The evidence is overwhelming. Cognitive biases affect our project execution. Indeed, these biases color virtually every aspect of our lives. But in particular, the role of these biases is pronounced and is evidenced by project personnel not using the best judgment in their work. I performed a search in the AACE virtual library for papers containing the word bias and found I’m not the only one who thinks so and also that biases affect many different aspects of project management. In doing more reading, I found that it’s a much bigger factor in our lives than I realized. That’s truer in project work than I want to think about. Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, in the article List of Cognitive Biases, lists a total of 113 variations on biases.

How do these cognitive biases affect our project execution and how can we negate the effects?

Understanding these points will hopefully allow projects which better achieve their objectives, whether budgets, schedules, quality, or other goals.