Journal of Information Systems Education (JISE)

Volume 12

Volume 12 Number 2, Pages 73-80

Summer 2001


Managing Beyond the Comfort Zone: An Exploratory Study of IS Project Managers


Tracey Neil
National Bank of New Zealand
Wellington, New Zealand

Pak Yoong
Victoria University of Wellington
Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract: This paper reports preliminary results from a case research on the question of how project managers adapt to managing IS projects when the project is beyond their comfort zone. ‘Comfort zone’ is used in this study to denote the area or areas in which a project manager has technical expertise, or a background in a particular area of IS, and at the same time a good understanding of project management methodologies. The main finding from this study is the development of an emergent model of Active Knowledge Gapping which describes the processes that project managers use when they adapt to managing IS projects which are beyond their comfort zone.

Keywords: IS project management, Case research, IS education, Human resource management

Download this article: JISE - Volume 12 Number 2, Page 73.pdf


Recommended Citation: Neil, T. & Yoong, P. (2001). Managing Beyond the Comfort Zone: An Exploratory Study of IS Project Managers. Journal of Information Systems Education, 12(2), 73-80.