MANAGEMENT OF

ENGINEERING PROJECTS
MSCEPM601
LECTURE 5
Dr Eng. ZJ Chihambakwe
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Complex projects are usually characterised by the following
• Time duration can be over several years.
• The assumptions can and will change over the duration of the project.
• Technology will change over the duration of the project.
• People who approved the project (and are part of the governance)
may not be there at completion.
• The statement of work is ill defined and subject to numerous
changes.
• The target may be moving.
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Differences in traditional
and non traditional
complex projects
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Projects are usually defined as being complex according to one or more of the
following elements interacting together:
• Size
• Dollar value
• Uncertain requirements
• Uncertain scope
• Uncertain deliverables
• Complex interactions
• Uncertain credentials of labour pool
• Geographic separation across multiple time zones
• Other factors
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
• Size and cost - According to size, we shall assume that this
project is possibly one of the largest and most costly projects
that you have ever worked on
• Interactions - You must interface with several subcontractors or
suppliers, and many of them may be in different time zones
• Cultural implications - Because some or all of your team members
may come from various locations around the globe, cultural
differences can have a severe effect on the management of the
project
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
• Uncertainty - This project is unlike any other project you have
managed, and there is a great deal of uncertainty. The uncertainty
deals with not only the scope and the deliverables, but also with the
size of the project team and the cultural differences
• Stakeholders . There are several stakeholders that you must interface
with, and getting them all to agree on the scope, the deliverables, and
the approval of change requests will be difficult. Stakeholders may
have their own agendas for the project, and each stakeholder may
have funded part of the project
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
The three critical requirements for successful execution of a complex
project include:
• Clear understanding of the goals and objectives
• User involvement from cradle to grave
• Clear governance - process of decision making
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
• Delivering projects on time, on budget and to a high standard is a
challenge many engineers face
• According to Duck, 2021 “The nature of complexity is changing.
Complexity used to come from trying to coordinate and control large
amounts of resources to build large structures and objects and it then
shifted to more technical problems [such as] building and delivering
new systems built on concepts rather than physical things. Now with
easy access to worldwide capability, the limits are no longer our
understanding of the technical nature of the problem.”
• Complexity demands ways of thinking and skills that are not
traditionally associated with managing projects
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
• It is about being flexible and adaptive rather than focusing on control
and predictability. It is about finding the balance between holding
space to explore options and finding a way to get things done even
when there is no clarity
• It is a willingness to sense and respond to what is occurring around
you, to rethink the approach when the current path isn’t working. It is
a new way of working that both improves the likelihood of success for
the project but also lifts the experience of everyone involved by not
trying to force certainty on a situation where there is none
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Tips
• be curious: complexity is emergent and always changing. You need to
have a curiosity to be looking for something different, to be asking
why something is the way it is
• “give up knowing” and un-learn that as an engineer, your source of
value is knowing the right answer. you must give up trying to know
the answer and look for the answers in others. It is more important to
be able to ask good questions and listen intently for what the answer
reveals both about that person and yourself
• building a strong team around you, because when it comes to
complex projects, no one person can see the whole system
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Project complexity can be managed by either removing the sources of complexity or
by reducing their impact, several strategies may be considered;
1. The active selection of complex projects. By estimating a project’s complexity
before taking on a particular project, the fit between the project and the
organization can be considered. When a mismatch occurs, the organization
should deliberately decide to either proactively change the project’s
composition, kill the project or to continue as planned while consciously
accepting the inherent risk of the project.
2. The selection of appropriately skilled project staff. When a project is particularly
complex on one dimension of project complexity, and the project manager lacks
the appropriate skills and experiences to manage the complexity of that
dimension, it becomes more likely that the negative effects of that dimension
are underestimated and consequently poorly managed.
3. The selection of an appropriate project methodology. Project complexity stems
from the collective behavior of the project system. Since most management
methodologies affect the project as a whole, the choice of management
method can have a considerable impact on a project’s complexity.
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Strategies for dealing with
complex projects
• Engagement project
management
• Enterprise Performance
Management methodology
which is an advanced project
management method, which
is concentrated on new
product launches and requires
high interdisciplinary skills
and team spirit cooperation
Techniques for managing complex
engineering projects
Possible complex
projects outcomes
Current and Future issues involving
engineering project management
Project management software
• Today, perhaps as much as 95
percent of the project
management software is
designed around the
planning, scheduling, and
cost control of projects.
While much of this software
is also applicable to complex
projects, it is the other 5
percent that may be crucial
for complex projects
• There is a shortage of project
management software for
project initiation and project
closure
Current and Future issues involving
engineering project management
Areas for best practices
• it may no longer be acceptable to
wait until the end of a phase or for
project closing to collect best
practices requiring all activities
associated with project practices
(planning, risk management, etc.)
to be performed iteratively
throughout the project.
• It’s imperative that these emerging
best practices be captured as soon
as they are identified, codified, and
rapidly distributed to the
appropriate project stakeholders so
they can be implemented as quickly
as possible on the current project
Current and Future issues involving
engineering project management
Change in focus
• when dealing with complex projects not all stakeholders understand
the triple constraints or the project management tools, but they do
understand communications, leadership, and motivation
Current and Future issues involving
engineering project management
Change in sponsorship
Current and Future issues involving
engineering project management
Project accountability
• line managers and the project manager now share accountability for the
success and failure of the project. This will work if the concept of shared
accountability is enforced by senior management. This is one of the
reasons why today line managers are becoming Project Management
Professionals (PMPs)
Current and Future issues involving
engineering project management
Enterprise performance methodologies
Current and Future issues involving
engineering project management
Enterprise environmental factors
As value - driven project management becomes more salient, organizational
goals and market conditions, which are bound to changeover a prolonged
period of time, become more important enterprise environmental factors
In conclusion
Many project management methodologies are available in practice and
there is no golden key solution for companies that they could adopt.
Project managers in different industries should manage projects and
not become managed by projects