University of Twente Student Theses
It's all in your head: Prevent negative effects of biases in ICT project management decision-making.
Gend, J.E. van (2020) It's all in your head: Prevent negative effects of biases in ICT project management decision-making.
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| Abstract: | Biases can significantly disrupt rational decision-making processes and derail ICT projects. A mixed-methods approach was used to investigate the occurrence, impact, and reduction of biases in project management decision-making. It concerned three studies. Firstly, a series of existing project management cases (n = 15) was studied to identify the occurrence and impact of biases in decision-making. Secondly, a two-stage experiment (n = 117) was used to identify the effect of uncertainty, complexity, and an intervention on the occurrence of biases. Thirdly, a series of interviews with experienced project managers (n = 8) was conducted to validate the findings and the feasibility and value of the intervention as a method for project managers. The studies found evidence to support the notion that biases are both frequent and impactful in ICT project management and their occurrence is increased significantly when projects become more uncertain and complex. Moreover, a combined method focussing on awareness of common biases and a tool to confront complexity and uncertainty rationally, are found to significantly reduce the occurrence of biases in decision-making. Project managers can thus, through relatively simple interventions in their decision-making processes, improve decision-making quality and reduce preventable negative outcomes resulting from biased decision-making. |
| Item Type: | Essay (Master) |
| Faculty: | BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences |
| Subject: | 70 social sciences in general, 85 business administration, organizational science |
| Programme: | Business Administration MSc (60644) |
| Link to this item: | https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/83876 |
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