Start Date

12-16-2013

Description

Unexpected events occur during many IT projects and need to be adequately addressed so that their potentially negative impacts can be mitigated. While various tools and methodologies are available to help IT project teams better manage projects, our knowledge of unexpected events remains limited. To better understand such events, their impacts, and how project teams can respond to them, it is important to first comprehend their nature. As a preliminary step in that direction, the present study conceptualizes unexpected events in IT projects based on a case survey of 50 unexpected events described in 38 published case studies. Our analyses suggest three complementary categorizations of unexpected events based on their source, scope and genesis. Further, based on the premise that different unexpected events are likely to lead to different project team responses and outcomes, we suggest several propositions for future research.

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Dec 16th, 12:00 AM

Conceptualizing unexpected events in IT projects

Unexpected events occur during many IT projects and need to be adequately addressed so that their potentially negative impacts can be mitigated. While various tools and methodologies are available to help IT project teams better manage projects, our knowledge of unexpected events remains limited. To better understand such events, their impacts, and how project teams can respond to them, it is important to first comprehend their nature. As a preliminary step in that direction, the present study conceptualizes unexpected events in IT projects based on a case survey of 50 unexpected events described in 38 published case studies. Our analyses suggest three complementary categorizations of unexpected events based on their source, scope and genesis. Further, based on the premise that different unexpected events are likely to lead to different project team responses and outcomes, we suggest several propositions for future research.