Stephen Jonathan Whitty

Project management artefacts and the emotions they evoke

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the variety of affective emotions that are evoked in extant project management (PM) practitioners by various PM artefacts.Design/methodology/approach – A phenomenological methodology is used for eliciting, through self‐reporting and observation of gesture, the affective responses and consequential emotions experienced by PM practitioners as they interact or recount previous interactions with various artefacts of PM.Findings – This paper suggests that PM is prevalent in the Western corporate environment because project managers obtain an emotional affect from aspects of the PM experience, and project managers utilise various PM artefacts to emotionally manipulate their environment to their own advantage.Practical implications – The paper argues for a PM environment which is founded on evidence‐based practices. It suggests that future research should explore the links between PM, social architecture and flow theory.Originality/value – This paper advances...

On a new philosophy of project management: an investigation into the prevalence of modern project management by means of an evolutionary framework

Why are projects and project management so cool when managing projects is so problematic? This question is at the heart of this thesis which sets out to find answer using an evolutionary approach to the discipline. A conceptual evolutionary framework for investigation is developed, the heredity of the ideas and concepts that underpin project management are traced and their impact analysed, and a conceptual model of the project management environment is developed to demonstrate how individuals and corporations gain survival benefits from aspects of project management. To further investigate the evolutionary mechanisms that take place in the project management environment, the result of a phenomenological study are presented which show that various project management artefacts emotionally affect individuals, and that those individuals also use the emotional affects to emotionally manipulate others. The conclusions drawn from this investigation are that modern project management delivers cultural survival benefits to individuals and corporations, and its various behaviours and concepts are encoded genetically and memetically across our genes and Western culture. The memetic framework for project management contributes to the field by providing a means to debunk the ‘sacred cows’ of project management; it brings new understandings of how the various ideals, tools and concepts of project management deliver benefits, and to whom; and it provides a agenda for evidence based practice and the democratisation of work where project management is inculcated into the various work domains such as Health, Art, Agriculture, Commerce, etc, rather than a standalone discipline.

The Project Management Office: it’s just not what it used to be

Purpose – The Project Management Office (PMO) phenomenon is a dynamic and regularly evolving feature of the project landscape. The functions and practices expected of the PMO differ as widely as the industries and organisations, which host them. By uncovering the documented and undocumented history of the PMO and its practices the authors see how PMOs have developed to current times, how PMOs develop their ideas, how useful PMOs are, and what associated activities they partake in. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors conduct an extensive literature review of the academic and non-academic literature. The first phase involved searching academic journals and published theses. The second, deep searches with Google Scholar and Books using a variety of parameters to capture the changing nomenclature of the PMO over many years. These searches discovered lost academic literature within university libraries, examples of very early essays on the project of...

Redefining governance: from confusion to certainty and clarity

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to resolve and remove from the governance arena in general and the project arena in particular, conflict which occurs when parties do not realise they have different meanings for common governance terms. Design/methodology/approach – Review literature on definitional confusion in general and on governance in particular and develop a method for defining an internally consistent group of terms, then apply this to a group of terms in the governance arena. Findings – Several important subjects commonly arranged under the governance banner do not actually constitute governance (strategy, behaviour, decision making). Research limitations/implications – Further work is necessary to remove similar confusion in other closely related areas, including power itself and authority as well as project and general management terms such as responsibility and accountability. Practical implications – Projects and business alike can potentially achieve significant improvements in efficie...

The project-space model: enhancing sensemaking

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose the project-space model as positively influencing sensemaking in the project context. There is currently minimal discussion of the tools used by project managers, teams and stakeholders to build their map of the project terrain or to make sense of a project’s status. However, such sensemaking is critical to ongoing decision making and aligning action in any project. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses framework analysis to examine the results of a completed action research case study that utilised a tool: the project-space model. Three frameworks are then utilised as an investigative lens to examine how the project-space model influenced sensemaking. Findings The project-space model is found to enhance sensemaking within the case study. Specifically, its visual nature, the focus it brings to the plurality of experience and the need for plausibility rather than precision in understanding. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on a single case study. Further studies could be undertaken to confirm extensibility. Practical implications The project-space model is identified as having a favourable impact on sensemaking in the case study project. There is a need to consider what other tools are currently used or could be used by project teams to enhance sensemaking. Originality/value Empirical, contextualised case study research highlighting the value of the project-space model as a sensemaking tool. Contribution to evidence on the efficacy of the project-space model as a useful tool for project managers.

Accountability and responsibility defined

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to remove confusion surrounding the terms responsibility and accountability from the general and project management arenas by creating “refined” (with unnecessary elements removed) definitions of these terms. Design/methodology/approach A method of deriving refined definitions for a group of terms by ensuring that there is no internal conflict or overlap is adopted and applied to resolve the confusion. Findings The confusion between responsibility and accountability can be characterised as a failure to separate the obligation to satisfactorily perform a task (responsibility) from the liability to ensure that it is satisfactorily done (accountability). Furthermore, clarity of application can be achieved if legislative and organisational accountabilities are differentiated and it is recognised that accountability and responsibility transition across organisational levels. A difficulty in applying accountability in RACI tables is also resolved. Research limitations/implications Clear definition of responsibility and accountability will facilitate future research endeavours by removing confusion surrounding the terms. Verification of the method used through its success in deriving these “refined” definitions suggests its suitability for application to other contested terms. Practical implications Projects and businesses alike can benefit from removal of confusion around the definitions of responsibility and accountability in the academic research they fund and attempt to apply. They can also achieve improvements in both efficiency and effectiveness in undertaking organisation-wide exercises to determine organisational responsibilities and accountabilities as well as in the application of governance models. Social implications Refined definitions of responsibility and accountability will facilitate building social and physical systems and infrastructure, benefitting organisations, whether public, charitable or private. Originality/value Clarity resulting in the avoidance of confusion and misunderstanding together with their consequent waste of time, resources and money.

The final state convergence model

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to expand project management theory about practice and theory for practice through a new conceptual model developed from the transformational production management, strategic management and complexity bodies of theory. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a grounded theory methodology. A preliminary model is developed and tested against two case studies. The model is revised and tested using a purposively selected focus group before being presented in this paper. Findings The research indicates that the “final state convergence model” which has been synthesized from the transformational production management, strategic management and complexity theories. The model illuminates the complexities that can exist within the practice of project management. Research limitations/implications The final state convergence model provides a novel approach to synthesizing new bodies of theory into traditional project management theory. Practical implications The model challenges practitioners to think beyond their current conceptual base of traditional project management methodologies, systems, and processes toward a broader conceptualization of project management. Originality/value The research adds to the theory about practice and theory for practice through the development of a new model which not only illuminates the complexities of project management but enriches and extends the understanding of the actual reality of projects and project management practices.