in Complex Projects
ADVISORY ARTICLE
By Flavio Soriano
Brazil
Complex projects have an annoying habit of refusing to stay as neat as they looked at kickoff.
The problem statement gets approved. The plan is built. Workstreams start moving. Then reality joins the project.
A dependency nobody considered becomes critical. A stakeholder changes priorities. New evidence contradicts an early assumption. Operating conditions shift while delivery is already underway.
The dangerous part is that the team can keep executing anyway.
In my experience, this happens because delivery pressure rewards movement.
Sponsors want progress. Business-as-usual work does not politely disappear because a transformation programme has started. Teams already have preferred solutions. So the original problem definition gets intense attention for a few days, perhaps a few weeks, and then quietly becomes background.
Everyone is busy solving the problem.
Fewer people are checking whether it is still the right problem.
That is where structured problem framing becomes a leadership discipline rather than a kickoff exercise. A useful frame keeps five things visible:
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- how different stakeholders interpret the problem;
- where the current system boundary sits;
- which causal explanations the team is testing;
- which assumptions carry the greatest consequence; and
- what evidence should trigger a formal review of the frame.
The objective is simple: keep the project solving the problem that current evidence supports, not the one everybody agreed six months ago was probably the problem.
Why Structured Problem Framing Matters in Complex Projects
Not all complexity looks the same.
Geraldi, Maylor and Williams (2011) describe dimensions including structural complexity, uncertainty, dynamics, pace and socio-political complexity. Atkinson, Crawford and Ward (2006) show that project uncertainty also extends beyond discrete risk events into ambiguity, incomplete information, stakeholder characteristics, changing agendas, and tensions around trust and control.
That distinction matters.
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How to cite this article: Soriano, F. (2026). Structured Problem-Framing as a Leadership Skill in Complex Projects, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue XI, November. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/pmwj170-Nov2026-Soriano-Structured-Problem-Framing-as-a-Leadership-Skill.pdf
About the Author
Flavio Soriano
Brazil
Flavio Soriano is an entrepreneur, educator, and former management consultant who spent five years at Arthur D. Little and McKinsey & Company. He has founded five businesses and trained more than 10,000 professionals in consulting-grade problem-solving, communication, and career development. As founder of High Bridge Academy, he leads a global faculty of 60+ former McKinsey, Bain, and BCG consultants, helping professionals and teams strengthen structured thinking, executive communication, stakeholder management, and the practical use of AI at work.
