Understanding Theory of Project Management for Complex Civil Infrastructure

To date, understanding and balancing the iron triangle (traditional three-dimensional project management theory) has been perceived as fundamental project management. However, previous studies have shown that large complex transportation infrastructure projects continually suffer from poor performance in terms of cost, schedule, and deliverables. Recent studies have shown that the current project management body of knowledge (traditional three-dimensional project management theory) may not be adequate to address interrelated and dependent variables encountered on complex civil infrastructure projects. Recent empirical evidence suggests the presence of five dimensions of complex civil infrastructure projects: cost, schedule, technical, context (externalities), and financing that need to be effectively managed on complex civil infrastructure projects. For successful transportation project management, there is a critical need to understand the complex civil infrastructure projects and identify interrelationships among the five dimensions. The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the literature on complex projects, complexity theories, and five dimensions. This paper provides useful insights into the importance of the understanding the complex civil infrastructure projects, summaries from published literatures on five dimensions and complexity theories.