This study investigates the nuanced relationship between public sector project managers and their adherence to organizational project management protocols, as defined by reference documents such as ...PRINCE2 and PMBOK® Guide. It investigates why these project managers frequently deviate from these protocols. The study investigates the practical relevance yet perceived redundancy of these documents through interviews and a focus group with nine experienced project managers in the Australian public sector. Using thematic analysis and a Derridean perspective, we show how these documents create a project manager's their authority and autonomy. The study concludes with the proposal of a deconstructive theory of public sector project management, emphasising pragmatism over rigid adherence to established project management ideologies.
•Public sector managers often bypass standard project management processes.•These project management processes stem from project reference documents.•A Derridean lens is applied to public sector project manager transcripts.•Reference documents act as treaties, not guides, creating authority and autonomy.•Study suggests re-evaluating the role of project management reference documents.
This study investigates the role of governance and governmentality in project and organizational success. Results from 121 responses to a worldwide survey provided for profiling of different ...governance and governmentality approaches at different levels of success, and quantitative investigation of the relationships between them. Results support the model of governmentality being positively related with both project level and organizational level success. Governance as structural context variable moderates this relationship. Moderation takes place at the project level through the governance mechanisms (trust and control) influencing the strength of the relationship, and at the organizational level through governance complexity, measured as the number of governance institutions involved in projects, influencing the form of the relationship. Contingency theory serves as a theoretical lens to interpret and discuss the findings, as well as theoretical and managerial implications.
•Profiles for governance and governmentality at different levels of project success•Profiles for governance and governmentality at different levels of organizational success•Governmentality correlates with project and organizational success.•Governance moderates the governmentality–success relationship.
Several studies have investigated projectification and its effects at the firm level, but the macroeconomic implications of project work have scarcely been considered. This paper analyzes the ...macroeconomic effects of firm-level projectification. We study the interlinkages between different sectors by extending standard input-output modeling and analyze the static and dynamic effects of projectification. The results indicate that projectification can have positive macroeconomic implications for production/innovativeness, employment and income that differ across economic sectors, but projectification can also have negative impacts. As a major implication, the use of temporary forms of organizing cannot be recommended without reproach but depends on the economic sector and sectoral interdependencies.
•Input-output analysis to study macroeconomic effects of firm-level projectification•Effects of projectification on production/innovativeness, employment and income•Differentiation between short-term (static) and long-term (dynamic) effects•Projectification has mostly positive macroeconomic implications•In some sectors projectification has negative effects (mainly short-term)
In recent years, urban "Challenges"-competitions that solicit and reward novel solutions to urban policy problems-have become embedded within a wider program of governance innovations presented to ...city governments as effective means to solve complex urban problems. This paper offers an overview and critical evaluation of the uses of Challenges in contemporary urban governance innovation, based on an extensive analysis of existing Challenges and related practitioner and promotional literature. Situating Challenges within the increasingly prominent urban governance innovation trends, we suggest a fourfold categorization for understanding the diverse positionings, motivations and objectives at play in the application of Challenges. We present a critique of the prominent logics of projectification, technological solutionism and competition associated with Challenges and conclude by offering coordinates for more intensive and contextually-specific analyses of the Challenge phenomenon.
A strong public project governance structure is instrumental to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of projects in the public domain. The Norwegian State Project Model is an example of such a ...structure; a standardized classification of projects into stages, with defined decision points, where requirements regarding documentation are specified. In Iceland, the public project governance structure has been criticised. This paper investigates the Icelandic framework by comparison to the Norwegian framework, through a desk analysis of both structures. Furthermore, the features and perceived utility of the Icelandic project governance structure are assessed by interviewing selected public stakeholders who are representatives of seven important organizations in the public sector. The study indicates that there is a significant difference between the frameworks where the Icelandic framework is lacking crucial elements of what constitutes best practices in modern project governance. In view of extensive plans for investments in infrastructure in the coming years, there is an urgent need for reforming the Icelandic project governance structure.
•Best practices in project governance are based on transparency, fairness, responsibility, and accountability.•This is the case with the Norwegian framework but the Icelandic framework lacks crucial elements.•It consists of basic instructions - quality assurance is dependent on the decisions of individual institutions or ministries.•Investment in infrastructure projects in Iceland in the next 20 years will be close to 10 billion euros for over 100 projects.•To ensure that public funds are well spent, the Icelandic Project Governance Framework should be reformed.
From projectification to programmification Maylor, Harvey; Brady, Tim; Cooke-Davies, Terry ...
International journal of project management,
11/2006, Volume:
24, Issue:
8
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This paper considers two key themes from the Rethinking Project Management Network activities: projectification and managing multiple projects. Following analysis of cases presented during network ...meetings, the findings are set in the context of the extant literature, and discuss the development of the concept of projectification over the past decade. Three key conclusions are drawn from this work. Firstly, projectification has considerably extended the definition of ‘a project’ way beyond the current definitions in the literature. Secondly, projectification has not been a panacea for individuals or organisations. Lastly, during the decade reviewed by this paper, we have seen the establishment of programmes and portfolios of programmes as a mechanism for managing in organisations. This represents a developed phenomenon we have termed
programmification. All three of these conclusions have implications for research and practice, which are reflected in a research agenda and specific research questions.
Social-ecological fit has been a popular approach to assessing the connectedness between social and ecological systems in environmental governance. However, the role of projects in social-ecological ...fit has yet to be explicitly problematized and conceptualized. Given the centrality of projects - i.e. temporally limited organizations that bring various actors into collaboration to pursue clearly defined goals and tasks - in environmental governance, this is a serious shortcoming in the literature. In this paper, we fill this gap by drawing on the hitherto unconnected literatures on projectified environmental governance and social-ecological fit. We then assess the extent to which fit can be achieved in projectified environmental governance. To do this, we develop a novel framework for assessing the vertical and horizontal dimensions of social, spatial, and temporal fit and conduct an empirical study of the European Union’s LIFE Program and environmental projects funded by the program in Estonia. Our results suggest that the spatial and temporal fit of projects is contingent on social fit, i.e., the alignment of interests and needs of project-related actors. Frictions between various levels of decision-making also condition the possibilities of achieving fit horizontally across stakeholder groups and ecological systems as well as of sustaining project results over time.
•Socio-ecological fit is a widely debated topic in environmental governance.•A critical analysis of the role of projects in social-ecological fit is currently lacking.•We explore social-ecological fit of Estonian EU LIFE projects.•The interconnectedness between different forms of fit needs to be addressed.•Pursuing socio-ecological fit is a multi-scale and multi-level effort.
Projects have become omnipresent not only in the economy but also in our society and our lives. Projects organize and shape our actions at work, in our professional profiles and networks, and also in ...our homes and free time activities. Drawing on the philosophical cornerstone concepts of activity, time, space, and relations, this article introduces an alternative conceptualization of projects as a “human condition.” The article concludes with implications to the project management community, in terms of both project management practice and research.
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