<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Increased project complexity, project dynamics and changes in clients’ requirements are a few examples that suggest the necessity for flexibility in project management in order to deliver successful projects. Despite the fact that literature suggests adding flexibility to project management, there is no existing framework that provides a practical method for adding flexibility into the practice of project management in the construction industry. Therefore, this research is aimed at proposing a practical framework that helps practitioners in embedding project management flexibility into their project management practice. The research question is as follows: how to embed flexibility in the practice of project management in the early project phases? To answer the research question, four sub-questions have been formulated, which have been separately researched. The main question is answered by proposing a flexibility framework. This framework comprises four stages: understanding the current situation, practitioners’ perspectives on flexible project management, choosing enablers to become flexible and applying selected enablers to improve project performance. The framework is validated using the examples given by practitioners from 24 cases. Considering the movements towards flexibility and adaptability concepts, this research fills the gap in literature by providing a practical framework for project management flexibility. Moreover, it provides a step-by-step guideline for practitioners to embed flexibility in practice.</p></abstract>

Increased project complexity, project dynamics and changes in clients’ requirements are a few examples that suggest the necessity for flexibility in project management in order to deliver successful projects. Despite the fact that literature suggests adding flexibility to project management, there is no existing framework that provides a practical method for adding flexibility into the practice of project management in the construction industry. Therefore, this research is aimed at proposing a practical framework that helps practitioners in embedding project management flexibility into their project management practice. The research question is as follows: how to embed flexibility in the practice of project management in the early project phases? To answer the research question, four sub-questions have been formulated, which have been separately researched. The main question is answered by proposing a flexibility framework. This framework comprises four stages: understanding the current situation, practitioners’ perspectives on flexible project management, choosing enablers to become flexible and applying selected enablers to improve project performance. The framework is validated using the examples given by practitioners from 24 cases. Considering the movements towards flexibility and adaptability concepts, this research fills the gap in literature by providing a practical framework for project management flexibility. Moreover, it provides a step-by-step guideline for practitioners to embed flexibility in practice.

Four stages of making project management flexible: insight, importance, implementation and improvement

Organization, Technology and Management in Construction: an International Journal

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Increased project complexity, project dynamics and changes in clients’ requirements are a few examples that suggest the necessity for flexibility in project...

Four stages of making project management flexible: insight, importance, implementation and improvement

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Jan 29, 2021

Page range: 2117 - 2136

Received: Nov 16, 2019

Accepted: Feb 21, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2020-0008

Keywords
flexible project management, agile project management, early project phases, project performance

© 2020 Afshin Jalali Sohi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Four stages of making project management flexible: insight, importance, implementation and improvement

Article Category: Research Paper

Published Online: Jan 29, 2021

Page range: 2117 - 2136

Received: Nov 16, 2019

Accepted: Feb 21, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/otmcj-2020-0008

Keywordsflexible project management, agile project management, early project phases, project performance

© 2020 Afshin Jalali Sohi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
flexible project management, agile project management, early project phases, project performance