The document discusses the complexity of project management, emphasizing the need for appropriate tools and processes based on project complexity. It introduces a model designed to evaluate project complexity using various dimensions and factors, along with an interface for users to input data and adapt the model. Future enhancements are suggested for security, user interface, and the model's ability to learn from user input.

1. Project ComplexityOne year laterDavid A. MaynardMBA, PMPJanuary, 2010

2. Ice Storm – Winter of 2008 – My Front Yard(Lilly Pods )Complexity occurs all around us2

3. Why do you keep harping about project complexity?3You’re starting to scare us

4. Choose the most correct answerKathi made me do itYou have a mild case of OCDYou need the PDUsThe question “What processes or tools should I use for this project?” comes up all the time4

5. Lets review some answers to the question5

6. This question comes up in EVERY Project Management classConnelly Library – Moore College of Art and Design6

7. Some possible answersAll of the PMBOK guideThe parts of the guide I Iike the bestPriorities change every day, we don’t have time for thisWhatever Prince2 template software saysWhat my boss tells meWe use all the templates in ‘Method 123’ softwareWhatever Lynn saysWhat I used the last time7Only Microsoft ProjectWe don’t use processes in our companyMy bosses don’t know anything about managing projects, so I can get away with anythingWe use all the templates in MPMM softwareWhat I’ve read about on Gantthead.comThe least amount possible

8. Is there an better answer?8

9. The time has arrived for a new approach9

10. The best answerIt all depends upon the relative complexity of the project10

11. The search for complexity information led to several documents…11

12. And, there are new texts on the topic since last year…12

13. The state of project managementWe should have better guidance about what processes & tools to apply to a particular project13

14. My Goal From Last Year“Build a model and let it learn from us”14

15. The Proposed Model Development15Changed

16. The Model16

17. Some people doubt this could work17

18. Consider psychological inventoriesMyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MTBI)Questionnaire designed to measure psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisionsDiSCFour quadrant behavioral model based to examine the behavior of individuals in their environment Dominance, Influence, Steadiness, Conscientiousness18

19. 19Are those tests perfect?Are they often-times close?Are they useful?

20. Enough!What about the online model?20

21. I’ve got it working21Just what do you think you're doing, Dave?

22. What / where?It’s written in Perl / CGI with MySQL and is running on a bit of my personal web space.But, it’s not ready for prime-time yet. 22

23. Perl?Developed by Larry Wall, a linguist working as a systems administrator for NASA, in 1987Perl is nicknamed "the Swiss Army chainsaw of programming languages" due to its flexibility and adaptability.Extract of the Complexity Model23

24. ImplementationThe user sees a series of HTML formsIt appears just like a survey that we’ve all done many, many times. Best browser supportMost familiar interfaceLittle confusionRather boring I’m looking for a way to make it more interesting24

25. GraphicsI think a dashboard would be nice From my 38 year old Porsche(I’m the first owner!)25

26. The inputs to the model8 dimensions of project complexity were determined by “sitting and thinking” plus reading the reference textsOne of the new books agrees with me!There are many factors which affect the dimensionsNot all factors apply to all projectsThe factors may all have different weights26

27. Dimensions and Factors27

28. Dimensions of complexity28

29. FactorsWe discussed the factors for each dimension last yearNo changes were madeTHEORY: As long as the most significant factors are included, the software should be able to produce a reasonable resultI want to add a way so that users can add factors as they see fit29

30. WeightingEach dimension has a dedicated HTML form Each dimension can be weighted via an input to the formEach factor can be weighted individually30

31. Asymptote 31The intermediate answer is ‘normalized’ and established from 0 to 100ScoreHigh ComplexityLow Complexity

32. I’m starting to not like that methodThere’s a better way!32Statistics

33. 33There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned liesand statistics.-- Mark Twain

34. New Way: Regression analysisA techniques for modeling and analyzing several variablesThe focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and independent variablesI hope to use a regression method in which the predictor variables are measured with errorAll of this goes into the database34

35. I hit a snag in one areaProcurementYou can have complex project, but no procurement You can have a simple project, with lots of procurementAnd! The project Manager may not be involved in procurement anywayThe procurement tools & templates are not directly related to project complexity35

36. For instanceA complexity score of 75 doesn’t mean you need to use a detailed procurement plan – if you’re doing only software developmentBut it might! If you needed to buy servers, workstations… whatever. 36

37. Walk-Through37

38. Green Kryptonite38The complexity model

39. Non-secure entry39The help text may need improvement

40. Entry Page ThoughtsShould add user account mechanismWould be nice to have a summary page of previous uses available40Hacker paradise

41. Security (not)No user loginNo IP recordingNot Russian teenage hacker proofDoesn't implement my “hacker score” code41Real Russian Hacker

42. Business Area?Right now the business area input is equally weighted for all resultsIt’s clear that different business areas will have different complexity multipliersHealthcareAutomotiveBanking..This will become a factor as the model ‘learns’42

43. D1: Corporate Environment43

44. Everything defaults to “medium”44

45. 45Adjust the dimension’s weight

46. 46Select each factor’s weight

47. MySQL debugging linesThe green text (green = good) on the top of each page is the SQL statements. If they turn red, the database didn’t update47

48. D2: Project Problem & SolutionEach mind map area was converted to an HTML form48

49. (some factor selections made)49Dimension 2 of 8

50. 50Dimension 3 of 8

51. (Some selections Made)51Dimension 4 of 8

52. (Some selections Made)Dimension 5 of 852

53. (Some selections Made)Dimension 6 of 853

54. (Some selections Made)Dimension 7 of 854

55. (Some selections Made)Dimension 8 of 855

56. Risks and Opportunities56

57. And the answer is…57

58. Answer number 1: LOW58

59. Answer number 2:What templates / processes are recommended(Greyed out are not recommended)59More

60. But wait! There’s more!This is the page that will allow the model to “learn”Users can click on and off templates for their environmentThe system will remember those choices and adjust the weightingThis portion of the code is not complete 60

61. There are a few bugs to fix61

62. Future WorkImprove security & user interfaceInstall templates for downloadFinish the “learning” capabilityEmail results (with links) to the userCreate a better graphic of the complexity62

63. 63‘RADAR’ plots are commonly used for complexityI have some issues with this type of chartWhat do the areas between the axes mean?For instance, the ‘dot’ implies a combination of Risks / Opportunities and corporate environment

64. Soliciting InputDo I need to make it interesting to use?What about “adaptive” forms?Specialized processes or templates?64

65. Ice Storm, 2008 – My front yard(Birch Tree)65