A design science research approach to closing the gap between the research and practice of project scheduling

Abstract

This paper illustrates one researcher’s experience of applying Design Science Research (DSR) to the nexus between systems thinking and project scheduling. Project management has become increasingly popular in the decades since its advent but has changed little in that time. This is especially true is of its signature technique, project scheduling. Scheduling research however is vibrant and modern and even includes dynamic concepts such as learning curves in schedule construction. However, justifications for acquiring this level of systems literacy have not yet convinced the practice community. A similar gap is identified in management science and a literature review yields two potential solutions; dissolving the subjective-objective divide by adopting Critical Realism and using Design Science Research as a framework for producing artefacts. This paper outlines how these concepts were applied to project scheduling, resulting in a new method for schedule construction that allows an expanded range of concepts to be included.