Socio-Technical and Political Complexities: Findings from Two Case Studies of Large IT Project-Based Organizations

Abstract

Information technology (IT) projects are becoming more complex due to technological advancements, increased sociopolitical demand, and competition. In recent years, the project complexity field has attracted increasing attention with diverse strategies and methods proposed to identify, evaluate, and respond to various complexities. This study aims to identify and prioritize factors contributing to complexity in IT projects by reporting two case studies conducted on large IT organizations. The literature on project complexity informed and guided this exploratory research. The data were collected through 21 semi-structured interviews and analyzed by applying open and axial coding content analysis. Underpinned by complexity theories, 19 factors contributing to the complexity of IT projects were identified, and their importance was highlighted using the Friedman test. The top five factors contributing to IT project complexity were identified as follows: the diversity of stakeholders; technological newness of the project; conflicting goals of stakeholders; variety of product sub-systems and components; and uncertainty of project objectives. This study’s findings contribute to the project management literature and inform practitioners about how to achieve more effective management of complex IT projects.

Keywords

• project complexity
• IT projects
• complexity factors
• uncertainty
• ambiguity