The planning and documentation problem of emergent changes

Emergent changes are common in large engineering projects and in such dynamic project environments planning and documentation work are often deprioritized in favor of actionable decisions. Previous research has failed to look at the planning and documentation problem as a sociotechnical system as it relates to project managers' and engineer's practical work. In this article, a single case study approach is used to reveal how project managers and engineers plan and document emergent changes specifically from a construction point of view. It was found that the construction planning and documentation was in large performed as part of the safety planning of the emergent change, not as a task in and of itself. To improve the quality of planning and documentation it is suggested that be officially integrated as part of the safety planning.