New Times, New Projects, New Tools Required

Abstract

Today, it is almost impossible to find organisations without any ongoing projects. Projects seem to play an increasingly important role in most organisations. Projects are nowadays often small, frequent and a normal way of organising work. Most project managers are working in arenas quite different compared with those where the standard toolbox was originally developed, i.e. large construction and development projects. During the last two decades, several researchers have stressed the necessity of adapting leadership style and usage of techniques, e.g. for project planning, to meet the specific requirements of each project type. In this paper we move one step further, and suggest that the choice of project management methods and techniques must be based on the characteristics of each individual project. If there would be only one common tool in the toolbox for every project manager it ought to be an analysis model or method to create an understanding of the actual projects characteristics. Supported by three comprehensive case studies in three different organisations, carried out through an action research methodology during 5 years (2004-2009), this paper presents two models for such project analysis. The first model is a suggested project typology consisting of five project archetypes derived from a strategic management perspective. The second is a project diagnosis, featuring 15 questions formulated to reveal important project characteristics with relevance for the required leadership. We argue that these two models can serve as useful tools for project management and business oriented steering, since they are aiming at guiding leaders towards effectively focusing their attention to the areas most critical for project success