Nudging for project performance and resilience

Dr Teslim O. Bukoye and Professor Jens Roehrich on how to use behavioural psychology to make project teams more successful

Project professionals are frequently measured on their ability to deliver on time, to budget and quality specifications, as well as respond to disruptive events. But can projects be delivered in a more nuanced and effective way to enhance a project team’s performance? A project professional needs to seek a subtle way to effectively manage a project team through uncertainties and ever‑changing demands, and this calls for more attention on the behavioural aspects of project management.

The concept of ‘nudges’ might help project managers and teams to meet performance targets. Seeking to explore the influence of nudges, we conducted an in‑depth study building on rich interviews with project managers across many sectors.

What are nudges in projects?

The nudge concept began in behavioural economics and public policy, but can be adopted more widely, from encouraging healthy eating or pension savings, to using speed cameras to subtly ensure drivers stick to speed limits. Around the world, public and private organisations have set up so called ‘nudge units’ or ‘behavioural insights teams’ to understand the benefits and limitations of nudges.

Nudges are interventions – they can be big or small – focused on getting individuals to behave a certain way. Within projects, nudges can be useful in managing teams for the benefits of project delivery. Nudges can optimise fast thinking and unconscious (positive) behaviour of a project team in line with a project’s goals and measures. In contrast to ‘hard’ project management tools (e.g. Gantt charts, organisational systems), a nudge is an intervention that maintains freedom of choice (for the individual), but steers them in a particular direction.

How and when to use nudges

Nudging for projects works in various ways. We identified over 20 different nudge tools that project professionals can use to address a range of challenges. For instance, if they are concerned about delays and quality issues, they should actively deploy nudges such as ‘message framing’, ‘giving quality feedback’ and ‘changing layouts’. With ‘message framing’, project professionals need to configure messages using the right words, expression and structure to influence their team. Such framing affects how individuals/teams think and feel about an issue, based primarily on how the choice or option is described to them. For instance, using phases like ‘not to worry, we are on track but keep an eye on our risks’.

Another successful nudge was ‘giving quality feedback’. Here, project professionals let team members know what and/or when they are doing well or making mistakes. This motivates and increases awareness through detailed, customised feedback for team members, rather than general team feedback. Lastly, we also observed project professionals changing layouts in meeting rooms to facilitate easier decision‑making. They often placed key information such as maps and timelines at eye level to increase awareness.

Project professionals have started to unconsciously use a range of nudges, but a more systematic understanding of their usage and effects is needed.

Why not try the following nudges?

1. Map out the range of nudges available to you (our study, ‘Using Nudges to Realize Project Performance Management’, may be a good starting point). During our work with project professionals, we noticed that nudges were more commonplace than expected.
2. Do not abandon ‘hard’ project management systems and processes, but you should always keep in mind that these are nothing without the individuals who are supposed to use them. Nudges complement systems and process, and at best enhance their effectiveness.
3. Consider when to use nudges and to what end. Nudges are not a ‘one size fits all’ solution. During project delivery, for example, nudges may support you to design feedback and reflective systems in a way that individuals perceive them positively, make beneficial decisions on that basis, and thereby contribute directly to improved project performance and resilience. Please keep in mind that some nudges are better positioned to drive certain project measures than others.

Dr Teslim O. Bukoye and Professor Jens Roehrich are from the University of Bath School of Management.

THIS ARTICLE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FROM THE WINTER 2022 ISSUE OF PROJECT JOURNAL, WHICH IS FREE FOR APM MEMBERS.