The PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition explicitly identifies **Adaptability and Resiliency** as one of the core principles . It reminds us that successful projects are not only built on good planning, but also on the ability to respond effectively as conditions evolve.
That principle feels more relevant than ever.
For many years, the quality of a decision was often associated with having additional information, more analysis, and less uncertainty. The underlying assumption was simple: if we could reduce uncertainty, we could make better decisions.
But today's projects rarely offer that luxury.
Project managers are navigating rapidly changing markets, geopolitical disruptions, supply chain instability, evolving stakeholder expectations, accelerating technologies, and increasing regulatory complexity. By the time all the desired information is collected, some of the original assumptions may already be outdated.
Perhaps this is why the definition of a good decision is evolving.
The challenge is no longer choosing between speed and quality.
The real challenge is achieving the highest possible decision quality within the time available.
Consider a construction project approaching the design freeze milestone. The team postpones approving the structural design because they want to eliminate every remaining uncertainty before moving forward.
A few weeks later, updated client requirements, revised regulations, and changes in material availability force another round of redesign.
Ironically, the pursuit of the perfect decision created more rework, greater delays, and higher costs than the original uncertainty ever would have.
Perhaps the issue was never the lack of information.
Perhaps it was the inability to recognize when the available information was sufficient to make a responsible decision.
In the past, a good decision was often associated with:
• More information
• More analysis
• More certainty
• Then action
Today, a good decision may also need to be:
• Timely enough to keep the project moving.
• Informed enough to manage the most significant risks.
• Flexible enough to adapt as new information emerges.
This doesn't mean making rushed decisions.
It means recognizing that timing is becoming an essential dimension of decision quality, not its opposite.
In increasingly dynamic project environments, waiting for perfect certainty may itself become one of the biggest project risks.
What has been your experience?
- Have you ever seen a project suffer because the team waited too long for the "perfect" decision?
- Have you experienced situations where an earlier, "good enough" decision proved more valuable than a later, "perfect" one?
- In today's project environment, how do you personally define a good decision?
