Project Selection, Planning and Execution: A Review

Abstract

About 30% of the world's economic activity is managed as projects. Yet many projects fail to meet expectations for time, cost, and quality of deliverables. To understand why this is the case and identify possible solutions, this paper offers a broad and structured review of recent project management research. Chronologically, we examine the project selection, planning, and execution stages of project development. For each stage, based on the analytics hierarchy, we consider both descriptive and prescriptive perspectives. From a descriptive viewpoint, factors influencing project performance are systematically categorized into project context, organizational context, and external environmental factors. Complementarily, the prescriptive perspective provides actionable guidance for addressing challenges specific to each stage. Building on these perspectives, opportunities for future research at each stage are identified. We also review recent discussions on Agile methods and examine the early achievements and considerable future potential of artificial intelligence to enhance project management. Finally, we survey the data and research methods employed across the literature. In general, this study equips project managers and researchers with a structured roadmap to understand challenges, identify appropriate tools, and effectively implement projects.

Keywords: Project Management, Project Selection, Project Planning, Project Execution, Descriptive and Prescriptive Analysis