Objective

The proposed study concerns expanding on the use of real option mechanisms in projects, particularly in agile and AI-driven environments.

Real Options Analysis has been defined as a method to quantify and model the expected financial outcome for agile projects. This study aims to investigate how real options can be applied in AI projects. This research focuses on the following questions:

• How can the “abandon” option be rebranded to have a positive -instead of negative- connation if a project has to terminate earlier than planned?
• How can the real options framework be used in post-project reviews or post-mortems to quantitatively assess past decisions, even if the framework wasn’t used at the time?
• How can the real options framework be used for quantifying non-financial decisions?

Participant Profile

This research will gather the experiences of project owners, sponsors, and managers as well as project financial managers. Participants must have the following qualifications to participate in the study:

• Managed or led at least three projects within the last 10 years
• At least one of the projects must meet one of the following characteristics
  1. Conducted a project post-mortem, post-project review, or lessons learned after the project was completed
  2. Project terminated earlier than planned
  3. Project objectives were for a non-financial benefit; for example, the project was to achieve sustainability goals or for the public good

Personal data collection

To participate, individuals must share the following personal information:

• Full Name
• Email address
• Job title
• Years of experience leading or managing projects
• Age
• Education level
• Geographic location
• Industry
• Number of projects managed/led in the last 10 years
• Certifications
• Project description used to qualify for participation in the study

The information will be stored in a database system accessible by the researcher. The information will only be used for the purposes for which it was collected. No sales calls will result from participation in the study.

Consent

Individuals must provide consent to participate in the study. The participants will receive a copy of the study results.

Confidentiality

The participants will be known to the researcher and to other participants. The email account will remain confidential to the researchers. The name and project description will be anonymised in the published study using pseudonyms. The remaining data will be presented in the study as reported in consolidated and aggregated forms.

Personal details and individual conversation will not be published, unless the participant signs a separate written release form.  Email addresses, telephone numbers, and video chats will be used as the primary means of communication, if relevant. No attempt will be made to sell anything or influence participants’ thinking.

Study Benefits

For a small investment of time, participants provide input to guide policy decisions in the project management domain. The estimated time commitment is two to three hours:

• 30 minutes to one hour – virtual meeting to introduce the topic and collect input
• 30 minutes – offline work for follow-up to rank consolidated input
• 30 minutes – offline work for follow-up to challenge ranking
• 30 minutes to one hour – virtual meeting to discuss the topic and reach consensus on the results

For participation, we will provide you with the study report and, if interested, the interim results. If you wish your name to be mentioned in the report, you have to provide us with a separate written release as mentioned under confidentiality.

Payment

There is no payment for participation in the study.

Right to Refuse or Withdraw

The decision to participate in this study is voluntary and may be stopped at any time. The participant has the right to withdraw from the study.

Right to Ask Questions and Report Concerns

The participant has the right to ask questions about the research and have those questions answered before, during, or after. The researcher may be contacted if some problems or concerns occur due to participation. The researcher is a member of the Academy of Management and abides by the AOM ethical standards for research and publication https://aom.org/About-AOM/AOM-Code-of-Ethics.aspx.