Applications of Blockchain Technology in Project Management — A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Project implementation failures are often seen due to sustainable development problems. Developing countries suffer in terms of successful development projects due to a lack of transparency, poor information communication management, and many more that lead to poor project management. Blockchain applications aim to develop ecosystems that satisfy the high-security requirements of the users in enterprises such as finance, supply chain, and insurance which are more complex than the project management domain. This research reviewed several blockchain-based applications to fill this gap and identify the potential areas of blockchain systems in the project management field. Therefore, this paper first reviews the state-of-the-art blockchain use cases in project management to investigate the current status of blockchain applications in the domain of project management. Then presents an architecture based on the review results to guide researchers and developers in designing blockchain-based applications which are unique for the project management domain. The review reveals that blockchain technology has a wide range of unique functionalities and capabilities that contribute management of projects. This systematic review unveils the directions to new blockchain research in the domain of project management.