REFINING THE ASSESSMENT OF SOFT SKILLS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Unlike hard skills, which are characterized by their quantifiability, evaluating soft skills—both in general and specifically within the realm of Project Management (PM) — poses a multifaceted challenge. Context (cultural, social and political-institutional) and project-specific elements in PM play a critical role, influencing situations that activate and shape the manifestation of soft skills, leading to varying assessment scores. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify the most frequently cited soft skills in PM. Subsequently, a novel architectural framework was developed to highlight the critical role of context in facilitating situations that necessitate the activation of various soft skills with distinct nuances. By incorporating contextual variables, this framework offers a more dynamic and accurate assessment of soft skills, tailored to the unique context of each project.