Final answer:
Projects can be difficult to manage due to their multidisciplinary nature, competition for resources, and their unique non-routine structure. Balancing project works with everyday operations and adapting to organizational changes adds complexity to project management.
Step-by-step explanation:
Characteristics of Challenging Projects
Managing projects comes with its own set of challenges. Specific characteristics that make projects difficult to manage include multidisciplinary collaboration, resource competition, and their non-routine nature. Projects are multidisciplinary and leverage the specialized expertise of various functional experts. This not only requires technical knowledge but also strong coordination as engineers often multitask across several projects with varying deadlines and team configurations.
Furthermore, projects compete for resources with ongoing operations. Team members often have dual responsibilities, balancing project demands with everyday functional roles. This can lead to work overload and difficulty in maintaining harmonious work relationships. The unique, one-time nature of projects, which are started to manage change, heightens their complexity as they have definitive beginnings and ends, encapsulating a scope of work unfamiliar to the usual operations.
Effective management involves clear decision-making, handling conflicts, and managing competing priorities, as funding pressures and organizational dynamics can affect timelines and overall success. As projects evolve, they can force organizational structures to adapt, creating new challenges due to globalization and shifts in workplace demographics, heightening the need for proactive employees capable of taking initiative.