Complexity Conquered

 

“If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem, and one minute resolving it” – Albert Einstein

These words aptly represent the problem that exists with the traditional view of project controls - a parochial focus on the Delivery or Implementation stage of a project.

While project delivery is key to realising the value of a project, creating the value occurs primarily in the early stages of a project, and well before delivery gets underway.

Similarly, research suggests that cost of getting the early stages wrong, such as misdiagnosing the business problem, is up to 10 times costlier to an organisation than project implementation failures. In Australia, inaccurate understanding of requirements is the #1 primary cause of project failure (PMI, 2018).

 

Our thanks to all who participated and shared at the Victorian Major Projects Conference in Melbourne last week. 

Victoria certainly has some exciting and innovative projects in the works, and a passionate community engaged in delivering them.

We were delighted to be part of this event, and to have Andrew Wegener share our learning on driving project performance.

If you'd like a copy of his presentation, you can get it here. 

Explore our refreshed case study library, with the stories of organisations we’ve worked with to navigate complexity, achieve project performance, and transform businesses.

What’s a Complexity Cliff?

Helmsman’s 9-year research into the impact of complexity on project outcomes has uncovered a specific and consistent scenario where the likelihood of project success plummets – The Complexity Cliff.

This finding came from analysis that established an objective and accurate measure for assessing complexity – the Helmsman Complexity Scale. The Complexity Scale is used similar to how the Richter Scale is applied for building projects.

We’re delighted that our own Enrique Ugarte will be discussing how 'Complexity is the new norm' at the Convergence Australia conference in Canberra on March 7-9. Alongside a range of highly regarded speakers, Enrique will outline the need for a structured understanding of how different environments drive complexity based on the key findings from Helmsman's multi-year research project into project complexity. He'll also look at how to identify focus areas for change, and the implications for leaders when scoping, planning and executing change and other projects.

Knowing your project is complex is one thing. Effectively managing its complexity is something else. In this article, we look at how to manage the complexity in your project.

 

“The critical first step is understanding the complexity of the project”

Its no surprise ‘complex’ projects are becoming prevalent in Australian and global project management.  Navigating sophisticated technology, broadening (and vocal) stakeholder groups, and long project-delivery timelines can ‘shift’ requirements and challenge the ability of project managers and sponsors to deliver on project outcomes.

Conquering complexity is a passion at Helmsman, and is fundamental to how we deliver sustained, tangible outcomes for organisations.

Helmsman International and the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM) are working together to launch a ground breaking project diagnostic.