Rethinking dichotomization: A critical perspective on the use of “hard” and “soft” in project management research

This paper elaborates on the categorization – dichotomization – between “hard” and “soft” in project management research. This categorization is becoming more increasingly used in project management research for example by stating that some projects are “hard”, while other projects are “soft”, that some project skills are “hard”, while other project skills are “soft” etc. The aim is to discuss this dichotomization as an example of hierarchization – a power struggle between opposites – within project management research and literature and acknowledge the effects for project management research and practice of unreflective upholding of this dichotomy. We provide a critical review and discussion of stage-gate models as an example of “hard” project management approaches, and agile methods as an example of “soft” approaches to project management and acknowledge that in project management practice, it seems as if “hard” and “soft” approaches are most often combined. Hence, this dichotomy seems to be upheld by the research community while practitioners show a more holistic perspective to project management.     

Project management scholarship: Relevance,impact and five integrative challenges for business and management schools

This paper discusses the standing of project management in the academy. It does so from the viewpoint of business and management schools. The paper identifies five critical integrative challenges concerning research, how they might be better addressed and perhaps turned into opportunities. The paper builds on recent debates within the area of engaged scholarship and knowledge co-production, which call for greater focus on multi-disciplinarity and research–practice collaborations. The paper offers suggestions as to what project management scholars could do to tackle the identified challenges and thereby improve the standing of project management as a subject area within the academy and its contribution to the curriculum and research agenda of business and management schools. The paper ends with some thoughts about future debates on the role of project management research and teaching, especially how project management scholarship could help respond to some of the current criticism of business school research and how research could better inform management practice.     

Learning from international development projects: Blending Critical Project Studies and Critical Development Studies

This article aims at making international development (ID) projects critical. To that end, it shows that project management (PM) in ID has evolved as an offshoot of conventional PM moving like the latter, but at varying speeds, from a traditional approach suited to blueprint projects where tools matter (1960s–1980s); towards eclectic and contingent approaches suited to process projects where people matter the most (1980s–now); and finally pointing towards the potential contribution of a critical perspective which focuses on issues of power (1980s–now). Consequently, it points to a confluence between the Critical Project Studies movement and Critical Development Studies movements. More specifically, it argues that the postdevelopment, the Habermasian, the Foucauldian and the neo-Marxist lenses may be effectively called upon in that scholarship. Thus, it suggests a framework to encourage project actors to reflect on their personal positions in light of the power relations which shape PM in ID.     

Encounters with the unfamiliar: international planning education

Planning practice and education require consideration of both universal and local norms and methods. It is often firmly embedded in localized issues and practices, yet students need to expand their career horizons and develop more critical, reflective understandings of planning issues in their ‘home’ environment. Internationalized curriculum provides a fertile environment for exploring cross-cultural encounter and reflexive practice using varied planning traditions to situate examples for teaching. The ethical and political implications of working internationally can, however, be masked within the seeming familiarity of shared planning language, concepts and techniques, and the apparent simplicity of comparative frames of reference. Planning is inherently political and contextual, yet the explicit dilemmas of the political and economic setting can, at first, appear hidden during a field project where the apparently universal notions of effective spatial planning are central to the dialogue amongst a diverse student group. Using the example of four joint field/project visits (2010–2014) involving Australian and Sri Lankan planning students in tsunami- and conflict-affected areas of Sri Lanka, this paper draws on student reflections and observations to explore the explicit encounters with ethical dilemmas, political settings, contingent problem-setting and the implications of these for planning practice within the home setting.     

Contemporary project portfolio management: Reflections on the development of an Australian Competency Standard for Project Portfolio Management

Project portfolio management is an emerging aspect of business management that focuses on how projects are selected, prioritised, integrated, managed and controlled in the multi-project context that exists in modern organisations. Competency standards have been developed by professional bodies for project managers. However, to date there has been no attempt to develop a competency standard at the portfolio management level. This paper examines the process for development of the first performance-based competency standard for project portfolio management and identifies how this contributes to the body of knowledge in both project portfolio management and project management more broadly. The intent is to use the Standard to improve project portfolio management capability and practice in organisations, which in turn promotes efficient resource use and more profitable project outcomes. Specific issues regarding Australian practice are described, along with implications for how this may impact Australian practice in the future.     

