ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an argument for portfolio and programme management because currently this is the most effective way to work with complexity: to provide the necessary big picture' perspective; to allow for the degree of flexibility and to achieve the requisite variety' of responses needed. In An Introduction to Cybernetics, 1957, the English psychiatrist and pioneer of cybernetics, William Ross Ashby, formulated his law of Requisite Variety stating that only variety can destroy variety'. The latter definition is the one used in this chapter because it includes organisational processes as well as collections of projects and individual projects. It makes it easier to bridge the communication gap between strategy and implementation More effective deployment of resources can be achieved across portfolio and programmes. Therefore, it is very helpful to be able to identify the types of complexity and divide the programme into projects accordingly with appropriate personnel to manage each type of complexity.
