In the last few decades, there has been a continuous and persistent increase in the number of project management activities being undertaken due to the growing popularity and its long-term success rate in accomplishing projects successfully. The project activities or rather project management has been adapted in many different industries and professions which require effective planning when undertaking ventures. Nonetheless, research has indicated that among the many industries that have adopted project management, the engineering industry still takes the lead, due to the intricacy of its activities. In the engineering sector, projects like constructions software development/ information technology projects are the are the dominate project related activities. It is however important to note that different projects require different level of effort for its successful completion. Some may require less resources, efforts and skills while others may need extra-ordinary commitment, resources, skills and time for it to be successfully executed or rather completed. This brings an insight in the level of complexity of project. Project management requires careful application of skills and practices for effective integration of the several sub-projects. Additionally, project management requires interpersonal communication skills by the project manager. Additionally, there is need for additional skills like conflict resolution and communication techniques. All these variables Due to the difference in the degree of difficulty among projects, attentions have been directed towards simplifying the project execution. This is evidenced by the argument put forth by Cooke-Davies (2011), managing projects in a complex world. It is noted that the development of modern project management techniques are specifically geared towards the reduction or simplification of project complexities especially for projects involving the integration of many sub-projects, which in most cases been referred to as complex projects (p.3).
complexity of different projects may vary from one project manager to another basing on their perception and skills in handling projects. It should therefore be noted that a project being hard does not necessarily mean it is complex. According to Jeff Worley, former VP of the Boeing company there are mostly four kinds of complexities in project management; technical complexity, cost complexity, schedule complexity and political complexity. Terry-cook chapter one, it was highlighted that a project becomes complex when the manager’s effects are difficult to predict or unexpected. A project usually becomes complex when it results into a combination of three effects; lots of interconnections, highly to be lots of changes with high levels of uncertainty and time constraint. The key for a project manager to manage complexity is by analyzing at the early stages, understands the origin of the complexity and ensuring proper strategy is put in place. The concept of complexity has various theories, causes and situations/ environment and there are many schools of thought to this with the most common being by Terry Cooke-Davies’ (Aspects of complexity). The strain, exertion and difficulty of different projects may be referred to as the level of project complexity in a law man’s understanding. However, different project specialist has defined project complexity in different way.
From the insight in the introductory section, we understand that complexity or the complicatedness of different projects vary. Complexity has been defined in many different ways by different scholars. Some researchers like terry-cook, in his book of “aspects of complexity: managing projects on complex world chapter one, he defined project complexity as the type of project that involves the integration of many sub-parts and hard to analyze, evaluate, understand and deal with. In other words, the degree of difficulty and exertion of a project is referred to as project complexity. Different field have different projects and the completes also varies. One of the fields that have been recognized as encompassing complex projects include the construction industry due to the increasing innovation and integration of many subprojects (Cooke-Davies, T. (2011, p.2)
Lalonde, Bourgault & Findeli (2010, p.21) highlighted that all projects are complex, however, the level of complexity matters. they based complexity on the size of the project, the degree of technicality/ difficulty, and the level of uncertainty of a project. Projects that tend to be more technical and highly uncertain are regarded as complex in reference to this study. It was anchored by Beringer, Jonas, & Georg (2012, p.32) who recommended that for a project to be tagged complex, it must ascertain certain attributes which include technical complexity, schedule complexity, cost complexity and political complexity. To him, to him, complexity or complicatedness solely depend on the four variables. Some complex projects may not have all the four. This implies that the degree of complexity increases with increase in the variables as well as the strength of the variables. A study by Rolstadås, et al. also regarded a project to be complex when it is highly uncertain to predict the possible outcomes, highly interdependent/ interconnected, and has a high degree of time constraint.
