Definitions, characteristics and measures of IT Project Complexity - a systematic literature review

Authors

Stefan Morcov, Katholieke Universiteit LeuvenFollow
Liliane Pintelon, Katholieke Universiteit LeuvenFollow
Rob Kusters, Open Universiteit NederlandFollow

Document Type

Article

Abstract

As the world of Information Technology (IT) engineering becomes more complex every day, the formal study of project complexity becomes more and more important for managing projects effectively, to avoid poor performance and failure. Complexity is not yet clearly understood nor sufficiently defined and the terminology itself is being overloaded and over-used. This paper is a systematic literature review that attempts to identify and classify proposed definitions and measures of IT project complexity. The results include a map of the identified approaches and definitions, a list of classifications of project complexity, a set of proposed measurement tools and complexity measures available to practitioners. The paper contributes to establishing a common language when discussing complexity, as well as to a better understanding of project complexity and its implications to practical IT engineering projects.

Recommended Citation

Morcov, Stefan; Pintelon, Liliane; and Kusters, Rob (2020) "Definitions, characteristics and measures of IT Project Complexity - a systematic literature review," International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management: Vol. 8: No. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/ijispm/vol8/iss2/2