Lessons learned; Project management; Theory of Planned Behavior; Behavioral barriers; Government projects
The Lessons learned in Projects have obtained increasing interest from theorists and practitioners, as it is a way to enhance the successes and avoid the repetition of errors in the same project or in future projects. In view of this growing importance, it becomes relevant to understand the possible barriers to its use. To study this phenomenon, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TCP) was chosen as a theoretical lens, as it addresses behavioral aspects that, in exploratory studies, have proved to be relevant. Given this scenario, this research aimed to "Understand how public project managers perceive behavioral barriers to the use of Lessons learned". This study adopts a predominantly qualitative approach, although some quantitative analyzes have been incorporated as a way to better understand the phenomenon. To compose the theoretical framework, Systematic Literature Reviews were carried out, which proved the gap and relevance of the study; they made it possible to learn about advances in the theme; and, deepen in the TCP, which was the main reference for the elaboration of the research model with 04 hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, 02 field researches were carried out with 15 Project Managers chosen by sampling of specialists. The first field research was carried out, from 12/09/2020 to 29/01/2021, through interviews that totaled almost 13 hours of audio and 100,000 words transcribed. With this textual corpus, it was possible to perform lexical analysis using the IRAMUTEQ software. In a complementary way, the information recorded in memos allowed the elaboration of a questionnaire to deepen the knowledge of the phenomenon. This second collection took place through Google forms, from 4/28 to 5/3/2021. Among the most relevant results, there is evidence of the importance of behavioral barriers, Attitude, Subjective Norms and Perceived Control (TCP constructs) to the use of Lessons learned. This study provided some theoretical contributions, among which the following stand out: Categorization of barriers to the use of Lessons learned; Survey of ways of using lessons learned in public projects; Lifting barriers to the use of Lessons learned in public projects and their categorization according to the types of barriers and constructs of TCP; Models of data collection instruments; and, Proposition of a research model based on the behavioral barriers and construct of TCP. From a managerial point of view, the following contributions stand out: alerting Project Managers about the importance of using Lessons learned; highlight the importance of behavioral aspects in Project Management; present a list of recommendations for Project Managers to adopt as a way to combat behavioral barriers arising from TCP constructs. The limitations of the research are inherent to the software used, the financial restrictions of the research and the typical limitations of a qualitative research that concern the subjective choices of the researcher. Two future studies are suggested: adapting the questionnaire to a quantitative model with more comprehensive numerical scales and applying it to a larger number of Project Managers; and, replicate this research in the private corporate environment and compare the results with the public environment. In view of the above, it is possible to consider that the research objectives were fully achieved and that their results enable scientific advancement and can contribute to managerial advancement.