The ever-present element of risk and uncertainty means that the events and tasks leading to completion can never be foretold with absolute accuracy. Examples abound of projects that have exceeded their costs by enormous amounts, finishing late or even being abandoned before completion. Such failures are far too common, seen in all kinds of projects in industry, commerce and (especially, it seems) the public sector. The purpose of project management is to foresee or predict as many of the dangers and problems as possible and to plan, organize and control activities so that projects are completed successfully in spite of.