The management of project management: A conceptual framework for project governance

For an organization to create optimal value from its investment in projects there must be a clear link between the outputs created by the projects and the requirements of the organization's business strategy. This means that organizations that have a structure in place for aligning the project deliverables with their organizational goals will be better placed to realize their investment in projects, and achieve the value defined by their business strategies. This paper examines existing research, ideas and concepts of project governance and enterprise project management, and offers a framework to build on current theory development and practice. Synthesizing existing literature of project/program management, governance and portfolio management, this paper proposes four key elements to improve the performance of projects and hence create value for organizations. These four elements are (1) portfolio management: focused on selecting the right projects and programs to support the organization's strategy, and terminating ones that no longer contribute to the business success of the organization; (2) project sponsorship: providing the direct link between the executive and the project or program manager, focused on the whole project lifecycle; (3) Project Management Office (PMO): providing oversight and strategic reporting capabilities; (4) projects and program support: the effective support and management of projects and programs are the measures of an effective governance system. The purpose of the framework described in this paper is to provide guidance to organizations in the development of effective project governance to optimize the management of projects.     

Complex project conceptualisation and argument mapping

The conceptualisation of complex projects requires an ability to manage the contradictory claims of stakeholders. Argument mapping provides one means of helping with this problem, offering a scientific mutable mobile or collaborative cartography. It structures what is known from the warrants and rebuttals inherent in what is said. It also offers opportunity to give voice to all stakeholders, thus aligning with and giving acknowledgement to the Australian cultural norm of a ‘fair go’. In this paper we explain why and how argument mapping using Toulmin's model can be used to help project managers conceptualise complex projects. This includes explaining the long association between dialectic argument and knowledge claims, presenting a common pedigree between argument and the philosophy of science. Following that, we explain the means and motive behind putting dialectic arguments into a graphical form. Next, the paper provides an illustration of an argument map drafted to highlight the concepts involved in managing an Australian mining export project. Australian mining projects dependent on the China market need to be aware of the growing geo-political tensions between the US and China. The mapping is used to emerge some planning concepts, providing a means of sense-making or structuring, a complex Australian project.     

The dynamics of repairing multi-project control practice: a project governance viewpoint

This paper examines the development of enabling control practice, within flexible project governance. Enabling control would interactively help reach the objectives set for multi-project new product development (NPD) management and, especially support the different managerial actors involved. Previous research does not adequately cover the dynamics and interplay between different managerial actors in developing management control for multi-project NPD. This paper responds to the question: How can actors interactively repair multi-project control practice within project governance? The paper takes advantage of a longitudinal action research endeavor (2009-2014), featuring research interventions on developing project control in subsequent NPD projects. The researchers collected empirical data from 130 documented project meetings, workshops, and interactions, and the data were qualitatively analyzed to identify critical steps in multi-project control practice repair. First, as a contribution to the project management literature, we show how the repair effort, as organizational interplay, may effectively, and temporarily or permanently repair inoperative NPD control practice in subsequent projects. Second, we contribute to the literature on enabling control by showing how repairing multi-project control system can be a starting point for centralized control repair, requiring commitment from different management levels. Third, by bridging the two research areas, we identify possibilities for further research.     

Leadership competency profiles of successful project managers

This study examines the leadership competency profiles of successful project managers in different types of projects. Four hundred responses to the Leadership Development Questionnaire (LDQ) were used to profile the intellectual, managerial and emotional competences (IQ, MQ and EQ, respectively) of project managers of successful projects. Differences by project type were accounted for through categorization of projects by their application type (engineering & construction, information & telecommunication technology, organizational change), complexity, importance and contract type. Results indicate high expressions of one IQ sub-dimension (i.e. critical thinking) and three EQ sub-dimensions (i.e. influence, motivation and conscientiousness) in successful managers in all types of projects. Other sub-dimensions varied by project type. Comparison was made to existing profiles for goal oriented, involving and engaging leadership styles. Implications derived are the need for practitioners to be trained in the soft factors of leadership, particular for their types of projects. Theoretical implications include the need for more transactional styles in relatively simple projects and more transformational leadership styles in complex projects.     

