Projects are unique, complex, multi-activity tasks constrained by predetermined time, cost and specification goals. Projects and their management are an increasingly prevalent and important aspect of modern organizational life. They are thought to increase organizational flexibility and ability to deal with change. The project mode of organization, as found in professional service firms, networked organizations and virtual corporations, is often proclaimed the future, or post modern, organizational form.; While Project Management is relatively new phenomenon for business research, there exists a large body of Project Management literature arising mostly out of engineering disciplines. Most of this research implies that we know how to manage projects. Unfortunately, this is belied by the numbers of projects that are perceived to fail. This study utilizes both a contingency view of Project Management, and a sensemaking approach to understanding organizations to address the practically and theoretically important problem: Why do so many projects fail?; Project Management is found to be a construct ultimately very dependent on the social construction of those involved in projects. Not only are more than one understanding of Project Management common amongst experienced project participants, the interplay of these varied understandings is both beneficial and detrimental for those operating in project arenas. Exploring the formation and use of these understandings makes important theoretical contributions to the Project Management literature and practise. Documenting how project participants sensemaking activities around Project Management affect the actions they take on projects and the outcomes and judgments of those outcomes makes an important contribution to sensemaking theory by linking meanings and actions.
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