Managing the Unexpected in a Multi-project Environment

The aim of this paper is to present the results from a case study aimed at answering the following research question: How are decisions on managing deviations in a highly interrelated project made in practice? The results are based on analysis of a single case study of a complex system development project, interrelated with eight other projects. It reveals the development team’s efforts to make sense of, and decisions on, deviating situations. The analysis reveals the characteristics of the sensemaking processes related to the consequences of the decision processes. This research contributes enhanced knowledge of how project managers cope with deviation in order to reach informed decisions involving four different types of sensemaking and four types of decision consequences. The results of this research can be used by project managers or other decision makers within product development to reflect upon how to manage unexpected deviations, proactively as well as reactively