What is flexibility in project management in Civil Engineering context? A study into practitioners’ perspectives

Abstract (2017)

Authors

A. Jalali Sohi Integral Design & Management - CEG
M.J.C.M. Hertogh Integral Design & Management - CEG
M.G.C. Bosch-Rekveldt Integral Design & Management - CEG
Research Group
Integral Design & Management (CEG) (TU Delft)
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Published Date

2017

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Materials- Mechanics- Management & Design

Research Group

Integral Design & Management

Abstract

Starting in the 1990s and still growing is the awareness of the changing and dynamic project environment. Increasingly it is argued that nowadays a pure (conventional) project management approach is no longer effective. Accordingly there is much attention on the embedding of flexibility in project management. In such movement there is need to know what different viewpoints (perspectives) exist among practitioners; what they find most/least important when it comes to flexibility. This research paper explored practitioners’ perspectives on project management flexibility by use of Q-methodology as a research tool. Data was gathered from 28 targeted respondents. The results of the study reveal four distinct perspectives on flexibility that can be summarized as: flexibility by who, by what, by when, and by trust. These perspectives partly support defined categories of flexibility elements in literature. Further research could focus on finding the perspectives in different project phases, operationalizing of perspectives in practice, composition of project team according to perspectives.