Managing Complexity in Project Teams

Interconnections and boundaries between the project parties have been identified as causing complexity which, if not managed, leads to reduction in performance. Understanding the characteristics of complexity of interconnections, and how these affect organising projects and the management style, will enable the development and implementation of innovative project actions and tools. The authors present results from a study of UK construction organisations on the influences of complexity generated by the interconnections. The results have significant implications on how project teams are put together and managed; they also enabled the development of a framework for managing complexity of interconnections in projects. Keywords Complexity, Projects, Organisation, Management Style

The management of projects transpires in a complex environment. The application of complexity theory to the management of projects can, therefore, enable the systematic consideration of the conditions that give rise to such complexity. A number of authors have indicated that interfaces generate complexity (Baccarini, 1996; Gidado, 1996; Williams, 1999), however complexity can be associated more with the interconnection structures that link various objects and not the objects themselves (Lucas, 2000a). Projects, and in particular mega projects, often involve a large number of parties and subsequently interconnections. These interconnections can generate complexity which has defined characteristics (Lucas, 2000b). Understanding the characteristics of these interconnections, especially from a socio-organisational standpoint and how these affect the project performance, can contribute to the design of more efficient project delivery systems. In particular, it should enable project managers to respond with the necessary actions and improve the setting up of projects, the management style adopted and the decision-making process. The 16 characteristics directly relevant have been mapped onto project conditions (Antoniadis, 2006). In the last decade the effects of complexity on projects have been researched and a number of proposals have been made in terms of managing its effects. Although heuristic considerations exist, which suggest an exponentially decaying/inverse correlation between complexity and project schedule performance, very little has been done to identify the exact relationship. Furthermore, most of the studies have been carried out on the technical side and very little has been investigated in terms of the socio-organisational aspects of complexity of interconnections and its effects, especially when implementing processes such as selecting team members, structuring the project team, or the management style adopted. Research in the past also indicated that socio-organisational processes that contribute substantially to the project management outcome, such as selecting project team members, structuring the project team and consideration given to the management style to be adopted, has been minimal to non-existent. This paper presents the results from a survey, interviews and five case studies investigating the effect(s) of socio-organo complexity on project performance. The findings from this research, although carried out in the UK construction industry with major organisations - clients and contractors - reflect the wider problems faced by the project management profession and generally organisations that deal with projects. It is concluded that basic socio-organisational processes are not implemented, complexity is not considered when implementing these processes and that the relationship between project performance and complexity, although one of an inverse correlation, does not resemble a straight forward exponential decay curve but rather one of an underdamped transient motion. This relationship, not only confirms the non-linearity of project management, especially regarding socio-organisational issues, but it can also be proven very powerful considering the potential extrapolation and implementation of techniques already proven in the field of systems control. Considering the above and the basic principle that if we know the characteristics of complexity then it is feasible to establish the means to manage its effects, a framework was developed and validated by project management practitioners. The framework measures the level of implementation of the respective process against each complexity characteristic and by providing a set of actions enables Project Managers (PMs) and Team Leaders (TLs) to manage the effects of complexity of interconnections on the project through the respective project management processes.

Project activities at the various levels within the delivery process have an influence on each other. This generates interconnections and boundaries between the activities as well as the individuals within a team, and teams as whole entities, within the project. The interconnection structures often give rise to complexity, which could lead to a reduction in performance if the resulting interface is not purposefully and efficiently managed. Understanding the characteristics of complexity caused by interconnections and their effect on the performance will enable better management of project teams. The authors present the results of a multi-method study of construction organisations to highlight the effects of complexity generated by the interconnections. Complexity in the management of projects and in particular the sub-process of structuring teams are reviewed in order to investigate the level of actions required to manage the effects of complexity. The results from the study have significant implications for the way the sub-process of structuring teams in projects is currently conducted and present opportunity for achieving innovation in the organisation of project teams. Keywords: Complexity, Interconnections, Structuring of Project teams, Project Management processes, Project performance

Management

Within construction the activities at the various hierarchies making up the delivery process have an influence on each other. This creates interconnections and boundaries between the activities as well as the individuals within a team and teams as a whole within the project. The interconnection structures often cause complexity, which could lead to a reduction in performance if the resulting interface is not purposefully and efficiently managed. Understanding the characteristics of the complexity from these interconnections, and how these affect the selection of members into teams will enable the development and implementation of project actions that will support the management of complexity from interconnection structures. Within this paper, the authors present the results of a study of construction organisations to shed more light of the influences of complexity generated by the interconnections. It uses team selection as a proxy to investigate the level of actions / techniques used to manage the effects of complexity. The results from the study have significant implications for the way teams are put together on projects.

