Wood, H L and Gidado, K (2008) An overview of complexity theory and its application to the construction industry. In: Dainty, A (ed.) Proceedings of 24th Annual ARCOM Conference, 1-3 September 2008, Cardiff, UK.
Abstract
The theory and science of complexity are relatively new in the world of academia; this new way of thinking holds much scope when considering modern issues and problems. The term complex refers to a system that is made up of a large number of interacting parts and in essence complexity science is the study of these interactions. As part of a global research project aimed at establishing the impact of project complexity on project risks at the pre-construction stage, a literature search type investigation concerning complexity science and its potential application to the construction industry has been carried out. Initial investigation reveals that there is a limited number of studies in the meaning and application of complexity science within the construction industry; therefore the literature search put more emphasis on how other industries understood, applied and managed complexity in order to draw lessons learnt which may be applicable to the construction industry. It is a common statement that construction projects are considered to be one of the most complex operations, therefore an understanding of project complexity and how it might be managed is of significant importance. Although some research work around the area of project complexity in the construction industry has been carried out in the past, there is still no real clear acceptable definition of project complexity in construction by today’s standards. Therefore this paper aims to evaluate the potential application of complexity science in construction industry and attempts to provide a clearer definition of project complexity in the construction industry.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; complexity science; project complexity |
| Index terms: | construction industry, interaction, project complexity, complexity, construction project, investigation, academia, pre-construction, global research, science, meaning |
| Subjects: | educational institutions, sociology, industry analysis, behavioral psychology, systems engineering, production management, organizational theory, professional development, project delivery, data collection methods, specialized education |
| Topics: | Education, Project Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here