Project Management

The project environment is often referred to as a ‘temporary organization’ where social interactions occur to deliver projects. The aim of a project is to deliver a unique outcome that solves a problem for a client within a specified time frame. Action research, with its foundations in social enquiry, provides a complementary approach to solving problems using iterative feedback cycles. In both project management and action research, there are prescribed cycles to conceptualize, plan, implement and close the work being undertaken. These action research cycles suggest a linear or single-loop approach, as in the application of the project management methods PMBOK, PRINCE2, and Logframe. However, the action research approach can also include multiple cycles of problem-solving activity to address a research issue, which is represented in the overlapping cycles of the Agile project management method.

The action research cycle is based on a continuous feedback loop that requires ‘actors’ to plan, act, observe and reflect in order to be able to identify variations and then manage them. The ‘actors’, or project managers, are involved in this collaborative inquiry to work systematically to evaluate their actions through a self-reflective spiral that informs future action cycles and also ‘spin-off’ cycles. These action research cycles can also be defined by the type of research project. For example, if the outcome is known, a technical approach may be appropriate; if the project drives the action, then a practical approach may be required; and if all participants play a role, then the research project may be defined as critical.

The subjective interpretation of information in action research, as with project management, can be classified as ‘idiographic’ as the work undertaken may not be objective, although interpretation of data and experiences can rely on multiple sources of information. The project manager and the action researcher have an opportunity to then test and explain any emerging deviations or themes that may contradict the expected outcomes and prior analysis of data.