Link to thesis - Concept - NTNU

1. IntroductionA literature review in an early part of the work on this thesis (Paper 4) gaveindications that flexible projects are primarily enablers for improvement ofeffectiveness rather than efficiency. This notion has served as guidance for themethodological choice of data collection and projects to be studied.1.6 Structure of the thesisThe thesis consists of two parts. Part one serves three main purposes. First, it statesthe key research questions that the whole thesis addresses. The research questions arepresented in the next section of this chapter. Second, part one discusses the appliedmethodology of the thesis as a whole. The studies presented in each paper are utilisedwith the aim of making the whole thesis more than just the sum of its individual parts.Finally, part one provides a summary of results from the research.Part two consist of nine papers. Paper 1, 2 and 3 present results relating to studies ofmajor engineering projects, most of them governmental. One aim of these papers is toanalyse similarities and differences between projects and flexibility approaches. Paper4 consists of a literature study on flexibility. The next paper, Paper 5, focuses onrailways. Railway investment projects were chosen for in-depth studies of oneparticular type of governmental investment. Another sector-specific study related tohospitals is presented in Paper 6. Paper 7 and 8 benefited from the analyses presentedin the preceding papers, but also contribute other aspects to the subject.1.7 Research questionsThe purpose of this research is to structure knowledge on project flexibility. Based onstudies of different parts of the life cycle of projects, the research aims at providingindications as to how flexibility can be addressed in the front-end phase of largepublic investments.The following two key research questions are addressed in the thesis:How can different aspects of flexibility in projects be analysed?Flexibility is discussed as a blessing and a curse. Flexibility for one stakeholder isoften viewed as another stakeholder’s risk. The thesis also aims at identifying otheraspects of flexibility which can contribute to an analysis of the issue. These aspectswill be summarised as an analytical framework for project flexibility.After studying project flexibility, what are the implications for project front-endmanagement?The thesis aims at identifying characteristics of successful project flexibilitymanagement. Such knowledge may prove valuable in the preparations of futureprojects. The results will be summarised as generic approaches for flexibilitymanagement.5