Project Management Complexity Tool

PROJECT DEFINITION

Definition of a project - A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result (PMBOK, Fourth Edition).
Guidance on whether an activity is a project or operational activity*: A core distinction is whether or not the activity is unique.In general, unique activities are not repeated and thus not routine or operational in nature. Although operational activities do not fall under the project management framework, the tools and techniques may and often do prove useful in performing those activities. The following table helps demonstrate the differences between projects and operations.

IT Project	Routine Operational Activity
Installing a new software application or a full version upgrade	Installing maintenance patches of .x ("point") releases
Redoing the campus network infrastructure	Replacing failed network equipment
Creating a new technology-enabled classroom	Adding or removing a software application from the classroom software build

*The information was derived from George Mason University's definition of a project.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT COMPLEXITY TOOL

The Project Management Complexity Tool** is a tool to provide a roadmap for your project. Are any of the following true?

The work to be accomplished requires more than 80 hours of combined work effort.
The work requires effort from an external department or significant work from another internal department.
The project has a significant impact on one or more internal or external departments.

Yes No

** The Project Management Community Project Complexity Model calculation chart was derived from the HP article "Living on the Edge - Managing Project Complexity" by Kathleen B. Hass, PMP Project Management and Business Analysis Practice Leader, Management Concepts.

Your work is not classified as a project and you do not have to complete the rest of the scorecard. Please consider using the following templates and guidelines for your work:

Project Charter Template / Project Charter Guidelines
Project Communications Plan Template / Project Communications Plan Guidelines
Project Requirements Template / Project Requirements Guidelines
Lessons Learned Template / Lessons Learned Guidelines

Title:		Manager:

Project Complexity	Low	Medium	High
Complete the following chart by clicking the appropriate cell for each of the Attributes under the LOW, MEDIUM, and HIGH columns.
Time (hours)	less than 500	500 - 999	1000 or more
Cost (does not include salaried staff unless contract work)	less than $50,000	$50,000 - $999,999	$1 million or more
Team Size	less than 5	5 - 10	more than 10
Team Composition	Internal to the Division	Internal to the Organization or teams with internal and external members	Institutional Teams/Complex Teams
Competing Demands	With schedule, budget and scope, all 3 are flexible	With schedule, budget and scope, 2 are flexible	With schedule, budget and scope, only 1 is flexible
Problem/Solution Clarity	Easily understood problem and solution. Solution is readily achievable using existing technologies	Either problem is difficult to understand, the solution is unclear or difficult to achieve, or the technology is new to the organization	Both problem and solution are difficult to define or understand, solution is difficult to achieve, and solution likely to be using unproven or complex technologies
Stability of Requirements	Requirements understood, straightforward, and stable	Requirements are understood, but are expected to change	Requirements are poorly understood and largely undefined
Strategic Importance/Multiple Stakeholders	Low strategic importance	Some direct mission impact, 2-3 stakeholder groups	Affects core mission and has significant strategic implications; visible at highest levels of organization; multiple stakeholder groups with conflicting expectations
Level of Change	Impacts a single unit	Impacts a number of units	Large-scale organizational change that impacts the enterprise, spans functional units, shifts or transforms the organization
Once you have made all your selections.

Project Title:
Project Manager's Name:
Email address to send report:
Re-Enter Email address: