ABSTRACT
Literature shows that ‘the underlying theory of project management is obsolete’ (Koskela and Howell, 2002a), that ‘in prior literature it has been generally seen that there is no explicit theory of project management’ (Koskela and Howell, 2002a) and that ‘several prominent authors have raised the need to introduce alternative theoretical approaches to the study of projects, and to identify the implications that they may have for how we organize and manage projects’ (Cicmil and Hodgson, 2006). The quest for a theory of project management can therefore be considered as problematic. From a project manager’s point of view it seems to be important that project management theories are practical; practical in the sense that it enhances practitioners’ understanding and practical in that it works. The central question that we address in this chapter is thus: what is the foundation of a practical theory of project management?
