In everyday life decisions are omnipresent, and their importance may vary widely; the situation is very similar throughout the project life cycle. There are certain key points, such as choosing the project management approach, agreeing on the project plans that need to be developed or selecting project team members that the project manager must decide upon.

What are these key points, how are they perceived by the project manager, is there any critical point in which the project manager's decision can significantly affect the evolution of the project? These are some of the topics of the presentation.

Although knowing the decision making points are important, the underlying decision making process should not be neglected. Starting from the two main models of the decision-making process described in the literature – the rational and the intuitive model – the presentation describes their application in the projects' context, and uses the results of a research having as main purpose to identify the dominant model that influences the decision making process of the project managers. The weight of some relevant factors in decision making, such as reason, intuition, time, and experience, are discussed.

Last but not least, the biases that may interfere in the decision making process are presented through real examples.