written assesment

PPMP 20014

Complex Project Management

Lecture 2 for Week 2

Prepared by:

Richard Egelstaff PMP, MBA (Adv), BA

Senior Lecturer in Project Management,

School of Engineering & Technology

Higher Education Division

CQUniversity Ooralea Campus, Mackay QLD

Topics

• Where are we so far?

• Week’s Stuff

– Readings

– Study

– Reflections & Discussions

– Assignments

2

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain the causes, environments, and properties of complex projects.

2. Identify different tools and techniques to aid a project manager manage complex projects.

3. Critically analyse whether different projects cases are complex projects.

4. Formulate, argue and defend a strategy that a project manager can apply to a complex project case study.

5. In a team analyse the root causes of failure with a number of sample complex project cases.

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Reflections So Far • Overall

– Why should Project Managers concern themselves?

– Why should Organisations concern themselves?

– How much can be saved by identifying and managing complex projects?

– What is the maximum benefit gained?

– Aren’t project managers only concerned with the project and it’s not their business to involve themselves in aspects outside the project that might be the cause of complexity?

– Isn’t this making a project manager more than a project manager?

• Week 1 – What is a Complex Project?

– What is a Complex Project Management?

– Is a Complex Project complex to everyone?

– Are there essential common elements or features for Complex Projects?

• Week 2 – How can you measure complexity when complexity means different things to different people?

– What is the theory for high vs low complexity?

– Is there a taxonomy of complexity that can be applied to complex projects?

– Are there case studies of high complexity that can be referred to as models?

• Week 3 – If managing complexity is an art. Then for there to be tools there must be methods. Surely those

tools will be ambiguous without a scientific foundation?

– Are the tools universal across project domains?

– Can the tools be applied to particular phases of the life cycle?

– …or be integrated into the project, program, portfolio hierarchy?

– …or be aligned with knowledge areas, such as risk management?

– …or be incorporated into existing tools and techniques, such as EVM reporting?

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PPMP20014

Complex Project Management

THE WEEK’S READINGS AND STUDY

Week 2 - Topic: Managing Projects in a Complex World.

• Mandatory Readings: – Aspects of Complexity: Managing Projects in a Complex

World (2011) • Chapter 2 Managing Projects With High Complexity by Stephen

Hayes and Daniel Bennett

• Optional Readings – Ackermann F., & Alexander J. 2016

• "Researching complex projects: Using causal mapping to take a systems perspective" International Journal of Project Management Volume 34, Issue 6, August 2016, Pages 891-901

– YouTube Video: • APM RPP – What is a complex Project? (by ProvekLimited)

• Complex or merely complicated? (by Michael Cavanagh)

• 2nd Discussion Forum

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Week 2 - Topic: Managing Projects in a Complex World.

• Reflection:

– How can you measure complexity when complexity

means different things to different people?

– What is the theory for high vs low complexity?

– Is there a taxonomy of complexity that can be applied

to complex projects?

– Are there case studies of high complexity that can be

referred to as models?

• How will you discuss these reflections in the

Discussion Forums?

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Chapter 2 Managing Projects With High Complexity

by Stephen Hayes and Daniel Bennett

• Introduction

• Complexity

• Key Issues as Highlighted by ICCPM Roundtables – Unaccommodated or misaligned stakeholder views of success.

– Tension between product success and project success.

– Political and public relations pressure militating against doing the right thing.

– Lack of understanding or acknowledgment of nontechnical risk.

– Use of competition as a weapon.

– Institutionalized procurement practices.

– Few project managers are equipped to be project delivery leaders.

– Lack of opportunity for engagement between government and industry.

– Future capability (projects) is predicated on attaining rational estimates.

– Current tools and decision processes unsuitable for analyzing uncertainty.

• Complex Project Management in Practice – Stakeholder benefits and the measures of success and failure.

– The organizational capacity for managing complexity.

– The organization as a hierarchy, or a network, or both?

– People and discipline.

– Systems thinking and paradoxical leadership.

– Leadership through values, vision, and principles.

– Sense-making leaders makes sense.

– Systems and processes to facilitate the discipline of business.

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Chapter 2 Managing Projects With High Complexity

by Stephen Hayes and Daniel Bennett

• (p. 17) The questions the chapter is addressing:

1. How does the presence of a high degree of complexity

influence the behavior and practice of a project

manager?

2. What does it feel like to be a program manager in a

complex project?

3. From an existing good practice perspective what has

been found to work or not to work?

4. What are the key elements that help or hinder a program

manager?

5. How does a project manager influence his or her

environment to better manage the affects of complexity?

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Chapter 2 Managing Projects With High Complexity

by Stephen Hayes and Daniel Bennett

• (p. 17-18) Complex projects are those that:

1. can be characterized by uncertainty, ambiguity, with

emergent dynamic interfaces, influenced by

significant political or external changes;

2. run over a period which exceeds the product life

cycles of the technologies involved or where

significant integration issues exist;

3. defined by effect (benefit and value) but not by

solution (product) at inception.

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Ackermann F., & Alexander J. 2016 "Researching complex

projects: Using causal mapping to take a systems perspective"

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F. Ackermann, J. Alexander / International Journal of Project Management 34

(2016) 891–901

Fig. 1. Example section of a causal map adapted from Howick et al. (2009). Each arrow/link represents causality and thus

reveals chains of argument starting from explanations at the bottom of the map through to consequences at the top.

YouTube Videos

• APM RPP – What is a complex Project? (by ProvekLimited) – Assessment of competence in the management of

complex projects

– For more information see http://www.provek.co.uk/

• Complex or merely complicated? (by Michael Cavanagh) – Reverend Michael Cavanagh introduces the topic of

complex project management by looking at what exactly makes a project 'complex' rather than merely 'complicated‘

– For more information see http://tfmfoundation.ie/about/our- board/14-reverend-michael-cavanagh

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What does the Discussion Forum Look Like?

Question

Instructions

Once you click on the link (available Monday 12am to Monday 12am) then

you will be able to write your submission into the Online Text area. You can

paste from an external document, but it’s best to paste plain text not Word

formatted text!

2nd Discussion Forum

• In chapter 1 of Terry Cooke-Davies' book Aspects of Complexity he breaks down a number of factors for the causes of complexity: -

1. Unhelpful Behavior (Cooke-Davies 2011, p.4);

2. Failure to Appreciate Systemicity (Cooke-Davies 2011, p.5);

3. Models (Cooke-Davies 2011, p.5);

4. Simplistic Project Management (Cooke-Davies 2011, p.5);

5. Over-Ambitious Strategic Management (Cooke-Davies 2011, p.6);

– and other factors…

• Please consider one of the 5 factors above and provide an example of a project where you believe that factor was a reason for complexity in the project. Explain the outcome of this factor and whether your explanation is consistent with Terry Cooke-Davies’ observations.

• You must use the correct academic communication method in your explanation. See the Academic Learning Centre Moodle web page if you do not know how to do this: -

– https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=1498

• In not more than 1,000 words make your explanation by typing rich text directly into the editor field for your submission. The text area will be available in this study week from 12am Monday until 12am the following Monday.

Summary

• Where are we so far?

• Week’s Stuff

– Readings

– Study

– Reflections & Discussions

– Assignments

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