Five ways to be more innovative in your projects

A fast-moving world brings greater uncertainty and risk, which demands fresh thinking from project professionals. As Andrew Davies, professor of innovation management at the University of Sussex Business School, told us back in 2020 when discussing innovation in megaprojects: “Leaders need to be able to adapt to change and recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach.”

Judging from the upheaval in the years that have passed since, Davies was spot on. But that period has also given rise to a common refrain – that projects just aren’t innovative enough. Productivity has famously flatlined everywhere from engineering and construction to the public sector; yet success in project management is often still defined through predictability: reliable delivery, on time and to budget.

So how can you inject that much-needed innovation into your projects? Here are five key tips to help…

1. Learn from the past

The first step is to demonstrate the impact of existing initiatives – in your previous work and other comparable projects.

As Davies has highlighted, the project team behind Heathrow Terminal 5 learned from its own prior experience with the Heathrow Express tunnel collapse. They also “systematically studied every international airport opened in the previous 15 years and every UK construction project that cost more than £1bn built during the previous 10 years”.

They found that many examples suffered from fixed-price contracts, which transferred risks to suppliers, caused friction with contractors and limited innovation. And that a fixed-price contract would cause their project to go over budget and run a year late.

So, they created a new delivery model based on a collaborative, innovative and flexible process instead. “The Terminal 5 project was delivered on time and on budget, and in several subsequent years, passengers voted it the world’s best airport terminal,” Davies wrote.

2. Don’t fixate on bright sparks

True innovation doesn't tend to come from a brainwave in a meeting room, nor from the latest disruptive new tech tool. It’s not about blockchain or artificial intelligence. It lies in the work being done. Alexander Budzier, CEO of Oxford Global Projects, recalls studying a very successful project in Canada that demonstrated the subtle power of continuous learning and improvement innovation.

“They did periodical project reviews, looking back at how they could do things better,” he says. “Together, those exercises have netted more than 4,000 teeny tiny ideas – small bits of value that layer on dramatically.”

If your project doesn’t feel like Silicon Valley, that’s probably no bad thing.

“Venture capitalists invest in lots of different start-ups, but 95% of those can fail as long as one turns into a unicorn that pays for the rest,” says Budzier. “Projects need a different approach – with more scrutiny of the ideas before slowly taking them forward so these risks are managed.”

3. Know when to innovate

Davies has studied the innovation in other megaprojects, including the London 2012 Olympics, Crossrail and HS2. His research found that projects typically have four key windows for innovation.

first, at the front end, when ideas, learning and practices from other projects can be used to create innovative project processes and governance structures
second, during the tendering period, when you can encourage contractors and suppliers to develop novel ideas and innovative solutions
third, the ‘leveraging window’, when all parties involved are mobilised to develop novel ideas, technologies and practices to improve performance
fourth, the back end, when ideas and resources for innovation can be combined with those of other projects in the wider innovation ecosystem to take that performance even higher
At other times, innovation can be counterproductive and should take a back seat. Like when you break ground on a building site.

4. Create psychological safety

The right culture can encourage risk-taking and experimentation; open the floor to more diverse takes; make communication more open; and foster a cycle of constructive feedback and ongoing learning. It can also replace fear and stress with collaboration and trust.

It’s down to project leaders to establish a creative space where everybody feels comfortable contributing – while also ensuring the project sticks to timeframes and budgets.

5. Shout about the benefits

Projects often work on a gig-by-gig basis. Yet to have a lasting impact on the organisation or wider sector, innovation needs to bridge beyond that. According to Budzier, that doesn’t typically happen.

“It’s less an issue of being innovative than of scaling innovation and rolling it out,” he says. “If you’re a project manager, the real trick is to take the innovation and apply it on future projects.”

Which brings us back to Heathrow Terminal 5. Its innovations went on to influence other UK megaprojects, such as London 2012 and Crossrail, as well as informing the Project 13 blueprint for managing infrastructure projects.

By sharing your successes (and failures), you can inspire other project professionals to innovate too.