Novelty and Technical Complexity: Critical Constructs in Capital Projects

AbstractOne of the challenges in project management research is that projects, by definition, are unique. However, the degree to which any project differs from another varies on the basis of a range of attributes. Two industrial facilities that vary by an order of magnitude in size may, in fact, be very similar and experience similar outcomes. However, two identical industrial facilities that are constructed by different contractors may experience vastly different outcomes. In the first case, the two buildings may have the same set of technical characteristics. In the second case, all else being equal, the different outcomes may be attributable to the contractors’ experience with the construction of this type of facility. This paper expands on these two cases and proposes that all projects can be partially defined in terms of two distinct attributes: technical complexity and novelty. The technical characteristics of a project define its technical complexity. The degree of the project participants’ experie...

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