A critical argument in favor of theoretical pluralism: Project failure and the many and varied limitations of project management

In project management, failure is often assumed to be evidence of deficient management: a problem that can be overcome by better management. Drawing on qualitative research within UK construction projects we examine how four different theoretical approaches (positivism, structural Marxism, interpretivism and actor–network theory) all challenge this managerial assumption. Each theoretical perspective enables a specific analysis of empirical data that critiques the notion that project failures are easily, simply, or largely, associated with the failure of project management. In so doing, our pluralist analysis reveals the social and political contextualization of performance in project management. We thus conclude by proposing that practitioner and scholarly concerns with project failure (and success), can actively contribute to attempts to reflect upon various matters of political concern as developed within the Making Projects Critical community, and by extension Critical Management Studies. Thus, we propose greater interaction between critical and mainstream project research communities.     

Critical success criteria for mass house building projects in developing countries

Project success is a complex and often illusory construct. Nonetheless, it is crucially contingent towards enabling appropriate and effective allocation of resources in project management practice. Mass house building projects (MHBPs) represent one of the largest and most established project-based sectors of the construction industry in most developing economies. Above all, the management skills required on these projects differ significantly from the one-off projects often encountered in the construction industry. While some success criteria may be common across project types, there is no denying the fact that some determinants of success are likely to be unique to projects of specific characteristics. This research sets out to address what constitutes the determinants of success in MHBPs. A questionnaire survey is used to establish property developers’ perception of critical success criteria in MHBPs in Ghana. Data analysis (involving one-sample t-test) reveals some interesting findings in regard to how property developers perceive the importance of the project success criteria. Factors analysis reveals four underlying clusters named in order of their significance as environmental-impact, customer satisfaction, quality and cost and time. This systematic approach towards understanding the taxonomy of the success dimension in MHBPs is important for re-enforcing effective project management practices in this significant sector of the construction industry.     

Technical and institutional factors in the emergence of project management

This paper explores the fundamental question of why the practice and discipline of project management emerged during the 1940s through the 1960s in the United States. Although projects have been around for millennia, not until the middle of the 20th century in the U.S. military–industrial–academic complex did project management become formalized in institutional processes and as an academic discipline. The paper argues that technical complexity and novelty were the primary factors driving project management and its engineering counterpart systems engineering, as a new organizational form. Institutional factors such as the need for legal separation between government and industry created important secondary effects that drove the particular forms in which project management evolved. This paper uses examples from large scale, complex projects of the 1940s through 1960s in the aerospace and computing industries to tease out the fundamental technical and institutional factors that led to the emergence of project management in these two key American industries during this period.     

Extending project management research: Insights from social theories

Our article answers the call for renewing the theoretical bases of project management in order to overcome the problems that stem from the application of methods based on decision-rationality norms, which bracket the complexity of action and interactions in projects. By grounding our reflection in the practice perspective and by adopting Nicolini's (2013) toolkit approach, we suggest ways that could help practitioners and theorists make better sense of aspects that are highly relevant for project management but are usually overlooked. The paper discusses Nicolini's five dimensions of practice and three social theories (activity theory, actor–network theory and structuration theory) to highlight the combinations that are most appropriate and fruitful for addressing various theoretical and practical issues requiring the attention of project management researchers.     

现代工程管理理论与知识体系框架（一）

在简要分析工程管理实践的基础上,分析了工程管理从工程思维演进到伦理思维和哲学思维的过程;提出了工程思维模式下现代工程管理理论形成的动力模型,并将工程建设分为工程投资决策和项目实施两大阶段;针对工程项目业主方普遍采用交易方式获得工程产品的实际,将工程实施阶段的管理分为业主方的工程交易管理和承包方的工程项目管理两个方面,从而构建了现代工程管理的三个理论模块:工程投资决策管理理论、工程交易管理理论和工程项目管理理论,并进一步分析了每个理论模块的内容及基本理论问题。     

Project studies: What it is,where it is going

Project organising is a growing field of scholarly inquiry and management practice. In recent years, two important developments have influenced this field: (1) the study and practice of projects have extended their level of analysis from mainly focussing on individual projects to focussing on micro- as well as macro-level concerns around projects; and (2) there has been a greater interest in different kinds of scholarly inquiry. Taken together, these two developments call for closer scrutiny of how the levels of analysis and the types of inquiry are related and benefit each other, and of the explanations of project practices they could offer. To discuss avenues for future research on projects and project practice, this paper suggests the notion of project studies to better grasp the status of our field. We combine these two sets of ideas to analyse the status and future options for advancing project research: (1) levels of analysis; and (2) type of research. Analysing recent developments within project studies, we observe the emergence of what we refer to as type 3 research, which reconciles the need for theoretical development and engagement with practice. Type 3 research suggests pragmatic avenues to move away from accepted yet unhelpful assumptions about projects and project organising. The paper ends with an agenda for future research, which offers project scholars a variety of options to position themselves in the field of project studies, and to explore opportunities in the crossroads between levels of analysis and types of research.     

