What is Complexity?
Project complexity is often recognized in a general way, but not completely understood by everyone. Just the term “complexity” causes some degree of difficulty because of the different interpretations given the definition and perhaps a person’s experiences and training. Exploring the fundamental meaning of “complex” is helpful in establishing a foundation from which to build.
“Complex” comes from the Latin word complexus, meaning entwined or twisted together. Complexus is also defined as an aggregate of parts. Complex can be interpreted as an item having two or more components – or two or more variables. Synonyms for complex include complicated, intricate, involved, tangled, and knotty.
The opposite of “complex” is viewed as “simple,” which gives only two results — simple deals with only one part and complex deals with two or more parts acting together. From this we can see that “complex” situations have a range of results that one might classify as low complexity, medium complexity, or high complexity. There could be other schemes whereby complexity is measured on a scale of 0 to 3, 0 to 5, or 0 to 10. Using a numeric scale, the “0” would equate to simplicity or no complexity.
This brief introduction of definitions gives the impression that all projects have some degree of complexity. Anticipating the degree of complexity and planning to manage actions to meet the situations effectively requires an understanding of project details and project implementation strategy.
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