A Phenomenological Study On The Lived Experience And Leadership Of Project Managers In An Agile Transformation

This study employed a phenomenological methodology to investigate the shared experiences of project managers of corporations in the United States during a transition to agile project management methodologies. The project managers’ transformation was noteworthy because agile introduces a change in work structures, processes, and leadership. This study sought to understand how eight project managers described their lived experience and leadership during the transition to agile methodologies. Interviews with project managers uncovered identity facets that evolved with their understanding of leadership. The traditional project managers’ common-sense approach to work served as both a barrier and enabler of a change. Project managers who naturally led through control tactics such as documenting and adhering to a detailed plan found agile counterintuitive and challenging. In contrast, project managers who were motivated by serving in the development of others found the transition to agile enlightening and rewarding. The agile transformation afforded project managers the opportunity to serve in a broader leadership capacity. Participants emphasized their role in connecting people and knowledge through a shared understanding of vision and goals. Also noteworthy was the critical role of organizational culture and learning through experimentation and a safe-to-fail environment. Project managers considering a transition to agile would benefit from training to assess the behavioral changes required to adopt an agile mindset. Project managers can use this knowledge to advance their leadership skills and remain relevant in a transformation to agile methodologies

Integrated project and change management framework for healthcare projects : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Quality Systems at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated project and change management framework for healthcare. Transformative healthcare has become front and centre in the health industry, utilising projects as a form of delivery. Healthcare projects invariably create change, to which either staff or patients need to accommodate. Hence, having a framework that consolidated the two practices would be valuable. Set at Auckland District Health Board (ADHB) the research utilised a case study design and employing a pragmatic research methodology as it provided a flexible and more reflexive approach to research design. The research findings show that project and change management can be integrated and extremely useful in a healthcare setting. However, building capability for both domains requires a series of logical, economic and reasonable steps. Due to the time limitation of a master’s thesis, it is difficult to evaluate the new framework's implementation fully. This, however, paves the way for future research