Feasibility and planning

Abstract

Early project phases are crucial for the chance of project success, yet uncertainties stemming from the dynamic context of projects are difficult to manage in a pure waterfall approach. Marian Bosch-Rekveldt, Hans Bakker and Marcel Hertogh explore how the feasibility and planning phases could benefit from a more flexible approach, specifically focusing on interaction, collaboration and adopting a change mindset. The real-life example of the complex Zuidasdok project illustrates that uncertainties are part of the project manager’s job and these uncertainties have to be dealt with rather than reduced. This implies additional requirements for individual and team competencies. In addition to affinity with the content and more flexible project management tools, collaborative skills are becoming more and more crucial as ‘People are Key’. These skills create a pole position for the later stages of the project and allow us to act upon any changes in the context.