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Project complexity has been comprehensively investigated over the last two decades, resulting in many descriptive frameworks and models. The common layout is a multidimensional construct. While the perception of the complexity of projects is essential for a managerial approach, only scant research has been conducted into how practitioners perceive project complexity. The purpose of the paper is to fill this gap.

This paper is a quantitative study based on a large survey among managers of projects with more than 1,000 participants. The questionnaire is designed based on a review of research literature on project complexity.

The findings indicate that practitioners' mental models are concentrated on only a few dimensions of the many found in descriptive models. Further, the findings indicate that the mental models are much influenced by the project role of the perceiver and less so by the type of project and sector.

This paper discusses the differentiation of concepts of perceived project complexity and provides a framework for a survey of the topic. The contribution of the paper is an increased understanding of practitioners' perceptions of project complexity as a concept very different from the descriptive frameworks that have been the focal point for research in project complexity thus far. The project complexity might be in the eye of the beholder; however, the findings indicate that the eyes are very much influenced by the project role of the beholder.

Megaprojects are known as complex projects that involve high levels of uncertainty. This interpretive study explores and portrays perceived complexity in mega construction projects by lived experiences of project managers.

This study utilises a ground theory approach to analyse data gathered from semi-structured interviews with 18 professionals involved in 11 megaprojects.

Complexity in mega construction projects is defined as a project property that stems from the interaction of project features, uncertain variables/conditions, and managerial actions forming a pattern, which emerges over time, based on the reflections of construction practitioners.

This study defines complexity based on the reflections of the practitioners in the construction industry and uniquely identifies complexity patterns that may have implications for project management, particularly risk management.

Project complexity has been researched much. The majority of publication is searching for law-like relations or development of descriptive frameworks. More prescriptive knowledge is needed to guide the project managers in navigating the project complexity in project managers' pursuit of success. Identifying the complexities of a given project is a real-world problem for project managers (Mikkelsen et al., 2021). The purpose of the paper is to investigate the research of prescriptive knowledge on the management of project complexity.

Based on a longitudinally case study, this paper uses Action Design Research (Sein et al., 2011) (ADR) to research the management of project stakeholder complexity. ADR is a variation of action research (AR) with inspiration from design science (Hevner et al., 2004) where an artifact is designed to solve a real-world problem. In this case study, an information system was configured in collaboration with the project managers of the recipient organization.

The findings from the research project are presented using the affordance theory (Gibson, 1977) as a framing concept and give special attention the affordance perception (Pozzi et al., 2014). Among the project managers, who were very engaged in the co-design, the majority refrained from activating the information system and got the outside view from the stakeholders. Interviews afterward identified “fear of bad project ratings from the stakeholder” as the main course of resistance to deploy the surveying information system.

The paper contributes on two levels. The paper presents a novel approach to researching project complexity based on engaging the stakeholder in generating a common perception of the ongoing state of the projects. The paper also contributes insights into reasons for reluctance on the part of the participants (the project managers) of the recipient organization and hereby adds to the understanding of the organizational change aspect of AR in the research of project management. The paper concludes with the identified benefits of using ADR in research on project complexity management and gives recommendations for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether insights into high reliability organizations (HROs) are useful for innovation management teams. HRO teams can keep failure to a minimum level due to high alertness and resilience. Project teams working on innovation management could benefit from HRO principles and thus reduce their chances of failure.

A survey among in total 260 team members and team leaders of project teams in innovation management was conducted to study the relation between, on the one hand, organizational features of HROs (“mindful infrastructure”) and HRO principles (adjusted as “innovation resilience behaviour”, IRB), and on the other hand, between mindful infrastructure and IRB and project outcomes.

From the results it could be concluded that mindful infrastructure associates with IRB, and that IRB has a mediating role in the relation between mindful infrastructure and project outcomes. Innovation management project teams can thus learn from the practice of HRO teams.

To the authors’ knowledge, HRO-thinking has not been applied to team behaviour in innovation management. A fruitful transfer of insights from the domain of safety and crisis management seems applicable to the domain of innovation.

Essentially, performance evaluation is a human behavioural phenomenon involving a cognitive perceptual process. Project performance has two attributes, at least: (1) the individual's expected performance (manifested as assigned goals); and (2) the individual's perceived actual performance. Evaluation comprises the comparison of these two attributes. The present paper develops a research model for project outcome evaluation designed to examine the effects of the two moderators, goal commitment and project complexity, on the perceived project performance of project participants. It is postulated that: (1) there is a positive monotonic relationship between goal difficulty and performance, but that this is moderated by project complexity; (2) difficult goals lead to higher performance, but that this will happen only when the project participant is committed to the goal; and (3) the transferability of critical success factors to enhance/improve the performance of subsequent projects has to be examined and applied in the light of the effects of these two moderators on project performance.

The purpose of this paper is to better identify, define and model complexity within the field of project management in order to manage better under conditions of complexity (and manage better complexity‐induced risks).

An extensive literature review enlightens the lack of consensus on project complexity and thus provides a broad view and a critical analysis of the underlying concepts. A project complexity framework and definition are then proposed. After underlining the stakes of project complexity in accordance with these proposals, a project complexity model is then built notably due to systems analysis.

