Shine SahadevanHead - Partnerships| PMI South AsiaMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Construction and infrastructure projects can prove particularly complex; project managers face unique challenges and intricacies such as large scale and scope, regulatory compliance, health and safety regulations, budget and cost management, and environmental considerations.
How do you manage the complexity within your projects? Saving Changes...
Senior Projects Manager | Field & Marten AssociatesNew Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Shine, each project may have its unique complexities, so it's important to adapt strategies based on the specific needs and challenges faced. Flexibility and adaptability are crucial in managing the changing landscape of complex construction projects.
I can't think of anything specific you need to do to manage complexity other than putting more emphasis on open communication, continuous feedback loops, more rigorous risk assessment - Technology can certainly help as well like BIM. Saving Changes...
The only thing I'd add to Rami's feedback is a laser focus on effective risk management. For example, when planning the build/construction phase, if there is a way to tackle the riskiest aspects of the project early rather than late in the lifecycle.
My answer is to practice systems thinking. The items you mention apply to many types of large complex projects where the product has many engineering disciplines involved. In order to make appropriate value based decisions you must understand the inter-dependencies between the various systems. If not, you are likely to make changes that improve one area of the project to disproportionate detriment of others.
That requires having some high level views of the architecture like the exterior, structure, HVAC, how it's used such as traffic flow, etc. and very importantly the significant interfaces. Interfaces are where a system becomes more than the sum of the parts because it allows things to work together.
The architectural level view of very complex products is where the PM and systems engineers live and breathe. Thinking of the project in terms of many interrelated things, and documenting the things and their relationships helps you as the PM to A) ensure you are considering all the important aspects, and B) decide which are the specific areas requiring the most management such as the highest risks, or the most influential impacton the cost outcome.br type="_moz" Saving Changes...
Shine SahadevanHead - Partnerships| PMI South AsiaMumbai, Maharashtra, India
Thank you everyone for sharing your thoughts.
Though I agree with all your points Rami, we should look at the systems thinking approach shared by Keith. It has a larger merit in handling complexities from the start at the architecture level.
It will be valuable to know more about systems thinking through case studies, please share.
Here is a recent PMI thought leadership resource on systems thinking: https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leade...oject-outcomes. Thank you. Saving Changes...
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