Theories, causes and techniques of Complex Project Management

This article discusses the theories, causes and techniques of complex project management. It explains the complexity theory and complex adaptive systems, and how feedback loops can be used to stabilize systems. It also covers the causes, environments and properties of complex projects, and the techniques used by project managers to handle them, such as planning, task division, risk identification, and continuous monitoring.

Running Head: COMPLEX PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Theories, causes and techniques of Complex Project Management
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Ideas and theories of complex project management:
Projects undertaken by some organization may become complex and therefore the
outcome of the project might become unpredictable. To overcome this the complexity theory is
used that helps the project to fight with chaotic systems. It explains the areas that led the project
to be complex, which is not explained by the traditional theories (Kapsali, 2013). A number of
practitioners have argued that even in a chaotic system, the parts can be stable at any point of
time. The part of complexity theory that has proven itself the most effective in handling complex
projects is complex adaptive systems (Cooke-Davies, 2011). Regarded as a dynamic system it is
characterized by disconnection between cause and effect, irreversibility, path dependency and
nonlinearity. Another idea exist for managing complex projects that is by the use of feedback
loops (Du, Leten & Vanhaverbeke, 2014). Systems are made stable by using this feedback loop.
Complexity theorists argues that the project managers should note the initial conditions and
proceed with complex project with these initial notes. This idea is referred to as the butterfly
effect or sensitive dependence on initial conditions. Phase transition is another complexity that
has been identified in a project. Transition might lead to an unexpected condition where the
outcome of the project will become impossible to predict. However, this problem can also be
solved by the complexity theory. Complexity in projects might arise due to uncertainty, technical
challenges as well as time shortage. All the problems can be solved by following the complexity
theory and identifying the risks before embarking the project.
Causes, environments and properties of complex projects:
Human behaviour is one of the cause of complexity in projects. Researchers have argued
that the complexity of project largely depends on the behaviour and managing capacity of the
project manager (Kardes et al., 2013). If the manager do not have adequate knowledge on

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leadership skills, motivational skills and team building capability then the project might become
complex. Unnecessary complexity in projects leads to turning down of project outcome qualities.
Project management practices largely effects the outcome of the project. As the complexity of
the project increases the relationships among the team members also becomes difficult which in
turn increases the complexity of the project largely. Both the internal and external environments
can make the project complex. For example, external environments of a project can be the
political issues that the project has to face with similar projects of rival companies. This has a
direct impact on the complexity of the project. Internal environments like personal issues among
the team members can lead to an increase in the complexity of project. Practitioners say that it is
the responsibility of the project manager to deal with this situation and avoid complexity of
project as much as possible (Cicmil, Cooke-Davies, Crawford & Richardson, 2017). The
common properties of a complex projects are high level of difficulties, uncertainty of outcome
and communication gap between the company and its stakeholders. Theorists say that the gap
among the stakeholders will be addressed by project manager and it is his responsibility to
eliminate them to ensure smooth progress of the project.
Techniques used by project manager to handle complex projects:
From the above two discussions it is clear that the project manager has huge amount of
responsibilities that needs to be fulfilled. Therefore, he should adopt certain tools and techniques
to handle the complexity of the projects. To eliminate them the project manager should follow
the below techniques:
 Planning the project, which will include identification of the scope and objectives of the
project (Remington & Pollack, 2016). It will give a clear idea of the project to the project

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team members. In case any complexity arises, the project manager will have to stick to
the objectives to carry on with the project.
 Division of the task among the members will effectively reduce the workload on a single
individual. Ideas and opinion of different members helps to reduce the complexity of the
projects.
 Identifying the risks of the project should be done before the start of the project
(Pucciarelli & Kaplan, 2016). This will help to eliminate unnecessary complications in
the middle of the project.
 The standards and procedures should be compared well in advance of embarking the
project. Referring to a standard project method will help the project manager to guide the
members accordingly to carry on the smooth working of the project.
 Continuous monitoring and supervising should be done on the project by the project
manager to analyse the problem at any point of time. Complexity increases when a risk is
overlooked. If continuous supervision is done then complexity might be reduced.

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References:
Cicmil, S., Cooke-Davies, T., Crawford, L., & Richardson, K. (2017, April). Exploring the
complexity of projects: Implications of complexity theory for project management
practice. Project Management Institute.
Cooke-Davies, T. (2011, August). Aspects of complexity: Managing projects in a complex
world. Project Management Institute.
Du, J., Leten, B., & Vanhaverbeke, W. (2014). Managing open innovation projects with science-
based and market-based partners. Research Policy, 43(5), 828-840.
Kapsali, M. (2013). Equifinality in project management exploring causal complexity in projects.
Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 30(1), 2-14.
Kardes, I., Ozturk, A., Cavusgil, S. T., & Cavusgil, E. (2013). Managing global megaprojects:
Complexity and risk management. International Business Review, 22(6), 905-917.
Pucciarelli, F., & Kaplan, A. (2016). Competition and strategy in higher education: Managing
complexity and uncertainty. Business Horizons, 59(3), 311-320.
Remington, K., & Pollack, J. (2016). Tools for complex projects. Routledge.