ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the rule systems that govern project initiation decisions and the influences that individual participants in the project initiation decision process have on applying and influencing those rule systems. It explores the experiences of the project initiation experiences of participants in a variety of organizations and work environments. The chapter examies the approach to project initiation, and the organizational and individual factors that contributed to this process. In process-based environments, where project initiation is determined by formal structures, the independence and agency of those in the project shaper role is actually constrained by the formality and rigour of processes within the organization. Depending upon the environment, the agency of individual actors can also influence decision effectiveness independently. The willingness of actors to exercise influence, autonomy, independence, and to step out of the organizational rule system when appropriate, was a key influence in ensuring effective project initiation decisions.
