It’s COMPLEX in Business
I recall first seeing Michael Porter’s five forces model. For those of you in other fields it was a way of analysing competition in business and broke it down quite simply into the:
• Bargaining Power of Suppliers, the
• Bargaining Power of Buyers, the
• Threat of new entries, and the
• Threat of substitutes, which all impact the
• Industry Rivalry.
The enormous effort into developing what is a simple framework, removing the complexities and presenting it so that others understand what is going on and can apply the model is a skill that we can all admire.
It’s COMPLEX in Traffic Engineering
I have in my past written a paper on “The use of variable message signs in high speed environments” which simplified the various considerations into:
• How your eyes work (to join the dots and adapt to different light intensities)?
• Can you see the sign (based upon the road geometry)?
• Do you have time to read the message (based upon how fast are you travelling and the message sequence)?
This was well accepted at an international conference. I was tendering on installation specifications where the signs would not work. When questions were raised the explanation was that the road authorities did not have the experience and it was COMPLEX. When the paper was finally presented I was told that it made the considerations simple and was asked if the paper could be passed directly to a coroner as it had explained the reason for a recent fatality. I was also told by a UK sign manufacturer that he had sent it to every Road Authority in Europe as was having the same issues that I experienced.
It’s COMPLEX in IT
I was asked to take over a project where a state-wide network was seen as slow and unresponsive and solution was being trialled. When you take over a project that is targeted at resolving a problem you go back to basics. Conducting a root cause analysis to determine if the solution was treating the cause revealed around 11 root causes. The solution being trialled did not impact any of the root causes which the report showed and certainly caused some concerns along with level of frustration from the senior management. It was not a simple “one action” to fix the issue of slow and unresponsive system but neither was it COMPLEX when broken down into manageable actions (that became policy to fix).
It’s COMPLEX in Project Management
I have been involved in Project Management most of my life and often see advertisement for jobs requiring someone with a background on working on complex projects. I have never found a project that was complex.
• Yes, they may have had 1000’s of tasks and over a 100 subcontractors but that is just a lot of work to sort out the sequence and organise.
• Yes, they may have significant risks but that is simply a matter of analysing and either accepting of dealing with them.
• Yes, they may have completely unaligned stakeholders all wanting different outcomes but that is a matter of negotiating to align or manage them.
What does COMPLEX mean
I have often found complex to mean it has failed elsewhere and high risk, failing (as the basics were not right and no one realising) so when entering a project in rescue mode I have at times been able to remove complexity and highlighted what was occurring. In one case, there was no ongoing support for a product so the long-term outcome was clear and recommended immediate project closure. It was simple logic and not complex! It may be complex to some (especially recruiters) but for many of us it is simple, but like the duck gliding across the water you may not appreciate how fast our legs are moving or resources required.
Terry has worked across many sectors and been placed in many positions that were considered COMPLEX. In each case the reduction of complexity has allowed alignment of teams and optimal outcomes.
You can call Terry with your complex issues to discuss.