“Conversations about life, cultural heritage, VR, and projects” : a case study on the management of a virtual heritage project

Abstract

The case study examines the production of a Virtual Heritage experience in the Maritime Centre Vellamo in Kotka in 2019-2020 as part of the Fateful Svensksund exhibition from the perspective of project management. The aim is to understand how internal and external circumstances influenced the work of the project managers and what role project management craft played in the project’s success. The findings suggest that the exhibition concept and the procurement contract provided clear frames and aligned the activities of the project parties. Furthermore, the project managers’ focus on people and relationships facilitated the forming of a shared understanding and ensured smooth communication between the parties. The study also reveals a weak dissemination of formal project management expertise in the project organization and a poor availability of context-specific project management training. Finally, the study recommends that systematic learning processes and practices should be developed within the field to increase understanding of Virtual Heritage projects and project management in the context.