Master students from HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences are currently researching the impact of national cultural factors versus personality traits on the individual’s success using agile project management techniques. Their data will be gathered through a quantitative survey of project management professionals, and the larger the sample size of respondents, the more accurate will be the findings.

The motivation for this new research project stems from the global shift to agile project management methods. Against the backdrop of a turbulent, volatile environment, project managers are confronted with constantly changing trends, needs and requirements, for which they should have the right solution and answer in record time. Traditional plan-driven project management structures may not be able to keep pace with those challenges. In the age of digitalization, many companies, therefore, have shifted to a vision-driven agile project management style.

Agile project management style differs from traditional project management methods, the project stages are viewed as distinct, separate phases that are passed through step-by-step toward the ultimate release to consumers. As companies shift the way they view and tackle projects, employees must be able to adapt to this new project management style.

This new research project will examine the role of selected cultural and personality factors in the individuals’ abilities to practice agile project management styles. It will to provide new insight into why certain cultures and/or personality types are more likely to adopt and succeed with agile project management techniques than others. In that respect, selected cultural dimensions from Hall, Meyer, Hofstede, and other major scholars will be analyzed, compared, and combined with each other and the agile management characteristics. The Myers-Briggs personality type indicators will be used to analyze the personality traits of individuals and to determine which are best suited for successful agile project management execution.

As more companies switch to agile project management methods for an ever-growing workload of digital projects, this new research field is an important and topical subject which will help organisations to understand the needs for new training methods and contents for their employees. But also the national Project Management associations as well as Project Management trainers and lecturers will gain new insight perspectives on the specific local needs for more focused agile training contents.

If you are interested in supporting this research, the survey can be found at:
https://qfxgo.com/l/pmstudy

The results will be presented in a form of a blog within the website of International Project Management Association www.ipma.world as well as within IPMA’s social media channels (FB, LinkedIn and Twitter – please see below) and academic paper. If you would like to obtain a final copy of the thesis, please contact IPMA (via my email address: yvonne.schoper@ipma.world) and the research will be shared.

Thank you for your cooperation!

 Yvonne Schoper

Professor for International Project Management

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