Understanding the Antecedents of Project Management Best Practice – Lessons to be learned for and from Aid / Relief Projects Paul Steinfort Doctor of Philosophy 2010 RMIT University i Understanding the Antecedents of Project Management Best Practice – Lessons to be Learned from Aid / Relief Projects A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Paul Steinfort B. School of Property, Construction and Project Management RMIT University April 2010 ii iii Acknowledgements Where does one start and finish in the acknowledgements of the work that has gone into the journey that is this PhD thesis. The journey, I suspect, started very early in my life of action learning. The research started over 40 years ago, but was brought to formation after an approach from a very wise colleague of mine.
Professor Derek Walker convinced me to take on this PhD action research and we saw it through together, as we had earlier projects going back over 30 years, as colleagues, and now friends. We were not alone, we benefited from eminent company but my first acknowledgement must, of course, go to Derek. Neither of us really knew what he influenced me to taking on here, I suspect. Well certainly I did not know what I was getting into in the full demands of this research.
I never thought to do a PhD; it was not on my horizon. Here I was approaching the latter years of my working life and looking for a break, and a good surf break at that. One must wonder why any one person would take it on – the challenge of it, the vagaries of it, the distance, the logistics of it, the philosophy to address it, the praxis and frame to cope with it, the resources to stretch to it, the multiple worlds and worldviews of it, the pain and sacrifice within it, the paradigms and methodologies to bring together for it, the resilience from the risk of it, the structure to resolve within the chaos, the energy to press on regardless, the time to do it all justice, the experience and belief it could be, the mind and others to see. “They said it couldn’t be done, but the darn fools didn’t know that, and they went out and did it” So who were those fools apart from me? No they were not fools; they were amongst some of the finest people one could ever know.
This was a serious journey into risk and no promised personal reward. It was a journey for others and for communities and better practice out there in our world of project management and beyond. Who were the people who supported me and this journey and how can I or even we thank them sufficiently? They are possibly too numerous to mention but it is a matter of thanking as many as can one see and note within the bounds of this thesis. Derek Walker, who had the vision to both articulate and then enable such necessary research.
His initiative and ability to see beyond the horizon is magic but when all as said and done and I had to work it all out he stood firmly there beside me the whole way through. To my wife Noela, who has accompanied me with great wonder, skill and support regardless of the course and its demands for over 40 years now, what does one say? What does one say to such people through a journey such as this? iv How can one convey what it meant to see it through and could one have seen it through without them? They have both been wonderful, invaluable, resourceful, wise, understanding, insightful and encouraging all the way. Then there are so many more near and far who have each at different times, and in their own special ways, been my footsteps in the sand over such a demanding but worthwhile journey. My eldest son Doctor Daniel, who is doing his own PhD in medical research and along with his wife Doctor Emma and their children Liam and Maggie continue on the journey in a different way.
My next eldest son Carl, who worked with me in the field of aid / relief project management, was one of my action research ‘rich picture’ partners in the field and has since started his own development organisation together with his wife Tuuli and new born son, Tom. My next son Paddy, working with me and in these methods of better practice in PSA and in the Bushfire Recovery. Thanks also go to Anna, our Architect daughter, who is also working on a very special project and her husband Richie. In my immediate family line last, but certainly not least, my youngest son Tom, journeying and journaling stories on a wider television palette professionally for all to see.
All of the above have inspired me in their own way in their own time through what they do and then what they lead me to. Then there are those numerous very special project people out there. There are those without whom I could not have resolved this thesis so well. This must start with my other key soft systems methodology ‘rich picture’ partners: Owen Podger, the ‘Gem’, has been a constantly valued member of my extended CoP (Community of Practice) over years now and his knowledge, experience and understanding in this area is second to none.
Jason Brown, who has many years experience and a special care for the people and work in these areas as well and has enabled special insights at key times. Also Doctor Dave Jenkins, Willy Sabandar, Jessica Tabler. Dave Lines, who as a resident of Banda Aceh through the tsunami and since has given me precious insights to local life, disaster response, and again, last but not least Simon Gorman whose practical insights from the field were valuable. Then there are my key PSA Project Management practice project personnel, Garry Smart and David Mackinder who have given ongoing input and feedback in practice.
