The Project-space Model: Visualising the enablers and constraints for a given project

Abstract

This paper proposes a tool that can be used by practitioners to identify and represent the enablers to, and constraints on, the progress of a specific project: the Project-space Model. The diagrammatic tool is a response to the limitations of universal “critical success factors” for projects, and the calls for a more tailored and contextualised approach to managing projects. The Project-space Model prototype presented in the article embeds concepts from Heideggerian thinking, complexity science, Gestalt theory, and Lewin's Force Field analysis and life-space model. The tool has a ‘current-space’ and a ‘forecast-space’ and information regarding the enabling and constraining factors is shown through colour, scale and placement of icons within the ‘spaces’. The model is currently being tested through an action research case study. It is anticipated that the model will enable stakeholders to identify where their attention and action is most required in a given project.