How Hard Can It Be?: Actively Managing Complexity in Technology Projects

Abstract

OVERVIEW:The business of technology firms depends on the successful delivery of projects. These projects can be complex and, some say, increasingly so. Assessing and proactively managing that complexity can benefit project delivery. Based on a systematic literature review and multistage field research, we sought to understand the nature of different dimensions of complexity and how they affect the development of a project. Working from that research, we generated a complexity assessment tool, which was tested initially with a global technology firm and then with a wider network of large organizations in other sectors. The result is a complexity-based view of project management that enables greater specificity in articulating, assessing, and coping with both generic complexities and particular context-dependent challenges.