Deviation from a state of perfect uniformity: An indicator of structural complexity in projects

Abstract

The complexity of projects arising from interconnectedness between activities is believed to be one of the most significant challenges for managing projects. Although the literature has long appreciated the significance of measuring complexity, research on this topic is weakened by the lack of a method that accounts for a diverse set of structural characteristics of project networks. To evade this pitfall, this paper introduces the concept of perfect uniformity and develops a comprehensive measure of structural complexity in projects. The proposed method is validated by applying it in two real‐life projects. The validation results confirm that project complexity is positively associated with a higher level of deviation from a state of perfect uniformity. This research is among few studies that draw on the concept of emergence and point out the importance of a system‐level approach in project management to analyse the interdependency between multiple interconnected activities.

Project schedule contingency planning: Building on von Bertalanffy's open systems theory and critical systems practice

“…Starting from the pioneering work of Tukel et al (2006), attempts have been made to develop buffer sizing methods that capture various characteristics of a project network as an indicator of complexity. Over the past 15 years, attention has been directed towards the larger context by assessing a project as a network of multiple interacting activities (Gorod et al, 2018; Zarghami, 2023). In doing so, scholars have determined the sizes of time buffers by taking into account various characteristics of project networks such as the number of precedence relationships (Ma et al, 2014; Tukel et al, 2006), network density (Ansari et al, 2018) and the level of dependence between risk factors and project activities (Bie et al, 2012).…”