at achieving a self-directed and self-responsible development of personal life. This chapter concludes with aspects of self-responsible further development and a description of the basics of interpersonal communication. People are always the same whether they are working in traditional or agile project management. The explanations in this chapter refer to both approaches.