Introduction
It is necessary to understand the complexity of any project as it can help in making better decision making along with goal achievement. With projects becoming more and more complex, it has become evidently important for project managers to understand the concept of project complexity as it can influence the project management assignment considerably. There are various reasons to acknowledge the importance of complexity for the project management as it can affect the evaluation, modelling and relevant control over the project along with the objective, quality, cost, and safety. It can also impact the selection of appropriate project organization form and management arrangement which includes the experience and expertise and requirements of the project manager. In this project management assignment, a detailed discussion will be made on the importance of different types of complexities in project management along with their usage and benefits. Post that, each of the complexity types will be discussed with respect to GERD project, where the level of impact of each of the complexity types will be analyzed along with identifying the most effective one for the project. At last, the radar diagram will be used to discuss the four types of complexities.
- Express and discuss the four main complexity types.
Structural complexity: Structural complexity refers to the measurement of different numbers of interdependent activities and tasks which are mainly found in large projects with various interconnected elements. It originates from large scale projects which are broken into small activities and separate contracts. Structural complexity is mainly utilized in engineering, IT, construction and defense projects where complexity arises due to the high number of interconnected activities (Whittington et al, 2014). It is also extremely difficult to decompose the activities and Break It Down in this complexity type, however, when all the individuals deliver their assigned activities, the project can easily be accomplished.
Technical complexity: This type of complexity is mainly found in industrial design, architectural design and Research and Development projects which consists of design characteristics along with technical aspect which is usually unknown and never tried before. Technical complexity mainly arises due to the uncertainty of the outcome from various independent design solutions (Whittington et al, 2014). It can be categorized into interdependence and differentiation complexity which itself has three different sections known as pooled, sequential and reciprocal. First-time projects with technical and design problems arise due to technical complexity which can suffer from challenges regarding critical design stages.
Directional complexity: This complexity can mainly be found in the changing projects where the direction of the project are unknown and it is definite that something needs to be done in order to improve the difficult situation. Directional complexity is categorized by goal paths and unshared goals, unknown and unclear understanding with hidden interest and stems from ambiguity (Whittington et al, 2014). Directional complexity can enhance the issue of allocating the right amount of time for project completion and to overcome these challenges, better project management assignment of relationships and organizational policies are must.
Temporal complexity: Temporal complexity can occur in projects due to sudden legislative changes in technology which results in a high level of uncertainty related to the future constraints which can destabilize the project (Pich, 2002). It can also happen due to the changes of government, civil unrest, catastrophe or development of any new technology can delay the project completion.
- How do you view each complexity type in the case of the GERD project?
The Grand European Renaissance dam (GERD) is a 6450-megawatt hydropower project on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia which is located around 30 kilometers upstream with Sudan border. Once completed, it will become the biggest dam in entire Africa and seventh-largest in the world. The GERD project was started in 2011, and since then various changes have taken place in the construction which is nearing completion (Vidal, 2008).
The project has faced various complexities which are described based on different complexity type as below:
Structural complexity: The design of GERD roject has changed many times between 2011 and 2017 with greatly affected its electrical and storage parameters. It was first described that the power plant will receive 15 generating units having 350 MW capacity which was expected to generate around 15000 GWh per annum (Thomas, 2008). However, regular upgrading of the project interest the number of generating units to 16 with 450 MW generating power upto 16000 GWh annually. Similarly, another element of the project was its size which changed continuously over the last few years wherein 2011, it was originally be constructed at a height of 145 metres but has changed to 155 metres in the next two years.
Technical complexity: The project also had various issues regarding the design and structure of the Dam having two levels of dams and three spillways (Zhang et al, 2015). These include the questions regarding the reaction of the dam during flood events and the emergency spillway which was located near to the rock saddle Dam which will further increase the chances of the biggest flood of the river. There also reports of oversizing of the hydropower plant.
Directional complexity: As already discussed, the GERD project has gone through various changes which have increased the level of complexity in the project resulting in the inability of the engineers to allocate resources and time for the construction. It has led to delay in the completion of the project mainly due to unknown direction (San Cristóbal et al, 2018).
