Less predictable complex project outcomes require a different set of management priorities.  In these cases it is not only important to keep options open, but also to build particular options into the project strategy.

Take the example of a project to add a new sales channel in the form of a dedicated field sales force.  The unpredictability lay in the reaction of customers to the new channel in general, and to its planned sales approach in particular.  The proposal was to use laptop computers to illustrate the highly technical products, and to capture customer orders.  However, preliminary research indicated that customer preferences were split between having printed brochures to pore over and having the sales person demonstrate the products using a computer.  The project strategy was to launch the sales force without laptops to start with, but to have an option to buy the necessary computers a few months afterwards.  The exact specification of the computers was to be settled only after the experience of the sales people had been collated.

Click on the following links to find out more about managing each of these degrees of complexity:

Informed leadership    Straight forward    Complicated    Volatile    Edge of chaos