On the other hand, theories may primarily and typically be understood as the norms or principles associated to a particular topic or project. In reference to this, it is important to note that the theories surrounding the concept of complex project managements are simply norms and believes that people (project managers) uphold in relation to complex projects. The complexity of different projects may be perceived in different ways according to different project managers. In other words,
From the definitions of complex projects according to Worley, it is imperative to understand that simple projects are those that do not have the four variables as listed in the introductory section i.e. time technicality, schedule, political and cost technicality (Saviano, & Di, 2011, p.199). This is simply the reverse of his definition. From a general perspective, simple projects refer to the ones that do not have many interdependent subprojects, manageable in relationships to the cost and time
In regard to the introduction, it was noted that the issue of complexity is caused by various questions and based on different perceptions. this variation is due to a feedback loop in which case the effect is itself a root cause. The most frequent causes of project complexity are known to be the changes in variables like project size, location, the team experience or expertise, interfaces within the project, logistics, political influences, permits and approvals there isn’t much difference between complexity and the achievement aspects of the scheme. The biggest issues that influence the effect on the success of the project are production time and cost. When this complexity is not fully understood by the managers, failure of projects becomes the order of the day.
(Pauget, & Wald (2013, p.200) showed that complex projects possess various characteristics which makes it hard to predict the project outcomes. The relationship that exist between project interfaces and attributes induces complex projects and their subsequent significant influence on the functionality and predictability. With the preceding note, we can draw an insight that, although complexities vary from project managers to other project managers, there are basic general perceptions and issues that may make a project to be regarded as complex. These complexities arise from the number of variables and project size under execution. The causes of complex projects can be identified as follows;
When a project involves a large number of stakeholders, it is typically true that the management of various stakeholders involved in the project will be complex. It anchors on the principle/ norm that the higher the number of stakeholders, the complex a project is regarded. Additionally, large projects require extraordinary skills when it comes to the allocation of resources to the many various subprojects in the project. A failure or misconception during resource allocation consequently leads to large costs and expenses undertaken which is results into losses and project failures in general. Risk management and assessment is yet another issue that is associated with large projects. The larger a project is, the higher the risks involved which requires a more integrative skills of assessing the various project fields and structures. This subsequently increases the level of complexity of a given project.
With the prior knowledge in this section, it becomes inevitable that bigger projects are more complex as compared to the small ones. Increasing the number of stakeholder and resources leads to complexity as it hampers project effectivity and outcomes. Customer satisfaction has a lot to do with the success and failure of the project and it does matters whether the project outcomes are in line with the project expected deliverables or requirements.
Today, change management has yet become another important factor when it comes to project management. Change management refers to the ways in which an organization or a project manager prepares and acquaint his team with the necessary skills for change management. While taking a critical analysis of change management in projects, the ability of project managers to efficiently and correctly disseminate skills among the team members of a project to enhance the success rate of a project is yet another factor that complicates projects. This is evident in Hu, Chan, Le, & Jin (2013, vol.3). Projects with much activities and stages involved yet has a short deadline consequently becomes complex. This is because it requires a close attention accompanied with high level of flexibility to changes. Being able to fix schedules and competently redistributing resources in a short time period can be challenging and frustrating to the managers. In other words, the process of managing projects with shorter deadline requires a high degree of competence in relation to time and change management. Research studies reported by a series of project managers in different fields have indicated that one of the main reasons for shadow work in project management fields are a result of poor change management and time allocation. The tendencies of project managers to work under pressure due to deadline period as dictated by the project timeline makes project outcomes to be of substandard. In reference to this, it is important to note that time management as well as change management should be offered a great attention
A recommendation by Larson et al., (2014, vol.6) put it clear that projects would rather miss the deadline as shown in the project timeline than meeting deadline and making substandard outcome. They capitalized in successfully managing project portfolios. It was note that structural alignment in project management helps in defining all the relevant activities to be involved during the project management processes while appropriately and efficiently managing time. This can only be achieved through having a thorough understanding of the role of structural alignment in aligning the several project activities. This report positively correlated to the view and idea of many other scholars like. It was noted that understanding complexity of a project helps in appropriate planning and thus increasing the project success rate. In other words, it is like mitigating the project activities that are likely to by critically diagnosing the possible weak points of the project and hence putting forth the possible solutions or rather remedies for the weak points, in turn helping in improving project success rates within the required time bound and within the budget as anticipated in the project charter and timeline
