Editing Project management (section)

=== Project complexity ===
{{Main|Project complexity}}
Complexity and its nature play an important role in the area of project management. Despite having a number of debates on this subject matter, studies suggest a lack of definition and reasonable understanding of complexity in relation to the management of complex projects.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Abdou|first1=Saed M|last2=Yong|first2=Kuan|last3=Othman|first3=Mohammed|date=2016|title=Project Complexity Influence on Project management performance – The Malaysian perspective|journal=MATEC Web of Conferences|language=en|volume=66|pages=00065|doi=10.1051/matecconf/20166600065|issn=2261-236X|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Morcov|first1=Stefan|last2=Pintelon|first2=Liliane|last3=Kusters|first3=Rob J.|date=2020|title=Definitions, characteristics and measures of IT Project Complexity - a Systematic Literature Review|journal=International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management|language=en|volume=8|issue=2|pages=5–21|doi=10.12821/ijispm080201|s2cid=220545211 |url=http://www.sciencesphere.org/ijispm/archive/ijispm-080201.pdf}}</ref>

Project complexity is the property of a project which makes it difficult to understand, foresee, and keep under control its overall behavior, even when given reasonably complete information about the project system.<ref name="Springer-Verlag">{{Cite book|last1=Marle|first1=Franck|last2=Vidal|first2=Ludovic-Alexandre|date=2016|title=Managing Complex, High Risk Projects - A Guide to Basic and Advanced Project Management|location=London|publisher=Springer-Verlag}}</ref>

The identification of complex projects is specifically important to multi-project engineering environments.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Vidal|first1=Ludovic-Alexandre|first2=Franck|last2=Marle|first3=Jean-Claude|last3=Bocquet|date=2011|title=Measuring project complexity using the Analytic Hierarchy Process|journal=International Journal of Project Management|language=en|volume=29|issue=6|pages=718–727|doi=10.1016/j.ijproman.2010.07.005|s2cid=111186583 |url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01215358/file/Vidal%20et%20al%20-%202011%20-%20IJPM%20-%20Measuring%20project%20complexity%20using%20the%20AHP.pdf}}</ref>

As it is considered that project complexity and project performance are closely related, it is important to define and measure the complexity of the project for project management to be effective.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Vidal|first1=Ludovic-Alexandre|first2=Franck|last2=Marle|date=2008|title=Understanding project complexity: implications on project management|journal=Kybernetes|volume= 37| issue = 8|pages=1094–1110|doi=10.1108/03684920810884928|url=https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01215364/file/Vidal%20and%20Marle%20-%202008%20-%20Kybernetes%20-%20Understanding%20project%20complexity.pdf}}</ref>

Complexity can be:
* Structural complexity (also known as detail complexity, or complicatedness), i.e. consisting of many varied interrelated parts.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baccarini|first=D.|date=1996|title=The concept of project complexity, a review|journal=International Journal of Project Management|language=en|volume=14|issue=4|pages=201–204|doi=10.1016/0263-7863(95)00093-3}}</ref> It is typically expressed in terms of size, variety, and interdependence of project components, and described by technological and organizational factors.
* Dynamic complexity refers to phenomena, characteristics, and manifestations such as ambiguity, uncertainty, propagation, emergence, and chaos.<ref name="Springer-Verlag"/>

Based on the [[Cynefin framework]],<ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Snowden, David J. |author2=Boone, Mary E.|date=2007|title=A Leader's Framework for Decision Making|journal=Harvard Business Review|language=en|volume=85|issue=11|pages=68–76|url=https://hbr.org/2007/11/a-leaders-framework-for-decision-making}}</ref> complex projects can be classified as:
[[File:Simple, complicated, complex, and really complex projects.png|thumb|Simple, complicated, complex, and really complex projects - based on the Cynefin framework]]

* '''Simple''' (or clear, obvious, known) projects, systems, or contexts. These are characterized by known knowns, stability, and clear cause-and-effect relationships. They can be solved with standard operating procedures and best practices.
* '''Complicated''': characterized by known unknowns. A complicated system is the sum of its parts. In principle, it can be deconstructed into smaller simpler components. While difficult, complicated problems are theoretically solvable with additional resources, specialized expertise, analytical, reductionist, simplification, decomposition techniques, scenario planning, and following good practices.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Maurer|first=Maik|date=2017|title=Complexity Management in Engineering Design – a Primer|location=Berlin, Heidelberg|publisher=Springer}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|author1=Kurtz, C. F.|author2=Snowden, David J.|date=2003|title=The new dynamics of strategy: Sense-making in a complex and complicated world|journal=IBM Systems Journal|language=en|volume=42|issue=3|pages=462–483|doi=10.1147/sj.423.0462|s2cid=1571304}}</ref>
* '''Complex''' are characterized by unknown unknowns, and emergence. Patterns could be uncovered, but they are not obvious. A complex system can be described by [[Euclid]]'s statement that the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
* '''Really complex projects''', a.k.a. very complex, or chaotic: characterized by unknowables. No patterns are discernible in really complex projects. Causes and effects are unclear even in retrospect. Paraphrasing [[Aristotle]], a really complex system is different from the sum of its parts.<ref name="Morcov2021" />

By applying the discovery in measuring work complexity described in [[Requisite organization|Requisite Organization]] and Stratified Systems Theory, [[Elliott Jaques]] classifies projects and project work (stages, tasks) into seven basic levels of project complexity based on such criteria as time-span of discretion and complexity of a project's output:<ref>{{Cite book|title=The management of projects|last=Morris|first= Peter|date=1994|publisher=T. Telford|isbn=978-0727725936|location=London|pages=317|oclc=30437274}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Gower handbook of people in project management|date=2013|publisher=Gower Publishing |editor1=Dennis Lock |editor2=Lindsay Scott |isbn=978-1409437857|location=Farnham, Surrey|pages=398|oclc=855019788}}</ref>
* Level 1 Project – improve the direct output of an activity (quantity, quality, time) within a business process with a targeted completion time up to 3 months.
* Level 2 Project – develop and improve compliance to a [[business process]] with a targeted completion time of 3 months to 1 year.
* Level 3 Project – develop, change, and improve a business process with a targeted completion time of 1 to 2 years.
* Level 4 Project – develop, change, and improve a functional system with a targeted completion time of 2 to 5 years.
* Level 5 Project – develop, change, and improve a group of functional systems/business functions with a targeted completion time of 5 to 10 years.
* Level 6 Project – develop, change, and improve a whole single value chain of a company with targeted completion time from 10 to 20 years.
* Level 7 Project – develop, change, and improve multiple value chains of a company with target completion time from 20 to 50 years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theprojectmanager.co.za/articles/pmos-12444.html|title=PMOs|website=www.theprojectmanager.co.za|language=en|access-date=2018-03-01}}</ref>

Benefits from measuring Project Complexity are to improve project people feasibility by matching the level of a project's complexity with an effective targeted completion time, with the respective capability level of the project manager and of the project members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.apsc.gov.au/publications-and-media/current-publications/optimal-management-structures|title=APS framework for optimal management structures|last1=Commission|first1=Australian Public Service|language=en|access-date=2018-03-01}}</ref>