Successful implementation of complex projects with decentralised and centralised management schemes

The thematic hypothesis of the paper is that both centralized and decentralized management schemes possess complementary features to induce successful project implementation. Centralized organizations are traditionally seen to promote control and coordination while the decentralized ones focus on autonomous units forming interactive and flexible networks ready to evolve over the execution of the project. The paper investigates two real world cases, one from centralized and one from decentralized project. Both projects deliver complex system products. The paper concludes that top level management processes of complex projects should follow strict linear model of an organization focusing on execution and control, while at the lower level the organization should resemble more of a network organization, where autonomous project teams execute their tasks. Each autonomous unit must have strictly defined interfaces with the units that are immediately upand downstream of the concerned unit. The level where the decentralized organization should follow the strict and predetermined procedures seems to be dictated by the level of modularity in the delivered system. Drawing from the limited cases, it seems that the more modular the end product is, the more autonomous the organization orchestrating the project can be. Keyword: large-scale and complex projects, project organization, modular products, centralized and decentralized operations, organizational communication