Strategies for Managing the Structural and Dynamic Consequences of Project Complexity

Figure 3

Types of dynamic complexity, as a function of prevailing mechanisms, and strategies for dealing with them. Note. The three horizontal lines on the left side of each cell in the table represent, respectively, from top to bottom, the macro level, the meso-level (uses orange color to highlight the fact that it represents the context deemed relevant by project participants: task environment, etc.), and the micro level. The red arrows suggest the direction of interlevel influences. The pictures in the middle part of each cell rely on alterations of the Endless Column (or Column of the Infinite) by Constantin Brâncuşi (completed in 1938, Târgu Jiu, Romania) to represent the four patterns of dynamic complexity. Strategies on the right side of each cell suggest ways of organizing project activities, namely, of connecting them simultaneously as well as intertemporally, which are likely to be most effective for dealing with each type of dynamic complexity. Colored lines represent strands of activities and the extent to which these change direction in time.