Toward Project and Program Management Paradigm in the Space of Complexity: A Case Study of Mega and Complex Oil and Gas Development and Infrastructure Projects

Abstract

The author published his research paper at 26th International Project Management Association World Congress in which he argued that the monodukuri industry, or broadly hard systems project industry, is being affected either positively or negatively by a variety of complexity categorized by P.E.S.T.L.E. (political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental) factors and proposed a conceptual model of an enterprise viability system reinforced by meta program management. This paper is based on the author's continuing meta program management research and contextual analysis of the project industry, traces how the typical events discussed under each of the PESTLE factor categories have behaved thereafter to confirm the validity of impact descriptions, and presents a case analysis of current mega oil and gas development and complex infrastructure projects for dominant characteristics of project operations. Then new thoughts of project and program management in the space of complexity of the project industry are proposed as the first step to build a new management paradigm, which has been qualitatively induced by the cases under study and are deriving from existing research results on complex projects.The new thoughts include meta program management to balance multi objectives; knowledge and stakeholder integration to create complex projects; finance planning and structuring as an essential ingredient of materializing complex projects; management of extreme projects; and contingent risk management.