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Information Systems Development pp 509–520Cite as

Resolving Emergent Issues in Complex Projects: A Knowledge Management Approach

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Abstract

Complex projects are characterised by structural complexity, ambiguity about the goals of the project and uncertainty about the means to achieve those goals. This is compounded when the project is conducted in an unstructured or volatile context and aims to deliver innovation for the client. In this paper we argue that in this context project management should be seen as a knowledge-based practice and that knowledge management principles need to be explicitly integrated into project management practices. We introduce a theoretical framework that incorporates knowledge management techniques to manage emergent issues, to escalate these issues and to resolve them as well as accommodates learning and the evolution and adaptation of project management practices. The framework is illustrated through two studies that show the impact of knowledge processes on projects.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business, Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Jill Owen

  2. Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Australia Henry

    Henry Linger

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  1. Jill Owen
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  2. Henry Linger
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Correspondence to Jill Owen .

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    © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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    Owen, J., Linger, H. (2009). Resolving Emergent Issues in Complex Projects: A Knowledge Management Approach. In: Wojtkowski, W., Wojtkowski, G., Lang, M., Conboy, K., Barry, C. (eds) Information Systems Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68772-8_39

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-68772-8_39

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    • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

    • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-30403-8

    • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-68772-8

    • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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