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about what specific failure points will be identified and where blame might be allocated.
After all, thinks one researcher, 'had appropriate project management controls been in
place and effective, then this disaster simply would not have occurred'.
It is clear in hindsight that the power of the initial read (or should we say - scan) of the
main document has set the mood for the interpretation of the remaining document. Thus,
if the case study authors' original intent was to create a negative atmosphere leading to
a classical investigation and identification of project management failure, then this was
achieved before even the first page was turned.
An initial prejudice had now been set in place.
Second cycle
Here, the researchers sought to clearly document and identify each actor in the document,
noting who they were, what their function/purpose was in the scheme of things, and
what in particular they did that was of note. As a later exercise, we also mapped the
number of times they were quoted/cited/mentioned in the document.
This second reading really focused on people and institutions. During this reading we
highlighted individuals and organisations, then transcribed this data into a table. In this
table we identified dates, who the actors were, and what, if anything, they did on their
first appearance. Obviously some entries appear regularly throughout the paper so only
their first appearance and what they did was noted. An example appears in TableĀ 6.1.
What is notable in this second cycle is that the researchers decided to formally document
all actors that could be identified and to note who they were and what they were involved
in at first glance. This new text, a table of actors, is just our 'apparatus' as described by
Gadamer (Kidder, 1997, p. 1196). It is an aid in the hermeneutic cycle. An interesting
side effect of this process has been the disciplined examination of the original text from
the viewpoint of documenting all identifiable actors.
The outcome of the development of the table of actors is a better understanding of the
history of this project and how it came about, its political basis (the Mayoral elections),
its economic basis (the importance of Denver as a hub), and a fair amount of negative
references to BAE and the 'work ethic'.
A number of issues became evident and remained unresolved at this phase. Why were
United Airlines clearly committed to the new airport and their own baggage handling
system, while Continental seemed an almost disinterested party? Were the authors of
the document trying to create an impression that the US airline industry was in disarray?
If, as is implied in the document, it is a tradition in the USA that each airline looks after
its own baggage handling system, why did DIA push for a single integrated automated
baggage handling system?
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