Temporal complexity: Apart from Technical difficulties and challenges, the project has also faced issues due to increasing pressure from the nearby countries along with the alleged impact on Egypt and Sudan due to its construction.
- Do you see the various level of impact of these types in the case of the GERD project? Discuss which type is mostly affecting the GERD project.
For each of the complexity type, there are various levels of impact on the GERD project which include low, medium and high level. For instance, the structural complexity of the project can result in a high level of impact as it can lead to increase chances of flood and loss of life. This is mainly because the design of the project has changed so many times that is has become difficult for engineers to complete the project with the same expected outcome at the start (Hammond, 2013). It is possible that due to the changes in size, design and structure along with various other elements such as different contractors, political pressure, civil unrest, and lack of Technical studies can develop the hydropower plant with so many technical difficulties, it will not be able to perform the desiring task for a longer period of time.
Similarly, technical complexity can also result in at least need if not a high level of impact on the project. This is mainly because the size of the plant has been in increasing continuously which is not providing the engineers with enough time to make changes in their calculations and love construction strategy to meet the requirement of the changes (Gebreluel, 2014).
The directional complexity can certainly offer a high level of impact on the GERD project as the goals of the project is not clearly defined due to the changing circumstances and modifications in different elements of the project (Baccarini, 1996). The project management assignment is not able to allocate enough time and resources and maybe pressurized by the government who wants to benefit from it entirely without understanding its impact on nearby countries such as Egypt and Sudan.
However, the complexity which can mostly affect the GERD hydropower plant project will certainly be the temporal complexity which mainly involves the increasing political and global pressure from nearby countries including Egypt and Sudan where this project can result in in the possibility of water and food shortage along with greater risk on Public Health. There also issues related to climate change and environmental impact of the Dam as the government has not yet made the assessment of environmental impact and even not fulfilled the required obligation to take all the necessary and appropriate measures to avoid any kind of significant harm to the neighbouring countries (Gebreluel, 2014). It can also result in global climate change which will increase the frequency of droughts and flood along the Nile basin and during the dry season, it will result in facilitating seawater intrusion into the river which will threaten fisheries, agriculture, and ecology. Apart from that, the project is also located in an area with a high degree of temperature and low rainfall which can result in decreasing the overall water flow reaching the Nile River (Cicmil, 2009). There is also a possibility of a water war between Ethiopia and Egypt and Sudan and with no measurement it and assessment of technical aspect of the Dam, it can certainly result in heavy disaster in the upcoming years for all the countries in the continent.
Construct a radar diagram to express level of impact of its complexity
Fig: Radar Diagram of level of impact of GERD
References
San Cristóbal, J. R., Carral, L., Diaz, E., Fraguela, J. A., & Iglesias, G. (2018). Complexity and project management: a general overview. Complexity, 2018.
Thomas, J., & Mengel, T. (2008). Preparing project managers to deal with complexity–Advanced project management education. International journal of project management, 26(3), 304-315.
Baccarini, D. (1996). The concept of project complexity—a review. International journal of project management, 14(4), 201-204.
Vidal, L. A., & Marle, F. (2008). Understanding project complexity: implications on project management. Kybernetes, 37(8), 1094-1110.
Cicmil, S., Cooke-Davies, T., Crawford, L., & Antony, K. (2009). Exploring the complexity of projects: Implications of complexity theory for project management practice. Project Management Institute.
Whittington, D., Waterbury, J., & Jeuland, M. (2014). The Grand Renaissance Dam and prospects for cooperation on the Eastern Nile. Water Policy, 16(4), 595-608.
Gebreluel, G. (2014). Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam: ending Africa's oldest geopolitical rivalry?. The Washington Quarterly, 37(2), 25-37.
Zhang, Y., Block, P., Hammond, M., & King, A. (2015). Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam: Implications for downstream riparian countries. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 141(9), 05015002.
Hammond, M. (2013, February). The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the Blue Nile: implications for transboundary water governance. In Global Water Forum (Vol. 1307).
No comments:
Post a Comment