An inquiring framework for changing project management practice: A qualitative method study

This research is designed to advance the theoretical and practical knowledge in the area of project management through the development of an inquiring, integrative project management framework. The methodological framework used in this work is based on an interpretivist philosophy using grounded theory building within a systems thinking framework. This research is based on a qualitative methodology resulting in an in depth analysis of data provided by interviews. The data collected and analysed in this research shows that project management is a very complex and multifaceted issue, context dependent and in a continual state of flux. People are a major cause of complexity and the case for an inquiring approach is introduced by a study of project management literature and supported by the results of the analysis of the data sets acquired in this work. The research is concerned with the development of an inquiring, integrative project management framework that allows for a high degree of contextualization to take place during its application to reflect the real world nature of projects. The concept of a project system is used to underpin the framework. The project system used to underpin the framework, supports the dynamic, contextual and iterative nature of project management. A comparison of the framework with the real world view of project management practitioners was carried out (validation), resulting in some refinements of the framework, increased confidence that it has practical applicability and some future directions for research. A claimed methodological contribution is the use of grounded theory for construction of new knowledge within a systems thinking framework. The inquiring, integrative project management framework developed in this work contributes to project management practice and a user guide is provided to support its application. The framework, which represents the outcome of this research, can be seen as a useful instrument to aid project management practitioners. The framework can be utilized to carry out inquiry with varying levels of detail and it offers the flexibility necessary for contextualization of projects to support decision making. Project management is treated as a human activity, where the central idea is that people and context are key to the success of the project and not, for example, the project management method.