In a sense of wiping up and summarizing the causes of project complexity, it is typical to center on some specific factors that can be additives of making a project complex. These factors include but not limited to;
Doloi (2011, p. 636) reported that complex projects in most cases have multiple values or variations. Successful management of these complexities and properties calls for; delivery leadership ability to go through uncertainty to achieve the projects vision, collaboration or working as one team in harmony, benefits realization, understanding and delivering value, effective communication and being responsible
When it comes to environment of complex projects, it basically refers to the prevailing conditions and contexts in which complex projects are executed in. This implies the contexts to which complex projects are performed or implemented. As it was noted earlier, complex projects involve the integration of many sub-projects with high level of difficulty in understanding. It therefore implies there is need for careful analytical skills in order to successfully understand execute the project activities as required or rather as expected. In addition, there is need to detect the eco-friendly consciousness needed or required by the project manager in complex situations (Bryde, Broquetas, & Volm, 2013, p. 980). The factors vary; that is to say, the internal factors and the external factors. These are the main drivers of project/ business outcomes and may also be affected by the internal culture of how the firm reacts to a shift in change management and project engagement.
Taking a critical review of the BP deep water project it is justifiable that complex projects are much more difficult to handle. It requires the integration and execution of many complicated sub systems. The level of uncertainties and risks are significantly high. For example, in the report compiled by the National Commission on the BP Deep Water Horizon oil spill and offshore chapter four, (p.94-104), it was illustrated that, the exertion of pipes into deep water, thousands of feet’s underneath involves a high degree of complexity accompanied by numerous uncertainties. Keeping in mind that pipe exertion is just a micro (small sub structure) of the big BP deep water construction. Analyzing the complexity and risks of only the pipe exertion as a case study, then reflecting it on the whole BP project which has hundreds of such projects, it typically becomes extra-complicated/ complex (Water, 2011)
Possible remedies of handling complex project environment; examining and evaluating complex projects helps in thoughtful view that both anxious projects and multifaceted settings need more or less similar approaches to attain the deserved success. Some areas are beyond the project managers control when toiling to ensure success of a project such as; competing stakeholder interests, lack of commitment by the stakeholders and the nature of the project’s business benefit. The commercial setting in which the project team members and its prospect of success before it even commences. it mainly concerns the way in which the project’s manager exerts influence through experience, knowledge and determination to assist in project execution. Recovery or troubled projects display similar kinds of environment. In this essence, it is the responsibility of the project manager to streamline and strategically align the available resources while using the most appropriate techniques to structure an environment favorable for the complex project. These can be achieved by the manager through;
Environment of the business is broken down into mostly the context of business projects whether its government or for-profit firms. Poor and lack of process and documentation are indicators of a poor complex project environment and this subsequently increases the degree of failure in a project. The external and internal environment should be well gauged as argued in Environmental scan by Michael E. Porter. He proposed the five forces model as a way of determining the competitive forces that define industry profitability. Other important external factors are the political and regulatory environments. This always comes with new views and new priorities for government portfolios as does a change of government. The employment of porter’s five forces can further help in advancing the project success more especially for business-oriented projects established in a competitive market or industry. The standard portfolio management-second edition cascaded that planning from strategy, portfolio, and operational planning helps to ensure the firm’s success and improve the project’s prospect of accomplishment. Mir, & Pinnington (2014, p.217) evaluated and found that there is a difference between complex environments and troubled projects, but there are similarities that both can be handled in similar ways. In simple terms, all projects are planned and implemented in social, political, international and environmental context. International and political environment; this requires knowledge on national, international or local laws and customs, time zones, technology levels and use, logistics requirements and favorable means of travel.
Physical environment; knowledge about local ecology and physical geography that could affect or be affected by the project. Cultural and social environment; it’s mostly about how a project affects the people and how they affect it in return. It’s very sensitive and requires understanding of the demographics, ethical, cultural and religious backgrounds.
