Abstract:
ProjectManagement (PM) has traditionally focused
on the needs of complicated, stable project contexts,
efficient delivery to predetermined goals and
coordination of multiple separable elements. The
discipline is based on the hard paradigm, and has
been well suited to traditional application areas, but
many new application areas place significantly different
demands upon the project manager, and are
arguably more suited to a basis in the soft paradigm.
However, much of the theoretical underpinning of
PM remains implicit, making transition to a new
paradigmatic basis problematic.
Research into classification systems and case studies
by University ofTechnology, Sydney researchers
has resulted in a framework for analysis of the hard
and soft aspects of projects, applied to the New
South Wales public sector, and most recently in an
information systems strategy development project.
This framework has been developed as a practical
aid to discussion of the influence of the hard and
soft paradigms on PM practice, and uncovering the
limitations that operating from a single paradigm
can place upon practice. Links between the distinction
between the hard and soft paradigms and
complexity theory are also identified.
