How hard can it be? Dr Harvey Maylor

CARBS Event

University of Warwick

January, 2015

Rethinking organisational design for the business of projects

Complexity response:

disciplines, behaviours,

processes

Complexity

portfolio

Capability and

capacity

Competitive

Strategy

Pro

ject-

leve

l O

rga

nis

ati

on

al-le

vel

Advanced Project Thinking:

Constraints + Lean + Visual

Management

The complexity crisis

Time

Complexity / Capability

Complexity

Capability

Identify

managerial

complexities

Actively

manage

complexities

Working framework

Complexity

assessment

tool

Resolve, reduce,

run with

Determine

managerial

response

Processes,

people,

paradoxes

Academic Background

Grounded study (Maylor, Vidgen and Carver, 2008)

Systematic Literature Review (Geraldi, Maylor and Williams, 2011)

Proof of concept and complexity assessment tool (Maylor, Turner and Murray-Webster, 2013)

Can be summarised into 3 key dimensions:

Structural complexities

Socio-political complexities

Emergent complexities

Managing Complexities

How to actively manage the complexities being

faced?

How many complexities are self-inflicted?

Three ways of addressing each:

Resolve – make it go away

Reduce – make less severe

Run with it – work out response

Q. In 43 workshops with a total of 1100 managers, what % of the identified

complexities were they able to plan to resolve or reduce?

A. 22% B. 52% C.82%

Responding to complexities: The MLE approach

Influencer: relationship-builder

• What style of project leader do we need?

Strategist: Proactive, adaptive

S

E S-P

Manager / Operations deconstruct and solve

Responding to complexities: Personal development

We asked a group of 246 PMs these questions

“In your work, which of the 3

complexities is the most difficult to

manage?”

“In your own formal training and

development, which of the 3

complexities has received the most

attention?”

Teaching using complexity as a lens

• Done research and seen impact in practice

• Teaching using complexity lens

• Look at how to respond to complexities

• e.g. Leading Project Success – BAE Systems

Leader: relationship-builder

Entrepreneur: adaptive, flexible

S

E S-P

Manager: deconstruct and solve

For future research

Complexity

of Response

Structural

complexities

Socio-political

complexities

Emergent

complexities

4. Build on 3. Iterative not linear

complexity response

1. Research AND Development 2. Standing on the shoulders…

So what?

Complexities of projects

RRR

Complexity response

References:

Maylor, H., Turner, N. and Murray-Webster, R. (2013), ‘How Hard Can It Be? Actively Managing the Complexity of

Technology Projects,’ Research-Technology Management, (3*), Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 45-51.

Geraldi, J., Maylor, H. & Williams, T. (2011), “Now Let’s Make It Really Complex (Complicated): a systematic review of

the complexities of projects,” International Journal of Operations and Production Management, (3*) Vol. 31, No. 9, pp.

966-990.

Maylor, H., Vidgen, R. and Carver, S. (2008), “Managerial Complexity in Project-Based Operations: A Grounded Model

and Its Implications for Practice,” Project Management Journal, (2*) Vol. 39 No.S1, pp. 15-26.

The future – linking research, teaching and practice

harvey@pmpc.co.uk

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