Experimental learning to see through strategic behaviour in large scale projects

Analytical techniques for project management, such as CPM, PERT, cost estimation, and budgeting, are widely applied in business. Especially when used in large scale projects, these techniques are sensitive to strategic stakeholder behaviour. High costs, long duration, high technological uncertainty, and high diversity of contractors that have to co-operate, are characteristics that are intrinsic to large scale projects and can be abused by contractors to maximise their own interests. The project management game presented in this paper provides a context for experimental learning about strategic contractor behaviour. Although stylised and simplified, the game evokes patterns of behaviour of project managers and contractors that are sufficiently realistic to draw important lessons about the possibilities and limits of analytical techniques in large scale projects.