Managing Complex Infrastructure Projects: A Focus on Flexibility-Focused Project Management Approach

This blog discusses the importance of managing complex infrastructure projects using a flexibility-focused project management approach to reduce delays. It examines the viability of this approach and its effectiveness in managing project complexities.

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Project Management
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Blog
It is essential to manage the construction projects in the infrastructure sector, which are
quite complex, as maximum delays, are observed in this sector. The social as well as the
economic importance of a managed investment in infrastructure is huge and therefore it is
essential to mainly manage the projects in the infrastructure sector which are quite complex
(Eriksson, Larsson & Pesämaa, 2017). Complexity in a project is considered as an important
threshold variables associated with the complex project. Complexity in a project can be
described as a property of the particular project which makes it difficult to understand or
implement (Salet, Bertolini & Giezen, 2013). The complexity of a project can be managed by
making use of flexibility focused project management approach. This is essential because the
traditional project management approaches or paradigm does not involve control focused
practices. The control focused practices are mainly based on extensive planning, monitoring and
exploration of the knowledge that already exists (Eriksson, Larsson & Pesämaa, 2017). The
flexible project management approach considers a number of aspects which includes time
performance, collaboration, project complexity and adaptation. However, the accurateness of the
focused project management approach in managing the different issues in the associated with the
complex project is needed to be examined (Kardes et al., 2013). The research paper examines the
viability of making use of focused project management approach is managing the complex
infrastructure projects which will reduce the delays in the project.
The complexity in a particular project increases if the capability of the project manager
decreases. The flexibility focused approach of project management is mainly based or focused on
three central practices (Eriksson, Larsson & Pesämaa, 2017). It is mainly focused on the
identification and testing of the new technical solutions and work processes associated with the

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organization (Eriksson, Larsson & Pesämaa, 2017). There are a number of other processes that
can considerably help in managing the project’s complexity. The complexity of the project is
needed to be conceptualized prior to the proposal of solution to the problem. It is essential to
initiate and plan the management of complex project. Project managers play a significant role in
management of the project complexities (Cruz & Marques, 2013). The complex construction
projects normally suffer delays in their implementation and delivery mainly because these types
of projects are difficult to manage. Thus it is seen that the management of complex projects is
strongly influenced by the control focused paradigm and the experimental results suggest that it
is one effective approach of reducing the delay in the project as well (Eriksson, Larsson &
Pesämaa, 2017). However, the management of such type of complex project needs tailoring the
project management practices for efficient management of this type of projects. Flexibility of
time and schedule is necessary in management of the complex projects (Eriksson, Larsson &
Pesämaa, 2017). The importance of tailoring the project management practices can be evaluated
by comparing with the traditional project management practices that cannot guarantee the
successful implementation of the project.
The focused approach of project management deals with collaboration among the team
members in management of a project. Collaboration among the team members is needed for
ensuring efficient communication with the team (Guo et al., 2014). Collaboration among the
team members is furthermore important as it promotes effective interaction between the team
members. The complex construction projects are often delayed mainly because it involves a lot
of tasks that is needed to be finished (Too & Weaver, 2014). Apart from that, it becomes difficult
for the project manager to ensure timely implementation of the tasks associated with a project.
The chosen article takes a primary analysis to test and understand the acceptability of the

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flexibility-focused project management approach (Salet, Bertolini & Giezen, 2013). It has been
found out that the project managers of complex projects make use flexible focused management
of the project instead of the traditional control focused paradigm for increasing the flexibility in
the project.
The project managers of complex infrastructure projects are challenged to keep their
project focused. However, flexibility in the complex infrastructure project is important in order
to eliminate any chances of delays in the project (Salet, Bertolini & Giezen, 2013). Project
Managers should understand the capability of the projects in adjusting to project objectives. The
capabilities of the project to adjust, largely depends on the consequences of the uncertain
circumstances that might be present in a project (Eriksson, Larsson & Pesämaa, 2017). The
capability of the project to adjust largely depends on the adaptability of the project team
members.
The adaptability of the project team members increases the flexibility in the process of
delivering a project. Coupled with the flexibility, project managers need to ensure accurate
decision making process in the project as well (Eriksson, Larsson & Pesämaa, 2017). Flexibility
in the project is associated with the degree of modularity in the projects. Project modularity
refers to the possibility of dividing the projects into a number of sub units. This is one of the
significant advantages of making use of flexible focused approach in project management. The
efficiency in the project is directly linked with the immediate project outcome (Osipova &
Eriksson, 2013). The division of the entire project in a number of sub units increases the
effectiveness in the process of executing a project (Too & Weaver, 2014). Thus it can be said
that the flexible focused project management approach helps in fulfilling the objectives of the
project by increasing the effectiveness of the project.

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However, it is seen that the flexible focused approach of project management only
improves the effectiveness of the project and not the efficiency of the project, which is a major
issue associated with this approach (Garel, 2013). Managing the complexity of the project in the
infrastructure sector is a tough task and delays in such types of projects are a common
phenomenon (Too & Weaver, 2014). Flexibility focused approach of project management helps
in managing these complex projects by dividing the task into a number of subunits thus
increasing its complexity. Therefore, this model of project management is effective for the
projects in infrastructure sector.

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References
Cruz, C. O., & Marques, R. C. (2013). Flexible contracts to cope with uncertainty in public–
private partnerships. International Journal of Project Management, 31(3), 473-483.
Eriksson, P. E., Larsson, J., & Pesämaa, O. (2017). Managing complex projects in the
infrastructure sector—A structural equation model for flexibility-focused project
management. International Journal of Project Management, 35(8), 1512-1523.
Garel, G. (2013). A history of project management models: From pre-models to the standard
models. International Journal of Project Management, 31(5), 663-669.
Guo, F., Chang-Richards, Y., Wilkinson, S., & Li, T. C. (2014). Effects of project governance
structures on the management of risks in major infrastructure projects: A comparative
analysis. International Journal of Project Management, 32(5), 815-826.
Kardes, I., Ozturk, A., Cavusgil, S. T., & Cavusgil, E. (2013). Managing global megaprojects:
Complexity and risk management. International Business Review, 22(6), 905-917.
Osipova, E., & Eriksson, P. E. (2013). Balancing control and flexibility in joint risk
management: Lessons learned from two construction projects. International Journal of
Project Management, 31(3), 391-399.
Salet, W., Bertolini, L., & Giezen, M. (2013). Complexity and uncertainty: Problem or asset in
decision making of mega infrastructure projects?. International Journal of Urban and
Regional Research, 37(6), 1984-2000.

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Too, E. G., & Weaver, P. (2014). The management of project management: A conceptual
framework for project governance. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8),
1382-1394.