The notion of Complexity is one generated by the human mind: a Program is regarded as ‘complex’ whenever people perceive that they are not fully in control of it.

Hence, to reduce the complexity of a Program, one needs to improve the control capabilities to a level, where people perceive the Program to be ‘complicated’ at most, but no longer ‘complex’.

A ‘complicated’ Program still requires many challenges to be met, but it is generally regarded to be under control, i.e. without any major uncontrolled or even chaotic areas.

The Management of a Program which is perceived to be ‘complex’ must therefore make every attempt to reduce its complexity by applying control standards and best practices which are compatible with the level of complexity involved. 

It is therefore necessary to first of all assess this level of complexity. This can be done along three dimensions:

• Structural Complexity, which in turn is measured by quantifiable characteristics of a Product or Program, such as quantity of people, clients, suppliers, systems, parts and/or money involved
• Dynamic Complexity, which can be assessed by the frequency of change of, for example, markets, technologies, the design, the organization, etc
• the level of Risk involved.

Once the level of complexity has been assessed, a suitable Management approach can be selected based on international standards and best practices.

When I talk about the Complexity of a Program in the context of the consultancy services of Novo Artifact Consulting, I do not mean that I wish to support the most ‘complex’ Programs only. It rather means, that the aspect of complexity needs to be looked at to recommend the most adequate management approach to ensure controllability.