Flow as a Predictor of Project Success

Abstract

Projects are the vehicles by which organizations achieve their overarching strategies. Projects initially were external to the traditional organizations (e.g., construction of a new office building versus an accounts payable function). Rapidly advancing technology, aggressive global competition, shortened delivery cycles and the global economic business environments have rendered delivering successful projects paramount to an organization’s existence. Utilization of projects to successfully deliver both internal and external outputs is ever more important. Contributing to this movement are improved systems and software, management techniques and availability of trained professional project managers. These factors are increasing the speed and delivery of successful projects. Advanced tools, techniques and methodologies are of critical importance in the world of project management. Unfortunately, a high percentage of projects still fail to meet their stated objectives even with the advent of advanced project techniques and tools. Of crucial importance is the human element. Project activities are performed by people. The individuals in a project scenario carry the flag for success or the torch for failure. This actual experience begs the question: What can be done to improve the likelihood of projects achieving their stated objectives? It is in this context that the concept of flow is introduced. Flow is defined as that moment of human engagement when results exceed expected norms, time loses relevancy, and individuals operate at an optimal level of human performance. This manuscript describes flow, its effect on project success, and how it can be cultivated in a project environment.