Evaluating approaches for the next generation of difficulty and complexity assessment tools

Abstract

Delivery complexity is recognized universally as continually increasing; suggesting that Complexity or Difficulty Assessment Tools (CATs/DATs) are even more critical for ensuring that the right delivery approaches are selected. However, these tools appear immature, with significant diversity between the tools. Consequently, which tool to use, or type of tool to develop, becomes a critical decision. This paper seeks to identify what a good DAT looks like by extracting and discussing potential benefits from assessing a range of tools/papers and direct observation. It then assesses the three identified categories of DATs - the four-box model, the questionnaire-based approach and the top-down (TD)-based approach - for potential suitability in meeting these benefits. The TD approaches scored well, even accepting the limitation of the assessment. This paper concludes that new DATs should be developed using TD approaches, replacing the questionnaire based approaches, which are difficult to modify, and hence cannot readily keep up with the pace of change.