Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitioners

Project management needs a greater variety of research methods that go beyond case studies, interviews, surveys, and so on. We claim that soft systems methodology (SSM) has underdeveloped potential to contribute to developing project management knowledge. In this paper, we propose to mobilise this o...

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Main Authors: Carl Marnewick, Alejandro Romero-Torres, Julie Delisle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Project Leadership and Society
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666721524000127
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author Carl Marnewick
Alejandro Romero-Torres
Julie Delisle
author_facet Carl Marnewick
Alejandro Romero-Torres
Julie Delisle
author_sort Carl Marnewick
collection DOAJ
description Project management needs a greater variety of research methods that go beyond case studies, interviews, surveys, and so on. We claim that soft systems methodology (SSM) has underdeveloped potential to contribute to developing project management knowledge. In this paper, we propose to mobilise this original research method (SSM) to shed light on the topic of product and project management integration – an emerging matter that is a source of tensions in practice, given that they rely on different logics. This study aimed to illustrate how rich pictures can elucidate concepts for clarification. This was done through a workshop consisting of practitioners involved in product and project management. The results from this study highlight that SSM can be used as an alternative to interviews and surveys to conceptualise a ‘messy’ situation. We highlight some benefits of the method, such as participant engagement and sense of ownership, and the outcome (visual artefact) can be used afterwards for feedback and communication.
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spelling doaj-art-50fe47d81d0e4516a29ba9d6b07617ea2024-12-14T06:33:14ZengElsevierProject Leadership and Society2666-72152024-12-015100127Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitionersCarl Marnewick0Alejandro Romero-Torres1Julie Delisle2University of Johannesburg, Applied Information System, South Africa; Corresponding author.Université du Québec à Montréal, CanadaUniversité du Québec à Montréal, CanadaProject management needs a greater variety of research methods that go beyond case studies, interviews, surveys, and so on. We claim that soft systems methodology (SSM) has underdeveloped potential to contribute to developing project management knowledge. In this paper, we propose to mobilise this original research method (SSM) to shed light on the topic of product and project management integration – an emerging matter that is a source of tensions in practice, given that they rely on different logics. This study aimed to illustrate how rich pictures can elucidate concepts for clarification. This was done through a workshop consisting of practitioners involved in product and project management. The results from this study highlight that SSM can be used as an alternative to interviews and surveys to conceptualise a ‘messy’ situation. We highlight some benefits of the method, such as participant engagement and sense of ownership, and the outcome (visual artefact) can be used afterwards for feedback and communication.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666721524000127Rich picturesSoft systems methodologyProduct managementDigitalSSM
spellingShingle Carl Marnewick
Alejandro Romero-Torres
Julie Delisle
Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitioners
Project Leadership and Society
Rich pictures
Soft systems methodology
Product management
Digital
SSM
title Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitioners
title_full Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitioners
title_fullStr Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitioners
title_full_unstemmed Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitioners
title_short Rich pictures as a research method in project management – A way to engage practitioners
title_sort rich pictures as a research method in project management a way to engage practitioners
topic Rich pictures
Soft systems methodology
Product management
Digital
SSM
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666721524000127
work_keys_str_mv AT carlmarnewick richpicturesasaresearchmethodinprojectmanagementawaytoengagepractitioners
AT alejandroromerotorres richpicturesasaresearchmethodinprojectmanagementawaytoengagepractitioners
AT juliedelisle richpicturesasaresearchmethodinprojectmanagementawaytoengagepractitioners