The strategy of parallel approaches in projects with unforeseeable uncertainty: the Manhattan case in retrospect

Sylvain Lenfle
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Sylvain Lenfle: CRG - Centre de recherche en gestion - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UCP - Université de Cergy Pontoise - Université Paris-Seine

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Abstract: This paper discusses the literature on the management of projects with unforeseeable uncertainty. Recent work demonstrates that, when confronted with unforeseeable uncertainties, managers can adopt either a learning, trial-and-error-based strategy, or a parallel approach. In the latter, different solutions are developed in parallel and the best one is chosen when enough information becomes available. Studying the case of the Manhattan Project, which historically exemplifies the power of the parallel approach, has lead us to show that the either/or logic underlying the existing literature on the parallel approach oversimplifies the question. The Manhattan case demonstrates that managers must not necessarily choose between solutions, but can also combine them or add new ones during the project.

Keywords: Manhattan Project; Project Management; Parallel Approach; Combination; Unforeseeable uncertainty; Innovation; Manhattan Project. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ppm
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-00658346v1
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

Published in International Journal of Project Management, 2011, 29 (4), pp.359-373

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