Construction Project Complexity as Addressed in Traditional versus Lean Project Management Literature

Project complexity has been increasing over time, especially over the last half century. Since complex projects are more often said to be associated with cost overruns, delays, and overall lower performance than simpler projects are, they have been subject to particular attention since the 1960s. In the AEC industry, scholars and practitioners have studied four themes: they defined and characterized project complexity, identified factors driving it, developed management methods for it, and created metrics. A literature review published in 2017 about construction project complexity summarizes publications dated between 1996 and 2015 and addresses these four themes. It also provides guidance for future research on project complexity. However, the relevance of this work can be questioned for three reasons. First, it encourages the measurement of project complexity without discussing the value of complexity for project stakeholders and its relevance for project management. Second, it overlooked publications before 1996, which the construction industry built upon to gain a better understanding of complexity. Third, it fails to mention lean construction as a way to manage project complexity. Beyond providing those reasons, this paper presents an overview of lean tools and methods that can be used to manage project complexity.