Making Projects Critical

It is very seldom that I read something which makes me question my own deeply rooted perspectives on management practice. By the time I had finished reading Making Projects Critical, however, I had begun to question my fundamental understanding of what projects are (or if they even exist), the utility of much prescriptive project management advice and even the value of my own undergraduate education! In Making Projects Critical, Hodgson and Cicmil have assembled a fascinating array of cerebral perspectives on the practice of project management which share a common perspective; that they examine the practice of project management through a critical lens. Together, the authors subject the practice of project management, and the instrumental nostrums upon which much contemporary practice is based, to critical examination. Drawing upon a wide range of sociological theory and using examples taken from several industries and sectors, the authors contrast mainstream notions of projects and their management with the lived realities of those who practice project management. The result is a deeply thought‐provoking text which provides new insights for practitioners and researchers alike.

Rather than simply question the efficacy of mainstream approaches to project management, Hodgson and Cicmil predicate the contribution of the book on the understanding of what we do when we call something a project. In the first two chapters, they examine the implications of the reification of the “project” and the naturalisation of the project as a backdrop to the ensuing contributions. They encourage critical management research for its emancipatory qualities in moving beyond realist perspectives and the tendency to engage in the reification of “the project”. The first section of the book presents theoretical perspectives on projects and their management. In the next chapter, Linehan and Kavanagh position the project as an emergent outcome of ambiguous political practices rather than as a temporary endeavour with a distinct goal. They advocate a “becoming” ontology with a focus on language and intersubjective understanding as a route to making sense of endeavours labelled as projects. Bresen's chapter extends some of this thinking around the limitations of project management theory by questioning the differences between project management knowledge and practice and the wider discourses of organisational learning and change. Treating these two areas as syllogistic is problematic, he argues, thereby challenging the idea that projects are a powerful source of change and innovatory practice. The opening section is completed by Thomas, who subjects the “truths” presented in leading texts to critical scrutiny. Adopting a Foucauldian perspective, she argues that PM attempts to rationalise what is non‐normal. Rejecting this view demands that the project is problematised as a basis for new understanding.

A second group of chapters takes an empirical perspective on the management of projects in organisations. Lindgren and Packendorff examine the project from the perspective of those that work on them. By using Focault's analysis of the prison system as a metaphor for project work they show projects to be less open and informal technologies for disciplining subjects. Nocker focuses on the shifting boundaries of projects to frame the “project horizon” from the perspective of the actors involved. Linde and Linderoth similarly see projects as ongoing translations of a vision. They adopt a socio‐technical lens to reveal how the interpretative flexibility of the technology in their cases led to conflicting translations. Molloy and Whittington examine how project practitioners “construct society” in reorganisation projects, through which they develop a fresh interpretation of project practice. By contrast, Smith reflects on his own experiences to explain how rational measures of the success and failure of project management are deployed by those involved to defend their interests. The third set of contributions examine projects involving multiple interactions. Here, Marshall examines the complexities of power and how this plays out under the discourse of “partnering” within the civil engineering sector. Green retains a focus on the UK construction sector in examining the “performance” of project management as played out by project participants. Next, Sydow adopts a structuration perspective in order to better understand the embeddedness of projects within social networks through which issues such as perception, process and power can be addressed. Clegg et al. examine the future orientation of projects, examining how a successful team understood their project in the “future perfect” which allows for a new conception of how projects should be managed. Sillince et al. analyse the failure of an IT project through the lens of discourse and rhetoric as a contrast to mainstream approaches of analysis. Ivory et al. conclude this section by drawing upon symbolic interactionism and sense‐making to highlight the conflicting discourses of different groups attempting to understand the project.

In the final chapter, Morris, whose work is extensively cited within this text as a leading mainstream project management author, is invited to provide a rejoinder to the preceding contributions. Somewhat ironically given the nature of the perspectives adopted by the authors, Morris holds up a mirror to many of the earlier contributions, suggesting that some of the criticism appears to subvert the original intention of mainstream project management proponents. This chapter adds a sense of balance to the proceedings and helps to reconnect some of the preceding arguments to the broader mainstream project management literature. I found Morris' rejoinder fairly sobering in parts; it is all too easy to get so sucked into the persuasive critical perspectives presented here to the extent that we end up throwing the baby out with bathwater!

This book defines new directions for furthering our understanding of the actuality of projects and how they are experienced by those that manage them. Although potential readers would benefit from a rudimentary knowledge of social theory, this is by no means a prerequisite as the concepts are carefully introduced and reinforced by the authors. The way with which the editors have selected and ordered the material in this book is exemplary, as is the scholarship on which the contributions are based. Put simply, this is one of the most refreshing and thought‐provoking texts I have read on the practice of project management. Hodgson, Cicmil and their authors have made a seminal contribution to project and organizational studies. Making Projects Critical should be essential reading for project management researchers and practitioners alike.