Abstract
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | International Journal of Project Management |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Pages (from-to) | 75-84 |
| ISSN | 0263-7863 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2020 |
Cite this
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Managing exploratory projects: A repertoire of approaches and their shared underpinnings. / Wied, Morten; Koch-Ørvad, Nina; Welo, Torgeir; Oehmen, Josef.
In: International Journal of Project Management, Vol. 38, No. 2, 2020, p. 75-84.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Managing exploratory projects: A repertoire of approaches and their shared underpinnings
AU - Wied, Morten
AU - Koch-Ørvad, Nina
AU - Welo, Torgeir
AU - Oehmen, Josef
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Uncertainty exists when action must be taken without knowledge of the possible outcomes and the probabilities of their occurrence. This is evidently the case in many real-life projects. Recent literature calls such projects ‘exploratory’, i.e. their goals and the means to attain them are uncertain at the outset. This presents a challenge to traditional project management—working from known means towards known ends—and may explain high rates of project failure. Nonetheless, prescriptions for managing exploratory projects remain situational and fragmented across schools of thought. The aim of this paper is to identify the repertoire of approaches adopted in practice by managers of such projects, and to outline the theoretical underpinnings of exploratory project management. Through the lens of resilience theory, we investigate the approaches adopted by 19 managers of exploratory projects across 14 Danish firms. The paper's contribution is two-fold: First, we present a consistent repertoire of eleven generalizable approaches to managing exploratory projects across a range of industries and project types. Second, outlining shared theoretical underpinnings, we explain the repertoire as preparatory, (pre-action), attemptive (during action) and responsive (post outcome) efforts to achieve resistance to and recoverability from unexpected events. Fundamentally, we argue for shifting focus from ‘what we know’ to ‘how we act’ when faced with exploratory projects.
AB - Uncertainty exists when action must be taken without knowledge of the possible outcomes and the probabilities of their occurrence. This is evidently the case in many real-life projects. Recent literature calls such projects ‘exploratory’, i.e. their goals and the means to attain them are uncertain at the outset. This presents a challenge to traditional project management—working from known means towards known ends—and may explain high rates of project failure. Nonetheless, prescriptions for managing exploratory projects remain situational and fragmented across schools of thought. The aim of this paper is to identify the repertoire of approaches adopted in practice by managers of such projects, and to outline the theoretical underpinnings of exploratory project management. Through the lens of resilience theory, we investigate the approaches adopted by 19 managers of exploratory projects across 14 Danish firms. The paper's contribution is two-fold: First, we present a consistent repertoire of eleven generalizable approaches to managing exploratory projects across a range of industries and project types. Second, outlining shared theoretical underpinnings, we explain the repertoire as preparatory, (pre-action), attemptive (during action) and responsive (post outcome) efforts to achieve resistance to and recoverability from unexpected events. Fundamentally, we argue for shifting focus from ‘what we know’ to ‘how we act’ when faced with exploratory projects.
U2 - 10.1016/j.ijproman.2019.12.002
DO - 10.1016/j.ijproman.2019.12.002
M3 - Journal article
VL - 38
SP - 75
EP - 84
JO - International Journal of Project Management
JF - International Journal of Project Management
SN - 0263-7863
IS - 2
ER -