From time to time, there has been a continuous innovation of existing knowledge as well as the invention of new and more improved mechanism of handling tasks with in a project. It is therefore important to note that complex projects to adopt to such change management for a successful completion of the project. It was noted in the earlier section that change management is an important aspect of project success and improvement as it can be noted in Pitsis et al. (2014, p. 1290). The changes in the era has therefore led to the development of new tools and techniques directed towards improving and simplifying the tasks associated with complex project management. This has been evident in the consistent and persistent development of computerized project management applications. This include but not limited to Microsoft visuals, Microsoft project manager among many others.
In project management, Blomquist, Hällgren, Nilsson, & Söderholm (2010, p. 516) reported that computerized project management software packages are designed in such a way that it is well integrated with tools relevant for a particular field. For example, the stakeholder management software packages are designed with all the necessary tools needed for stakeholder analysis, responsibility and scheduling. Likewise, the Microsoft project, it has all the planning tools including auto scheduling. Moreover, the computerized software has high levels of efficiency except where they are inappropriately used. In other words, project managers’ computerized software packages have essential toolbox which contains the necessary apparatuses which helps the project save time and costs. The management software possesses tools and techniques utilized to optimize the running of any project. There are various managing procedures and practices which can be utilized to improve and optimize efficiency of project processes (Blomquist, Hällgren, Nilsson, & Söderholm, 2010, p. 516)
Looking at the market, there are a series of project management application. Our study will be focusing on a few of the popular tools.
One of the utmost used tools is the Gantt chart developed by Microsoft cooperation. It’s a chart devised and designed to plan the sequence of activities of the project on its way to completion which determines its time lag and required resources. According to this technique the optimized work path is calculated automatically for the project plan based on task dependencies, durations, dates and milestones. In case of any changes and something is introduced, the chat will automatically update itself. This will enable the project manager go around with a bit of ease. One of the classic techniques of the chart is displaying horizontally and vertically. The application is broad and versatile as it can efficiently execute a series of project planning. The project managers’ work is simplified as most tools have been automated and permits automatic adjust. Additionally, the package allows manual planning if need be for the project manager. The software package has undergone a continuous series of updates from the time of its first development. It still draws back to the idea of change management.
This chart allows the easy observation of;
A sample of work done by Microsoft project is as seen below.
Blomquist, Hällgren, Nilsson, & Söderholm, (2010, p. 518) alos included pert chat as another control technique, PERT (program evaluation review technique). It helps to manage time. Keeping in mind that time is one of the greatest and vital factors for accomplishment of a plan, it becomes typical to make the best use of this technique for effective projects. It calculates the expanse of representative time it could take to complete a project. It can be used to calculate the period for each separate task as well as the entire project that permits effective and efficient coordination of the project organizational team. The use of PERT chart allows the evaluation and analysis to determine the ways in which available resources for a project can be optimally and efficiently utilized including the available time. PERT allows creation of mostly three different time approximations;
This tool obliges as a cautioning of chore interdependencies. it is in most instances used when the project being handled is complex, involving many interdependent structures that need coordinating and structuring. In case the task is complex, the project manager needs to envision every project task that us integrated in the project while considering their correlation or interdependencies order to effectively and clearly have a roadmap of the project execution.
The tools is most convenient for the determination of the project task criticality by the project management team activities, time constraints, durations, and interdependencies are further monitored by this tool. In other words, this tool can be used in the prioritization of tasks depending on their impact else the influence in the project.
Kanban is another project management tool that assists to monitor and manage project with much prominence based on the recurrent delivery and trying to minimize the level of burdening to the project team. It enables teams work together more efficiently. It’s based on majorly three principles;
It encourages unceasing teamwork on the going culture and improvement by signifying the best conceivable team work flow. The right mix of these tools is needed by the project manager to manage the complex projects at hand for a much more expected and successful outcome (Söderlund, & Maylor, 2012, p.696).
