Solutions for "large, complex projects" in the enterprise that don't work

As I posted earlier, "large, complex projects" in the enterprise tend to suffer from problems of alignment and overconfidence.

Here are some typical "solutions" that don't work:

Delegate risk to the suppliers by putting legal penalties in the contracts.  If anything goes wrong, it will be the supplier's fault.

Add more document "controls".  If anything goes wrong, we can point back to the documents.

Spend more time in abstract planning up front.  We can flush out any problems before we start.  If anything goes wrong, we can't be faulted for not planning enough.

Lock things down early.  Then we don't have to deal with changes.  If changes are then requested, we can't be faulted for not succeeding.

General themes of "solutions" that don't work:

• Assuming that "covering your ass" is equivalent to and/or leads to success
• Assuming that a simpler problem space can be imposed over the actual, complex problem space

Next: Solutions for "large, complex projects" in the enterprise that do work