“Soft” skills, also referred to as “micro-social” skills, are universally recognized as being critical to successful project management. Methods of measuring those skills, however, are to date largely subjective and nonsystematic. This paper examines multiple approaches to the problem, as well as the next evolution in soft skill assessment: a model that allows soft skill quantification (SSQ), and its utility in predicting performance. The results of an SSQ assessment were compared to formal employee performance results and individual program manager observations. Using a small initial sample, the SSQ model provided statistically verifiable alignment with professional project management employee performance. Moreover, the assessment identified specific strengths and weaknesses beyond what the manager was able to deduce from observation, and it highlighted the importance of skill areas that were not initially thought to be important by the manager.

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