Risk analysis is very important for complex projects, though systems makes the evaluation of risks in real projects difficult. A complexity assembly is used to identify systems and draws lessons about the risks. The nature and degree of complexity in projects starts from the human behavior. It’s the biggest source of complexity in projects. this due to the challenges of organizational politics that subdue the ability to agree of on the set objectives of the project. For example; stakeholders having unrealistic expectations, stakeholders who disagree with projects goals, poor executive sponsorship, hidden agendas, ethical issues, holding critical information deliberately, firing stakeholders during instability of the project. The element of system complexity is the dynamics of different areas. Though it’s hard to notify or differentiate between this and other areas. In most cases the degree and nature of system complexity does not equal that of the technology (Ahlemann, et al., 2013, p.56).
Ambiguity is another facet of complex projects. It mostly deals with unclear situation where something could arise because you have no idea of what to expect. This usually arises due to un expected change in the context of a project. This about dealing and managing both negative and positive rise. Ambiguity is where an issue emerges and results into a situation where the progress of the project changes and various factors have to be considered. Having the ability to deal with bounce back issues is a great deal in managing complex projects. The components of complexity are majorly in four distinct constructs; interdependency, ambiguity, uncertainty and variety.
Modern projects have roots in control theory and systems development, and there is increasing complexity in this modern world (Stoshikj, Kryvinska, & Strauss, 2014, p.30) However much there is this complexity and doubt among various managers not believing in themselves to control and undertake complex projects, certain organizations have gone a step ahead to capitalize on complexity into financial advantage like IBM. Ideas and theories surrounding project management term a project complex if it has many interdependencies and in case of a change of one part, there is a simultaneous change in another and also this is very unpredictable.
Human ambition brings up a tendency of complexity in projects. In situation where people or organization are operating according to their capabilities, they are more likely to find themselves in complex situations. In this case ambition is great source of complexity in programs and projects.
Beringer, Jonas, & Georg (2012, p.32) analyzed omplexity theory puts emphasis on the interactions and accompanying feedback loops that constantly alter systems. It examines non-linearity and uncertainty. The gist of the theory includes how organizations or firms adapt to the issues of uncertainty and how they cope up with the changes around the various environments
Some of the project management theories include, classical management theory; management takes place within a structured organizational setting with clearly stated goals. This theory emphasizes structure, prescriptive about what is good for the firm, practical manager (Blomquist, Hällgren, Nilsson, & Söderholm, 2010, p. 516).
The scientific management theory; it breaks down the components of manual tasks in manufacturing environments, timing each task in order there is a proven best way of performing each individual task. This was a scientific system where tasks became specialized and discrete. The emphasis of the theory is on efficiency and productivity, though it ignores the various human aspects of employment. According to the theory, managers are required to;
For the project team employees; it is important to have a general for all the workers to streamline towards achieving the standards of the project, they should be willing to lean new techniques and ideas of task completion, accept the guidelines and role of management to assign the tasks.
Projects suffer a great deal of uncertainty. A schedule as usual is comprised of set task that are implemented at periods verbalized by dependences and resources. The projects schedule is subject to uncertainty because of the estimated duration of each task comes along with some uncertainty associated. Estimates always differ from reality due to uncertainties which come up in many ways (Alias, et al., 2014, p.69). People have an intuitive feeling that projects may require more effort than planned or rather than less. This because it’s more likely for us to omit tasks that are key to the project and so underestimate the effort. Uncertainty in projects cannot be eliminated but could be reduced. One the ways is by reducing the elements that are to be estimated. The obvious strategy is by breaking down large specifications into smaller and manageable ones. Uncertainty in this case cannot be eliminated by estimation methods. It arises due to imperfect knowledge of what to do, how long it should take and also due to unpredictable events (Blomquist, Hällgren, Nilsson, & Söderholm, 2010, p. 516).
For unscheduled projects with a scope that’s not known have a high rate of uncertainty and it’s difficult to plan appropriately. In the attempt of meeting scope, the use of agile project processes such as scrum For fixed schedule projects, this is a convenient way to conduct projects when estimates are poor, scope frequently changes and poor highlighted.
