What do you think?
Rate this book
Projects and Complexity
Helpful to those tasked with managing complex environments, Projects and Complexity introduces a new way of looking at projects and fostering the culture needed to achieve sustainable results. It brings together experts from the academic, military, and business worlds to explore project management in the context of complexity theory and organizations. These experts explore a systemic and organic approach to projects that widens the scope of a project manager’s role as well as the tools and capabilities required.
The book provides readers with an understanding of the roots of project management in complexity theory and the human sciences. It explores seven principles of complexity theory and applies them to project management; examining project needs and features in terms of success parameters, team and stakeholders’ perspectives, the project manager’s perspective, and the perspectives of theory and practice.
The contributors examine cutting-edge organizational models from management research and military leadership and map them to project management. They integrate insights from various disciplines to introduce tools that are relatively unknown to project managers and leaders. The book describes a paradigm that is complementary to traditional project management and also provides you with the philosophical, general management, and complexity theory findings needed to lead successful projects in complex environments.
The book provides readers with an understanding of the roots of project management in complexity theory and the human sciences. It explores seven principles of complexity theory and applies them to project management; examining project needs and features in terms of success parameters, team and stakeholders’ perspectives, the project manager’s perspective, and the perspectives of theory and practice.
The contributors examine cutting-edge organizational models from management research and military leadership and map them to project management. They integrate insights from various disciplines to introduce tools that are relatively unknown to project managers and leaders. The book describes a paradigm that is complementary to traditional project management and also provides you with the philosophical, general management, and complexity theory findings needed to lead successful projects in complex environments.
328 pages, Hardcover
First published May 9, 2012
1 person is currently reading
144 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 8, 2013
This is a translated collection of articles by a group in Italy who found a common interest in complexity theory (specifically complex adaptive systems) and its application to or parallels with project management. They explore the connections and propose some ways to improve upon the traditional body of knowledge (i.e., the PMBoK) and practices in PM.
It is a very thought provoking book and I recommend it for anyone who finds traditional and static PM practice to be poorly adapted to today's more complex projects. As an author of a competitor to the PMBoK (AACE's Total Cost Management Framework) I was and am seeking ways to move beyond traditional control. I have been following systems engineering and dynamics, chaos and complexity theory for some time, but this is the first book that does away with the obtuse math and feedback models and talks narratively about the topic.
Indeed, a potential weakness for some will be the author's tendency to get too deep into philosophical and literary reference to anchor their thinking. A bit of arrogance comes through in their repeated reference to themselves as "complexnauts" as if nobody else has been on this voyage. They also display a dismissive attitude towards mundane things like measuring complexity (unworthy of a philospher?)
But they deserve credit for some new insights that are worth reading. They do provide an outline for some new approaches to the PMBoK, however, this book is far from a how-to and does not provide usable tools per se; it brushes the surface, but encourages further exploration. In short, anyone looking beyond the PMBoK (or TCM) should read this.
It is a very thought provoking book and I recommend it for anyone who finds traditional and static PM practice to be poorly adapted to today's more complex projects. As an author of a competitor to the PMBoK (AACE's Total Cost Management Framework) I was and am seeking ways to move beyond traditional control. I have been following systems engineering and dynamics, chaos and complexity theory for some time, but this is the first book that does away with the obtuse math and feedback models and talks narratively about the topic.
Indeed, a potential weakness for some will be the author's tendency to get too deep into philosophical and literary reference to anchor their thinking. A bit of arrogance comes through in their repeated reference to themselves as "complexnauts" as if nobody else has been on this voyage. They also display a dismissive attitude towards mundane things like measuring complexity (unworthy of a philospher?)
But they deserve credit for some new insights that are worth reading. They do provide an outline for some new approaches to the PMBoK, however, this book is far from a how-to and does not provide usable tools per se; it brushes the surface, but encourages further exploration. In short, anyone looking beyond the PMBoK (or TCM) should read this.
Displaying 1 of 1 review