Although few people would consider running an engineering business akin to fighting a war, it may often be advantageous to plan engineering projects like military manoeuvres. Be they large or small, projects must be planned and executed with precision if they are to succeed, and it is up to the project manager to ensure that the whole process runs smoothly. It is important for potential project managers to be flexible and to gain experience in managing a variety of initially small projects. With this experience they can then proceed onto larger and larger projects building on their skills as they do so.