Complexity – friend or foe?

New research by IBM could prove useful in helping business continuity managers determine whether their BC programs are overly complex. There is a fine balance to be struck between developing business continuity plans which are complex enough to meet the needs of the organisation they are designed to protect, but without going too far and producing a plan which is too complex to be usable in a disaster recovery or crisis management situation.

IBM’s ‘Think Research’ team has been exploring the causes of complexity and has identified four classifications of different types of needless complexity. Understanding these will help business continuity managers identify where plans may be going wrong:

Unthinking complexity
Unthinking (or localized) complexity is the most common kind of needless complexity. It arises when the person designing or implementing a system simply doesn't bother to look for simple ways of accomplishing a task, which creates more work.

Diffused complexity
Diffused complexity typically arises when a process that had been performed by specialists is pushed out to a broader group.

Chosen complexity
Some organisations seem to create complex solutions even when simpler solutions are available.

Layered complexity
Layered complexity may well be the most insidious form of complexity because it specifically attacks middle management and technical leaders - forcing them to spend their time doing trivial tasks instead of their real jobs.

•Date: 29th June 2005 • Region: US/World • Type: Article •Topic: BC general
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