Uncovering temporal underpinnings of project management standards

Abstract The modern experience of time is one of increasing time pressure, acceleration and scarcity. Project management goes hand in hand with those phenomena, as time management and deadlines are put at the forefront of this discipline. The importance of time in project management invites inquiries into how it is defined. This article proposes to uncover the way time is conceived in two project management bodies of knowledge. Based on content analysis, this research shows that both standards draw on a quantitative and objective conception of time and evoke acceleration and time scarcity. This article reveals that project management standards reflect and at the same time contribute to those temporal phenomena of acceleration and time scarcity. As such, by identifying how time is commonly conceived in important sources of knowledge on project management, this study enriches our understanding of the current temporal experience marked by time pressure.

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