Conclusion
It can noticeably be noticed that complex projects can be so challenging to achieve success due to the many integral sub-projects accompanied by a series of complicated interdependent structures that need clear strategized ability to implement. The complexities vary from the number of interdependencies, size/ number of stakeholders, to the total maximum available time for the project execution. Nonetheless, it was noted that some of the core reasons for project failures include inappropriate change management, poor time management, communication and inadequacy of skills needed for effective management of complex projects by the project managers. with regard to the challenge of poor execution of complex project, it is important for project managers to effectively acquaint themselves with the necessary skills such as communication skills, effective planning and time management, ability to integrate change in line with changing technology, and conflict resolution skills among the stakeholders. In addition, the project managers should be intuitive and curious to learn new ideas and techniques (Browning, 2010), p.332)
References
Ahlemann, F., El Arbi, F., Kaiser, M. G., & Heck, A. (2013). A process framework for theoretically grounded prescriptive research in the project management field. International Journal of Project Management, 31(1), 43-56.
Alias, Z., Zawawi, E. M. A., Yusof, K., & Aris, N. M. (2014). Determining critical success factors of project management practice: A conceptual framework. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 153, 61-69.
Beringer, C., Jonas, D., & Georg Gemünden, H. (2012). Establishing project portfolio management: An exploratory analysis of the influence of internal stakeholders’ interactions. Project Management Journal, 43(6), 16-32.
Blomquist, T., Hällgren, M., Nilsson, A., & Söderholm, A. (2010). Project?as?practice: In search of project management research that matters. Project Management Journal, 41(1), 5-16.
Bryde, D., Broquetas, M., & Volm, J. M. (2013). The project benefits of building information modelling (BIM). International journal of project management, 31(7), 971-980.
Cooke-Davies, T. (2011, August). Aspects of complexity: Managing projects in a complex world. Project Management Institute.
Cooke-Davies, T. (2011, August). Aspects of complexity: Managing projects in a complex world. Project Management Institute
Doloi, H. K. (2011). Understanding stakeholders’ perspective of cost estimation in project management. International journal of project management, 29(5), 622-636.
Hu, Y., Chan, A. P., Le, Y., & Jin, R. Z. (2013). From construction megaproject management to complex project management: Bibliographic analysis. Journal of management in engineering, 31(4), 04014052.
Lalonde, P. L., Bourgault, M., & Findeli, A. (2010). Building pragmatist theories of PM practice: Theorizing the act of project management. Project Management Journal, 41(5), 21-36.
Larson, E. W., Gray, C. F., Danlin, U., Honig, B., & Bacarini, D. (2014). Project management: The managerial process (Vol. 6). Grandview Heights, OH: McGraw-Hill Education.
Mir, F. A., & Pinnington, A. H. (2014). Exploring the value of project management: linking project management performance and project success. International journal of project management, 32(2), 202-217.
Pauget, B., & Wald, A. (2013). Relational competence in complex temporary organizations: The case of a French hospital construction project network. International journal of project management, 31(2), 200-211.
Pitsis, T. S., Sankaran, S., Gudergan, S., & Clegg, S. R. (2014). Governing projects under complexity: theory and practice in project management. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), 1285-1290.
Rolstadås, A., Tommelein, I., Morten Schiefloe, P., & Ballard, G. (2014). Understanding project success through analysis of project management approach. International journal of managing projects in business, 7(4), 638-660.
Saviano, M., & Di Nauta, P. (2011, June). Project management as a compass in complex decision making contexts: a viable systems approach. In Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Product Focused Software Development and Process Improvement (pp. 112-119). ACM.
Söderlund, J., & Maylor, H. (2012). Project management scholarship: Relevance, impact and five integrative challenges for business and management schools. International Journal of Project Management, 30(6), 686-696.
Stoshikj, M., Kryvinska, N., & Strauss, C. (2014). Efficient managing of complex programs with project management services. Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 15(1), 25-38.
Water, D. (2011). The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling, Report to the President, National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.
Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order form
Once we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignment
As soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download