Strategic planning characteristics applied to project management

Abstract

This paper examines the application of strategic planning characteristics from prior strategic planning research to project management. Drawing from prior research in strategic planning, strategic information systems planning and strategic manufacturing planning, this research combines strategic planning characteristics derived from a rational approach with a second set of adaptive characteristics to create a comprehensive model. The resulting “rational adaptive” approach is then assessed empirically to evaluate its relevance to PM and whether it is associated with increased project success. In addition, the “rational adaptive” approach is mapped to established PM tools/techniques. Findings indicate that PM is captured by varying degrees of a rational adaptive approach, which is positively correlated with PM success and use of PM tools/techniques. These results suggest that strategic planning characteristics can be effectively incorporated into a generalized PM framework, yielding potentially useful insights regarding the relationship of PM behaviors to eventual project success.