Project Complexity Mapping in Five Dimensions for Complex Transportation Projects

Abstract

Traditional three-dimensional project management theory is based on optimizing the cost-schedule-technical dimensions. Recent studies in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have shown that the current project management body of knowledge may not be adequate to address interrelated and dependent variables encountered on complex projects. This paper reports the findings of an international research team’s detailed study of 18 complex projects, which confirms the findings of the previous research and proposes a framework upon which a complex transportation project’s scope of work can be better conceptualized and a methodology to graphically display a project’s complexity in order to better understand and prioritize the available resources. The result is a “complexity footprint” that helps the complex transportation project manager identify the sources of complexity so that appropriate resources can be allocated to address those factors before they create a crisis.