On task evolvement in renewal projects

This paper suggests that project task continuously evolves as the project works to complete it. We approach projects from an organizational perspective and study how the project tasks in renewal projects are of a more emerging nature than mainstream project literature presumes. We empirically show how both the project tasks’ nature and the way they are perceived evolve over time. The study points to three task evolvement tendencies. Over time, the task becomes increasingly embedded, it is increasingly perceived as less controllable and more ambiguous. We discuss how these task evolvement tendencies can be understood and why they happen. We also discuss the consequences of this evolvement on project team competencies.