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The purpose of this paper is to improve the methodology of assessing the importance of projects in a national economy. The subject of study is projectification in the Icelandic economy and to measure this, the share of project work in relation to the total work done in an organisation was used as an indicator. This is a time-consuming approach and it was decided to do an additional benchmark study, to verify the alleged importance of projects, and to investigate the usefulness of a benchmark study and establish whether the two approaches could complement each other.

Data were collected from 146 organisations in Iceland, regarding the share of project work relative to total work, as explained by Schoper et al. (2018). In addition, by participation in a large quarterly omnibus survey among people with high management positions in their respective companies in Iceland, more general data were collected. The methods and outcomes of both surveys were compared, and general conclusions are drawn.

The authors conclude that the two research approaches complement each other and could be applied in a systematic way to give a longitudinal view of the evolution of projectification in a society, where projectification is measured, traced over time and benchmarked. The first part is more complicated and expensive in execution, and could be done at longer intervals, whereas the second part takes less effort and can be used to monitor the evolution more regularly.

Two very different research approaches were applied to assess projectification. On the one hand, a detailed quantitative survey of the economic impact of projects. On the other hand, a general survey of a very large sample of managers. This combined approach to assess the level of projectification is new, and the authors hope that this will be of value in the context of developing efficient, reliable and practical methods to assess projectification of societies.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the major trends and contributions published in the Advances in Project Management book series and place them in the context of the findings and outputs from the Rethinking Project Management Network. A key aim is to address the concerns of project practitioners and explore the alternatives to the assumed linear rationality of project thinking. The paper further offers a guided catalogue to some of the key ideas, concepts and approaches offered to practitioners through the series.

This is a conceptual review paper that reflects on the main areas covered in a book series aimed at improving modern project practice and explores the implications on practice, knowledge and the relationship between research and practice. The topics are addressed through the prism of the Rethinking Project Management Network findings.

The paper explores new advances in project management practice aligning them with key trends and perspectives identified as part of the Rethinking Project Management initiative. It further delineates new areas of expertise augmenting those mentioned in the disciplinary canons of knowledge.

The paper offers a new understanding of how knowledge is created in, for and by practice. Improving the relationship between theory and practice may demand a new appreciation of the role of practitioners and the value of their reflection in context.

The primary implication is to explore the new directions and perspectives covered by authors in the Advances in Project Management series, and identify main areas and topics that feature in the emerging discourse about project management practice. In addition, new conceptualisations of the role of practitioners in making sense of project realities are offered and considered.

New areas of interest and activity are identified and examined, offering a catalogue of new writing and perspectives in project practice. Reflection on the relationship between research and practice encourages fresh thinking about the crucial role of practitioner knowledge and reflection.