Beyond the Boundaries

Abstract

Over the last decades, the complexity of projects has been increasing. Studies have shown that using existing project management theories in a traditional manner has failed to bring success (Whitty & Maylor, 2009). It is impossible to predict everything and act according to a static plan (Sohi et al., 2019). Improvisation is inevitable (Alhussein et al., 2022; Hamzeh et al., 2019) and therefore necessary to be researched.
A substantial part of previous research has focussed on using a jazz metaphor when describing how improvisation can be implemented within organisations, see Barrett (1998), Hatch (1999) and Weick (1998). A specific type of organisation is the project team, which is temporary and focusses on delivering a project. However, the parallels with improvisation in jazz have not been applied to project management yet. Although existing studies on improvisation in project management show the value (Abuseem et al., 2023; Leybourne, 2011; Malucelli et al., 2021), they remain theoretical and lack the application of improvisation. Hence, the main research question of this research is: “What can we learn from applying the parallels between improvisation in jazz and organisation to project management?”.
Because of the exploratory nature of the research, qualitative methods are applied. First, a literature study is carried out, which is followed by in-depth interviews and observations of design team meetings. The combination of the methods allows triangulation. This research limits itself to improvisational actions within the design phase of construction projects, which means that the construction phase has been omitted. It is scientifically relevant by focussing on getting a new understanding of improvisation in project management using the parallels. Moreover, it is societally relevant by gaining insights into the dynamics and improvisations within design teams, which can help to improve improvisational actions.

We can learn that the parallels, between improvisation in jazz and organisation, can be applied to project management actions taking place in the so-called safe zone. This is a created setting in which all the disciplines come together to (re)act based on their knowledge and experience. The safe zone can be compared to a jazz jam session, which is characterized by its informality and the going back-and-forth between the musicians. The actions taking place within the safe zone could be described as improvisations on a microscale. Furthermore, another type of improvisation in project management has been defined. These are reactions to exogenous trigger events outside of the safe zone. Trigger events could be unexpected behaviour, an external change in circumstances, a late substantial design change or a substantial change in requirements. In jazz, there are also trigger events present. However, the reactions to the trigger events are still part of the safe zone in jazz, while in project management, this is not the case. Therefore, the parallels have not been applied to reactions to exogenous trigger events.

In general, this research suggests that by applying the parallels, a new way of understanding design teams in project management is revealed. The applied parallels show that design team meetings are not meetings in which the project manager follows a strict agenda and controls a hierarchical structure as described in traditional project management literature. Instead, the design team meetings are comparable to a jazz jam session in which the course is determined by all the disciplines. The openness of the project manager and emphasis on team dynamics are crucial in facilitating improvisations.