Proposal of standard project complexity framework and definition. Proposal of a synthesis of the relationships between the concepts of project uncertainty and project complexity. Proposal of a project complexity model (and validation due to industrial application).

The literature review and project complexity framework tries to be exhaustive even though it is likely to be completed. The final version of the model is still to be computed and tested.

Avoiding confusion when defining and managing a complex project, particularly between project team members (and as a consequence improving communication and information sharing), improves the assessment of the propagation of a change within the project.

The paper proposes an original framework and a definition of project complexity. The complexity model permits the navigation from any element of the project to any other (when detail is needed) and is, as a consequence, original and complementary with traditional project management models and tools.

The purpose of this paper is to facilitate further understanding of project complexity by highlighting the factors contributing to project complexity as reported by the practitioners facing the “actuality” of projects.

A qualitative research approach was undertaken by conducting semi‐structured interviews with the primary focus on the aerospace industry. Participants are involved in a variety of project settings, exhibiting different types and levels of complexity.

Analysis of responses highlights “people” issues as the main factor contributing to project complexity and the importance of soft skills in managing complex projects.

The research is based on a limited number of respondents from the aerospace sector. This will be further refined and improved upon by compiling views of additional practitioners involved in multiple aerospace projects.

The main research conclusions are that “hard” project management skills help to organise, plan and manage, and track changes during the course of the project. However, understanding of project complexity and its contributing factors helps practitioners to understand the dynamic, social and complex contexts of projects, thus highlighting the importance of “soft” skills.

This paper proposes the “project complexity triangle – people, product and process”, highlighting their importance as the three major areas contributing to project complexity.

Complex projects require careful management. They may expose stakeholders to greater risks and place additional demands upon resources. In the initial stages of project development, however, little may be known about the nature and magnitude of such complexity. This paper aims to ensure that this gap is at least subjectively assessed and addressed.

Research, using focus group workshops with a convenience sample of construction professionals, was carried out to test the validity of a Project Early Stage Complexity Assessment Tool (PESCAT). The PESCAT concept brings together selected complexity theories and uses subjectively based measures for assessment.

The findings confirm that an early-stage project complexity assessment tool is practicable and can contribute to project management practice in the construction industry. It should be applied by individual project stakeholders using small teams of experienced staff. PESCAT explores project complexity through “filter” sets of perspective factors which should be customised to reflect the stakeholder’s role and processes in a project.

In the initial complexity assessment model, resolution space and uncertainty were tested as project complexity parameters. However, in subsequent versions of the tool, four measures (differentiation and differentiation uncertainty; interdependency and interdependency uncertainty) are used in an innovative way that focuses users’ attention more clearly and points to a more targeted approach for addressing project complexity. The value of our model lies in its practical application and the project management benefits it can deliver.

The purpose of the research presented in this article is to identify potential influences on an organization-specific “ideal” level of project management maturity by adopting a qualitative, exploratory approach.

In this paper, the results of a multiple qualitative case study, which has been conducted within industrial enterprises from automotive industry and energy sector, are presented. The research methods applied within the case research are qualitative guided interview, document analysis and standardized interview (maturity questionnaire).

The interview data reveal that the complexity of the companies' projects might be a determining factor regarding the “ideal” level of maturity. A comparison of the findings of the case research with a secondary literature review on project complexity showed that particularly those facets of project complexity that affect the interaction of the project participants (project team, client, suppliers) seem to require a certain level of maturity.

The idea of an organization-specific “ideal” level of maturity was raised by the developers of project management maturity models (PMMM). It is of interest for professionals due to efficiency reasons. Research literature in the context of PMMM has so far touched on environmental/circumstantial influences on this ideal maturity level only to a slight degree. The results of the qualitative research presented herein mark a contribution to this research gap and allow for quantitative testing.

The paper aims to report on the development of a process mapping approach to explore adaptive re‐use processes.

Four case studies of adaptive re‐use projects in London (UK) were conducted. Two are reported here. Data were collected through in‐depth interviews with key agents and archival research on planning case documentation. Archival research was also used to “triangulate” interview data, which was analysed by using NUD*IST (now QSR N6) and Decision Explorer™ (DE). Data analysis entailed coding in NUD*IST, and map building and analysis in DE.

The key common areas between different projects, and networked pivotal activities and issues are identified. A powerful tool for visualising project complexity, and hence for project assessment and evaluation, is provided.

Statistical tools could have complemented the post‐analysis verification discussions with the interviewees to ensure validity of the findings. Data processing and data export/import between software tools are extremely labour intensive and time consuming. Automated visual output is relatively poor for presentation purposes. Tacit researcher bias may be inherent.

The findings provide a basis for developing specific management strategies for complex re‐use projects. This novel approach could be developed into a tool for: post‐project reviews, strategic learning for experienced practitioners, educating and training academics and novice practitioners, and for managing project knowledge.

The creative use of NUD*IST and DE in combination is novel. Experienced practitioners will be presented with a powerful tool for visualising project complexity, and thus for monitoring and reviewing the levels of complexity at each stage, once further development, automation and sophistication are achieved. The critical aspects of adaptive re‐use process, the key activities and issues are pointed out for novice practitioners. Researchers will find the adoption of content analysis and cognitive mapping tools to process mapping innovative.