A Socio-Technical Framework for Lean Project Management Implementation towards Sustainable Value in the Digital Transformation Context

Abstract

Motivated by the project uncertainties of complex realities brought by the fourth industrial revolution, Industry 4.0 (I4.0), researchers must look at Lean project management (LPM) soft skills as a new mindset to have a holistic view of customer needs and to improve value to the organization. In the digital transformation era, it is essential that Lean practitioners develop socio-technical thinking while also prioritizing interpersonal soft skills that directly affect their ability to solve problems in order for the company to grow sustainably. This paper aims to identify the critical soft skills (CSSs) to implement LPM in the I4.0 era and to investigate, from the perspective of organizations, the latent factors for LPM implementation that generate sustainable value. For this purpose, a mixed-method approach was used, combining literature review and a survey with 166 Brazilian professionals. This empirical study intends to set the CSSs from a practice perspective and explore the benefits they generate throughout the organization. Data analysis was conducted with descriptive statistics and factorial analysis. Research findings revealed convergences regarding the practitioners’ perception regarding the ten CSSs identified in the literature, and portray two latent factors, human and process factors, which can assist decision-makers in implementing LPM by offering a better perspective of the key factors that add sustainable value for companies in the digital transformation context. This study contributes to the debate on rethinking traditional skills, accentuates the need for adjustments, and proposes a socio-technical framework that can be used in a project manager’s routine to enable better Lean project execution, help with decision making, and increase the understanding and meeting of customer needs.