Assessing and Developing Complexity Categorization Frameworks

The need to handle complexity has shifted from a nice to have to ensure project and organizational success, to a necessity. One approach to improve organizational performance in handling complexity is to observe what has been successful with similar complex activities in the past. Consequently, suitable Complexity Categorization Frameworks are required. This paper seeks to identify appropriate frameworks by assessing prior art tools & frameworks identified through a literature search and building on these insights to create alternatives. It identifies common failings and suggests that more categories are required. A new framework is created to respond to perceived weaknesses in those reviewed. The usability and accuracy of the reviewed and new frameworks are then tested via a survey. The results indicate that the new and lesser-known frameworks are considered to be better at categorizing complexity, than the more commonly known and accepted frameworks. In addition, the frameworks with a greater number of questions and categories scored highest. To accommodate complexity fully it is recommended that either the established frameworks are adapted to include more dimensions of complexity and categories, or that the approach used by the new evolved question-based framework is adopted.