Cultural issues in the planning and development of major projects

Abstract The planning and development of a major project is a complex exercise in the management of risk. Dealing with this risk involves implicit or explicit evaluation of probabilities on the basis of information which is often insufficient, inaccurate or unsuitable. In these circumstances, decision-makers necessarily rely on know-how, experience and expertise. These are commodities which are difficult to measure, not least because their character is conditioned by the social, corporate and technical culture in which they subsist. This paper describes investigations into the use of a simple ‘expert system’ as a tool for measurement and comparison of cultural influences on decision-making processes in the risk management of project development.