Project Complexity Assessment and Management Tool

Objective: Project complexity is a crucial factor in project management that presents auxiliary obstacles to reaching project objectives (cost, time, safety, and quality). This study aims at understanding project complexity and factors affecting project complexity. The overall objective of the study is to determine the nature of complexity and characteristics, identify the important complex factors that influence the complexity of the project, factor weight of the complex factors, and develop a proposed construction complexity index (CCI). Methods: According to the literature review, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is used to measure the affecting factors of project complexity. Results: This paper developed an index to measure complexity based on factor weights called construction complexity index (CCI). The validity of this index was verified by studying 3 cases. The construction complexity index (CCI) proposed here allows measuring the complexity of the projects in Egypt. The results of this paper provide guidelines on how to successfully manage the complexity of the project. Conclusion: Project complexity management relates to the challenge of dealing with technical competence, professional diversity, uncertainties, and unforeseen events in project implementation. Project managers, who are critical to effectiveness or failure, need skills such as adaptation, creativity, and flexibility to meet this challenge. Therefore, this study provides guidelines to help practitioners to develop their capabilities in managing complex projects. Moreover, this paper enables participants to identify factors affecting the complexity of projects and how to calculate this complexity through the complex index. The outcomes of this study can be used by practitioners to develop a complexity assessment and management tool, which would enable industry practitioners to allocate resources effectively on complex construction projects. This research aimed to develop a measure by which the complexity of construction projects in Egypt can be evaluated and establish guidelines on avoiding complexity in projects.

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Measuring the Project Management Complexity: The Case of Information Technology Projects

Complexity ◽

10.1155/2018/6058480 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-19 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Rocio Poveda-Bautista ◽

Jose-Antonio Diego-Mas ◽

Diego Leon-Medina

Keyword(s):

Project Management ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

It Projects ◽

Information Technology Projects ◽

Complex Projects ◽

Management Association ◽

Project Complexity ◽

Complexity Assessment ◽

The Impact ◽

Specific Project

Complex projects require specific project management (PM) competences development. However, while no complex projects have standards that are recognized to guide their management, complex projects do not have guides to deal with their complexity. To lead complex projects to success, this complexity must be measured quantitatively and, in our opinion, project management complexity assessment should be based on existing PM standards. In this work, the main project complexity assessment approaches based on PM standards are analyzed, observing that International Project Management Association (IPMA) approach is the closest to a tool that can be used as a complexity quantitative measurement system. On the other hand, several authors have shown that the inherent complexity of specific kind of projects must be measured in a particular way. The main objective of this research is to propose a project management complexity assessment tool for IT projects, providing a Complexity Index that measures the impact that complexity factors inherent to IT projects have under a specific complexity scenario. The tool combines the use of complexity factors defined by IPMA approach and the use of complexity factors found in the literature to manage inherent complexity of IT projects. All these factors were validated by expert survey and the tool was applied to a study case.

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Complexity assessment: A design and management tool for information system development

Information Systems ◽

10.1016/0306-4379(83)90006-6 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 8 (3) ◽

pp. 195-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Jeffrey E Kottemann ◽

Benn R Konsynski

Keyword(s):

Information System ◽

System Development ◽

Management Tool ◽

Information System Development ◽

Complexity Assessment

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Structural Complexity Assessment: A Design and Management Tool for Supply Chain Optimization

Procedia CIRP ◽

10.1016/j.procir.2012.07.040 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. 227-232 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

V. Modrak ◽

P. Semanco

Keyword(s):

Supply Chain ◽

Structural Complexity ◽

Management Tool ◽

Supply Chain Optimization ◽

Complexity Assessment

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A Framework to Evaluate Project Complexity Using the Fuzzy TOPSIS Method

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13063020 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 3020

Author(s):

Hadi Jaber ◽

Franck Marle ◽

Ludovic-Alexandre Vidal ◽

Ilkan Sarigol ◽

Lionel Didiez

Keyword(s):

Research Work ◽

Fuzzy Topsis ◽

Warning Signs ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Topsis Method ◽

Practical Applications ◽

Score Sheet ◽

Project Complexity ◽

Order Preference ◽

Complexity Assessment

This work aims to help managers anticipate, detect, and keep under control complex situations before facing negative consequences. This article explores complexity modeling theory and develops a framework and associated score sheet to measure project complexity. A framework comprising ninety factors is presented and divided into seven categories: stakeholders, project team, project governance, product, project characteristics, resources, and environment. For the project complexity assessment grid, the project manager prioritizes and weighs its factors using linguistic variables. The score sheet is customizable in its handling of the factors and their weights. A critical state of the art on multi-criteria methodologies is presented, as well as reasons for using the fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method. This method provides early-warning signs with the possibility of comparing multiple projects. It also enables one to measure and prioritize areas and domains where complexity may have the highest impact. Practical applications on three projects within an automotive manufacturer highlight the benefits of such an approach for managers. Project managers could use both a project complexity rating system and a measure of risk criticality to decide on the level of proactive actions needed. This research work differs from traditional approaches that have linked proactive actions to risk criticality but not project complexity.

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An early-stage project complexity assessment tool for the AEC industry

Construction Innovation ◽

10.1108/ci-10-2020-0162 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Paulo Vaz-Serra ◽

Peter Edwards ◽

Guillermo Aranda-Mena

Keyword(s):

Project Management ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Early Stage ◽

Management Practice ◽

Assessment Model ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Content Type ◽

Complex Projects ◽

Project Complexity ◽

Complexity Assessment

Purpose Complex projects require careful management. They may expose stakeholders to greater risks and place additional demands upon resources. In the initial stages of project development, however, little may be known about the nature and magnitude of such complexity. This paper aims to ensure that this gap is at least subjectively assessed and addressed. Design/methodology/approach Research, using focus group workshops with a convenience sample of construction professionals, was carried out to test the validity of a Project Early Stage Complexity Assessment Tool (PESCAT). The PESCAT concept brings together selected complexity theories and uses subjectively based measures for assessment. Findings The findings confirm that an early-stage project complexity assessment tool is practicable and can contribute to project management practice in the construction industry. It should be applied by individual project stakeholders using small teams of experienced staff. PESCAT explores project complexity through “filter” sets of perspective factors which should be customised to reflect the stakeholder’s role and processes in a project. Originality/value In the initial complexity assessment model, resolution space and uncertainty were tested as project complexity parameters. However, in subsequent versions of the tool, four measures (differentiation and differentiation uncertainty; interdependency and interdependency uncertainty) are used in an innovative way that focuses users’ attention more clearly and points to a more targeted approach for addressing project complexity. The value of our model lies in its practical application and the project management benefits it can deliver.

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