Uncertainty and Equivocality in Projects: Managing Their Implications for the Project Team

Abstract

This article describes two dimensions of the information environment of projects—uncertainty and equivocality—that have behavioral implications for engineering project managers and team members. When the levels of these dimensions change, project managers must 1) change the way they communicate with members of the team, 2) modify the team structure, 3) be prepared for different types of conflict, 4) adjust the way decisions are made, and 5) vary their own leadership style. The discussion of uncertainty and equivocality and their implications is linked to two engineering project examples.