Making Project History: Revisiting the Past,Creating the Future

To this point, project management scholars and historians have carried out surprisingly little research on the landmark projects of our past. This paper argues for the need for delineating Project History as a subject area that ties project management with history. The paper presents the need for more research into this area, the nature and the content of this specific subject area, and the potential contributions that might come out of research within it — for history (management history, business history, and technology history) and project management. The paper also gives an overview of the papers included in the special issue, and offers some ideas of future research in Project History.     

Complex project management as complex problem solving: A distributed knowledge management perspective

Traditional project management (PM) privileges planning and downplays the role of learning even in more complex projects. In contrast, this paper draws inspiration from two organisations that were found to have developed complex PM expertise as a form of complex problem solving (CPS), a practice with implicit learning because complex projects are unable to be completely specified in advance ( Hayek, 1945). Central to this view of complex project management as a form of complex problem solving is the governance challenge of knowledge management under uncertainty. This paper proposes that the distributed coordination mechanism which both organisations evolved for this contingency can best be characterised as a ‘common will of mutual interest’, a self-organising process that was fostered around project goals and paced by the project life cycle ( Kogut and Zander, 1992). The implications for theory, research, and practice in complex PM knowledge management are examined.     

Does project management matter? The relationship between project management effort,complexity, and profitability

The purpose of this study is to explore the causal impact of project management effort on project profitability (i.e., profit on sales) for varying degrees of project complexity in an engineer-to-order (ETO) project setting. We use a sample of 917 projects’ status reports of a large firm that offers ETO products coupled with a control function approach to empirically investigate the causal effect of project management effort on projects’ profitability. Furthermore, we investigate the marginal impact of project management effort and its effect for different degrees of project complexity. Our results reveal a positive but diminishing impact of project management effort on project profitability. Furthermore, we find that higher project complexity jeopardizes project profitability. However, project management's marginal impact increases with increasing project complexity, ultimately leading to higher returns of more complex projects. While previous research provided correlational evidence between project management and project success, this study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first to demonstrate a causal impact of project management on profitability. The results offer unique insights into the economic benefits of project management while taking into account the complexity of the projects. The study confirms the benefits of project management efforts regarding project profitability and underlines the high relevance of project management for complex projects, thereby underlining the importance of contingency theory. It shows that firms can compensate higher ETO customization and higher project complexity through higher project management effort.     

建筑师群体研究的视角与方法 以50年代生中国建筑师为例

文章对"20世纪50、60、70年代生中国建筑师"群体研究的视角和方法进行讨论,这种观察视角的选择是开放的,是带有我们所处时代语境特点的,是可以发展和演进的。同时,针对50年代生中国建筑师的特征分析了多个观察视角的逻辑,包括对话互动与自我审视、时代语境与历史意识、教育变革与知识结构、时间观念与范式转换、前辈影响与思考路径、实践策略与关注方向和职业环境与执业特征等,以期未必完整却能深刻地体现这批建筑师的所思所想所为之特征。     

The work–family interface and turnover intentions over the course of project-oriented assignments abroad

The work–family interface is a highly relevant, yet underexposed issue in project management. When projects require family-separation, work demands are likely to conflict with family life and the consequences may be neither beneficial for (project) organizations nor for families. The aim of this study was twofold: a) to assess within-person changes over time in employees' work–family conflict experiences, relationship satisfaction, and turnover intentions and b) to examine the interrelations between these variables, over the course of a project that requires family-separation. Quantitative data were collected among military personnel before and after their four to six months assignments abroad. The results revealed that relationship satisfaction among military personnel had decreased significantly and turnover intentions had increased significantly over time. Moreover, employees who experienced higher levels of work–family conflict reported lower levels of relationship satisfaction and higher levels of turnover intentions. Understanding the interrelations may help managing projects in a way that benefits project organizations as well as employees and their families, who are critical to its performance and success.