Teams and Complexity

The process of structuring teams in projects is not being implemented, and practitioners have lost confidence in the process. In order to improve the current status, there is a need for a major rethink, one that will enable the structuring of teams/complex adaptive systems. Therefore, using deductions drawn from research results, regarding the implementation of the process and the effects of complexity, a tentative proposal for a Finite Structural approach is made for setting up and testing the structure of teams. This is done by integrating a number of progressive theories not only from the field of organisation design but also from engineering, physics, and psychology, with theories such as social network theory, actor-network theory, finite element analysis, complexity, clustering, and cross functional team behaviours. This chapter presents the above and throws the gauntlet for discussion and improvement of the approach that will enable project managers and others to improve the process of structuring of teams.