Kate Whillance and Jean – Edouard Ferrari who have helped with the endnote documentation / resolution for this thesis. Whilst my action research may have started 40 years ago my action learning started 60 years ago and so to my parents Katie and Alex (now deceased) and my siblings Maree, who I have shared the journey v of post disaster bushfire research with, Jan (deceased), Anne, Cate and Gerard, my thanks go out to you too. The numerous people from my extended CoP (Community of Practice), friends and colleagues to name only some ‐ Andrew Griffiths, who really supplied great energy to this work early in this research and Barry Greer whose input has been great and who, he may very well argue, almost deserves an honorary PhD. Carl Putt, Theo Peeters, Michael Bell and Ray Bail provided matter of fact feedback and when I needed it.
Kym Davis and Murray (Muzza) Wilson supplied me with relevant insights and the benefit of their experience on the ground so well. A special acknowledgement goes to Muzza who got me to Aceh immediately after the massive earthquake and tsunami struck in 2004 and who has been in support of me ever since. There is, of course, the PMI (Project Management Institute) who provided the grant for some important journeys of this work and enabled our involvement in several conferences and follow up sessions and outcomes from those. Then there is the AIPM (Australian Institute of Project Management) who again facilitated conference involvement, workshop follow up and their President, Bill Young has encouraged and supported me along the way.
There is RMIT University who sent a senior lecturer, Mike Somers, to our office on his sabbatical, over 20 years ago, to study project management in the hard lane. This then, amongst other things, led to the start of the first ever Masters in Project management course in Australia and then the Doctorate in Project Management run by my long term colleague and mentor, Professor Derek Walker. They also have the gentle Doctor Tayyab Maqsood, who was very helpful to me in gaining better insights to SSM (Soft Systems Methodology), the rich picture developments, which were so watershed in this research, and its overall conclusion. RMIT also awarded me the scholarship that enabled me to undertake this research, so again without the people in this paragraph, especially Derek and RMIT University, it wouldn’t have happened.
And then, certainly too numerous to mention, all those project people out there in our project world, doing it as well as they can under challenging circumstances, the unsung heroes of these developments. Without them it certainly would never happen – action research in the real. Also, the project management professionals and the field workers, co‐ordinators and officers we are always grateful to. They provide the traction to the action research, they make it work, they need to see the sense and we need to enable them to resolve their internal validity to external reality.
Together all these people and more are part of this work which brings real impact to objective outcomes, and to them and all those out there too numerous to thank in writing here, I say a heartfelt, thank you! vi Abstract A recent series of natural disasters has triggered increased research interest in project management research and how to improve delivery of critical aid relief projects, or project in general, in high risk situations. There has, however, been limited research work on the ground into how to improve delivery of these kinds of projects from an effective and practical project management perspective that fully recognises the challenges and difficulties that inhibit project management best practice being applied to these kinds of projects. The project management profession has a long record of developing academic theory and best practice. The Project Management Institute is the largest project management institution in the world with over 280,000 members and it has the most widely recognised Project Management Body of Knowledge, otherwise known as the PMBOK.
This has been refined several times however its content still has limitations, as pointed out by several project management profession thought leaders and as outlined within this thesis. The PMBOK’s formulation was geared to responding to highly visible and tangible projects such as those found in the construction, aerospace and shipbuilding industries. There is an appreciation that management of some projects, particularly those with difficult to define sub‐goals (beyond the obvious highest level goal) requires managing complementarities of high levels of flexibility while maintaining structure. Managing projects in a particularly chaotic environment appears to best characterise the experience related in delivering aid projects in post‐disaster situations.
Each of these above themes assumes a level of project management capability and supporting infrastructure that may not be present in situations of chaos and devastation that occur immediately after natural disasters. Further, organisations that mount the relief and recovery projects may not be experienced or traditionally well equipped in project management expertise terms to successfully manage these projects without incurring a lot of waste and inefficiency. Also, it has become apparent that traditional project management methods, such as those addressed by the PMBOK, do not necessarily work well in these environments. Thus, a valuable topic of research for project management theory is uncovering the tacit assumptions regarding PM performance, namely the antecedents of PM best practice.
What is it that needs to be in place to support and enable project management? These antecedents provide an infrastructure for PM development. vii To summarise the research, this study explores and makes explicit, often tacitly held assumptions that underpin sound PM practice that forms the required infrastructures for PM practice to be achieved. It does so by comparing best PM practice (as experienced, evidenced and demonstrated in practice) with PM practice on distressed and troubled projects that takes place within the context of post‐ disaster relief projects where there is a notable absence of characteristics of required identified PM antecedents.