Bridging the Gap: Addressing Key Challenges in IT Project Management

The needs and work patterns of architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) projects vary greatly. As such, creating and implementing information systems to assist projects is challenging. This paper proposes a project-centric research and development methodology that aims to address these issues by combining iterative information system improvement directly on projects in small action research implementation cycles with ethnographic observation of practitioners working in local project organizations to understand their local requirements. The examples show that ethnographic–action research is a useful tool for assisting with the creation and application of information systems. Specifically, the study demonstrates that the approach allowed researchers on the researchers' ability to pinpoint specific issues with AEC projects through the use of case studies, and further enabled them to modify information systems in close coordination with the project practitioners. Five major integrative research problems are identified in the report, along with suggestions for how to effectively address and potentially even capitalize on them. The study expands on current discussions in the field of engaged scholarship and knowledge co-production, which demand a stronger emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches and partnerships between research and practice. In order to address the issues raised, the article makes recommendations for how academics studying project management may elevate the field's reputation in the academic community and enhance its inclusion in business and management schools' curricula and research agendas.