Factors influencing critical project decisions
Summary
This research report, sponsored by APM, sheds light on how critical project decisions are made and their impact on project success.
The research has been carried out by Dr Natalie Marguet, senior lecturer at the School of Leadership and Organisational Development, Liverpool John Moores University, with a focus on improving decision-making effectiveness. The study draws insights from several theories, explores project decisions as complex social phenomena and proposes an alternative but complementary perspective to linear and rational decision-making practice.
Based on the exploratory research undertaken, four simple practices are proposed that assist project professionals in improving the effectiveness of their decision-making. They are as follows:
- Project decisions are dynamic; therefore, it is essential to consider the cognitive and situational factors that influence project decisions.
- Structured reflective practices enable project professionals to learn from their experiences and enhance how they make decisions.
- Embedding structured debriefs into decision processes provides opportunities to make sense of the decision situations and assess appropriate styles and strategies of decision-making.
- Timely feedback must be incorporated within an iterative decision process that is broader than performance-related aspects of project decisions.