Construction projects involve and generate a number of interfaces between the various parties as these come together to deliver the output. Projects are typically characterised by complexity and previous analyses have been conducted mainly from the technical perspective. Only recently the subject of complexity has been linked to non-technical project aspects such as behavioural, social, cultural and interconnections. This paper is set out to describe the initial findings from 31 interviews with construction Project Managers which were carried out as part of an extensive investigation into socio-organisation complexity and its characteristics as this is created by the interconnection structures. In addition to the interviews, a postal survey and five case studies have been carried out all focusing in the areas of selecting project team members, structuring the project team and the management style followed by the Project Managers. Results indicate that complexity although recognised is not defined and is identified predominantly by the control and mechanistic parts of project management processes. Keywords Project Complexity, Complexity Characteristics, Project Performance, Construction

irbdirekt.de

Interconnections and boundaries between the various project parties have been identified as an area which requires careful consideration. Complexity is caused by interconnections and this could lead to a reduction in performance if the resulting interface is not purposefully and efficiently managed. Understanding the characteristics of complexity of interconnections, and how these affect organising projects and the management style will enable the development and implementation of innovative project actions and tools that will support the management of complexity through the respective processes. The authors present results from a study of UK construction organisations to shed more light on the influences of complexity generated by the interconnections. The results from the study have significant implications for the way project teams are put together and managed, and enabled the introduction of a framework for managing complexity of interconnections in projects.

Journal for the advancement of performance information and value, 2012

The sub-process of selecting team members, as in people not organizations, is not applied. It is however a fact that interconnections and boundaries are formed between individuals within a team and teams as a whole within the project and these cause complexity. Complexity characteristics have been identified and if project practitioners understand how these affect the process of selecting team members they will be able to manage its affects. A study was conducted with construction project practitioners from six organizations, which included questionnaires and interviews and investigated the level of implementation of team member selection and the level of actions taken / techniques used to manage the effects of complexity of interconnections. The results concur with previous findings that existing techniques are not implemented but also confirm that the process is not considered as means to manage the effects of complexity. Based on these findings a framework was developed which not only promotes the process and a number of the existing techniques but also enables practitioners to take appropriate action(s) for the management of the effects of complexity of interconnections using its characteristics.

Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences

This article aims to investigate how project management affects project fulfillment. Connecting skills to the project environment is key to project management skills. The abilities of project managers to lead successful activities have been examined in numerous studies. The project manager wants to hold on to rigid skills that can be applied to the project's circumstances. The relationship between the project supervisor and the project group, which encourages experimentation and learning, affects how strong their skills are. A thorough literature study reveals the lack of agreement on project complexity as a moderator between project success and project management skills, which also offers a comprehensive overview and critical analysis of the underlying ideas. This investigation's main goal moved to determine project success outcomes by considering project complexity as a moderator between project management skills and project success. To do so, this analysis looks at accumu...

مجلة المقدمة, 2017

شغلت الفتوى المجتمعات الإسلامية قديما وحديثا، وذلك لحاجة المسلمين في كل زمان ومكان إلى معرفة أحكام الشرع في تصرفاتهم. وقد اختلف العلماء في شان الفتوى؛ فمال بعضهم إلى لزوم عمل المستفتي بفتوى المفتي، ومال فريق آخر إلى القول بعدم لزومه. هذه الدراسة انتهت إلى ضرورة التمييز بين الحالات التي يكون العمل فيها بالفتوى لازما والحالات التي لا يكون فيها العمل بها لازما.