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Vol. XIV Issue II - February 2012

Project Management eJournal

SECOND EDITION

A Simple View of ‘Complexity’ in Project Management

By Patrick Weaver
Mosaic Project Services Pty Ltd

Melbourne, Australia

This paper was originally presented at the WPM Week Singapore conference, 14-16 November 2007. It is republished here with permission of the author.

Introduction

Complexity theory helps understand the social behaviours of teams and the networks of people involved in and around a project. The ideas apply equally to small in-house projects as to large complicated programs. In this regard, ‘complexity’ is not a synonym for ‘complicated’ or ‘large’.

This paper will briefly examine the underlying ideas and philosophies that have created ‘modern project management’ together with some emerging ideas such as projects being ‘temporary knowledge organisations’ (TKOs) and the importance of ‘social capital’. It will also consider the key elements of ‘Complexity Theory’ from its origins in Chaos Theory to the ideas of ‘Complex Responsive Processes of Relating’ (CRPR) and seek to link the ideas within two other strands of research; ‘Social Networks’ and ‘Temporary Knowledge Organisations (TKOs)’, to Complexity Theory.

From this theoretical framework the true nature of a ‘project’ will be described from the perspective of the ‘knowledge workers’ or ‘actors’ engaged in the creation, execution, delivery and closure of the project. And two critical aspects of project management practice will be re-evaluated from a ‘complexity’ perspective:

The purpose and use of project management artifacts such as Schedules and EV Charts as communication tools to influence the ‘actors’ that make up the organisation surrounding the project (its ‘stakeholders’).
Understanding risk and uncertainty from the viewpoint of ‘complexity theory’.

The paper will conclude by developing a range of practical suggestions for improving the effectiveness of project management practice based on an understanding of ‘complexity theory’ applied to the project environment.

More…

To read entire paper (click here)

About the Author

Patrick Weaver

Patrick Weaver

Author

Patrick Weaver, PMP, PMI-SP, FAICD, FCIOB, is the Managing Director of Mosaic Project Services Pty Ltd, an Australian project management consultancy specialising in project control systems and a PMI Registered Education Provider. Patrick is also the business manager of Stakeholder Management Pty Ltd. He is a Fellow and Regional Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Building, Australasia (FCIOB) and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD). He is a member of the PMI College of Scheduling, College of Performance Management and the PMI Melbourne Chapter (Australia), as well a full member of AIPM and the APM (UK). Patrick has over 35 years experience in Project Management. His career was initially focused on the planning and managing of construction, engineering and infrastructure projects in the UK and Australia. The last 25 years has seen his businesses and experience expand to include the successful delivery of project scheduling services and PMOs in a range of government, ICT and business environments; with a strong focus on project management training. His consultancy work encompasses: developing and advising on project schedules, developing and presenting PM training courses, managing the development of internal project control systems for client organisations, and assisting with dispute resolution and claims management. He is a qualified Arbitrator and Mediator. In the last few years, Patrick has sought to ‘give back’ to the industry he has participated in since leaving college through contributions to the development of the project management profession. In addition to his committee roles he has presented papers at a wide range of project management conferences in the USA, Europe, Asia and Australia, has been part of the organising committee for two PMI Congresses in the Asia-Pacific region, and has an on-going role with the PMOZ conference in Australia and World Project Management Week. Patrick can be contacted at patw@mosaicprojects.com.au or at www.mosaicprojects.com.au.

Editor’s note: Second Editions are previously published papers that have renewed or continued relevance in today’s project management professional world, or which were originally published in conference proceedings or in a language other than English. Original publication acknowledged; authors retain copyright.

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A Simple View of ‘Complexity’ in Project Management

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