Not all project ambiguity is equal: A typology of project ambiguity and implications for its management

Abstract

Ambiguity is integral to managing projects, yet little is currently known about the types of ambiguity faced by project managers, and how they respond to the different types of ambiguity. To contribute to knowledge on the nature and outcomes of ambiguity in the project management context, we conducted two studies to explore the types of ambiguity experienced by project managers (study 1) and how project managers experience and manage these ambiguities (study 2). In study 1, we used survey data from 312 project managers describing 704 discrete ambiguous situations in projects to construct a typology of ambiguous situations in the project management context. In study 2, we conducted 18 interviews with project managers to explore how they experience and manage ambiguities in their projects. Collectively, these studies revealed that 1) project managers face numerous types of ambiguities in projects, which we catalogued into seven higher order categories, 2) “task related” ambiguities tend to evoke more positive emotions in project managers, while “people related” ambiguities tend to evoke more negative emotions, and 3) experienced project managers tend to engage in a range of common practices that allow them to effectively manage ambiguity. Our findings have a range of implications for how project managers can best be trained and supported in the context of high ambiguity.