Managing Capital Projects For A High Risk World

Many types of risk are created – risk to the project, to the organization, to the employees involved and to the individuals supporting the change.

Working to understand the risks a project may endure along with the cost associated is critical in every project management plan. Understanding potential risks based on the project type, resources needed, timeline and budget still leaves gaps that creates uncertainty for actually predicating the outcome of the project. There is not a true way to predict when and where a project risk will occur but designing a plan to properly address and manage those risks will increase confidence while eliminating the element of surprise.

risks and determine the likelihood and consequence of that risk occurring during the project. The

Regardless of the type of project being initiated, planned and implemented, building a culture of risk management is indispensable for the successful completion of the project.

The following short case will give you a good idea of how risks surface in business and project planning and what companies do about it. Consider that you are the Risk Manager as you look at this case, as it will be a good exercise for the time when you will be that Risk Manager!

Many risks are interrelated. Analyze the following compound risk: Unstable requirements with tight budget will likely cancel the project. Discuss the dependencies that exist between the two risks.

Hillson, D & Simon, P. (2007). _Practical Project Risk Management: The ATOM Methodology_, Vienna, VA: Management Concepts, Inc.

L. According to the CAPM, I would have to say that the systematic risk would be the only risk that is applicable when looking at capital-budgeting purposes. One of the concerns that they will have is about the pertinent measurement of risk the project’s contribution will have on the company. The thought about how bankruptcy can and will affect the company’s and shareholder’s view of what measure of risk is rational. This to me would be an appropriate measure of risk because the cost that comes with bankruptcy that can be damaging.

1. How should PDVSA finance the development of the Orinoco Basin? Can you define project finance? Is Petrozuata a project? What are the costs and benefits of using project finance instead of the traditional (debt) finance – as Mr. Bustillos said, PDVSA could have finance the debt internally (p.7 of the case)?

According to CAPM, which measurement of a project’s risk is relevant? What complications does reality introduce into the CAPM view of risk, and what does that mean for our view of the relevant measure of a project’s risk?

In order to perform project risk management effectively, the organization or the department must know the meaning of the risk clearly. With regards to a project, the management must focus on the potential effects on the objectives of the project, for example, cost and time (Loosemore, Raftery and Reilly, 2006). Risk is a vulnerability that really matters; it can influence the objectives of the project

Today’s society has become a world of disconnected, unpredictable happenings and challenging events. (Yoder, With this plan in hand, a Risk Plan can help foster a firm understanding of and methodology to risk, and how it affects the entire organization which can lead to more successful projects and business models when put into place. A Risk Management Plan will help provide a structure for identifying risks and can stop complications from occurring that can impend the accomplishments of the project.

Risk allocation is performed as part of the development of the project structure, which takes into account the distribution of responsibilities and risks during the planning, construction, financing and operating phases (Corner, 2006). The aim is to identify an efficient and effective structure that optimises the costs of the project and ensures that the risk occurrences do not damage the project (Delmon, 2009). According to Grimsey and Lewis (2007) risk allocation has two elements: optimal risk management and value for money. The first implies that the

The completion of any project depends on the execution of various parameters mostly set at the beginning of the project. In order to complete the project to satisfactory levels, the project must be completed within the stipulated timelines, fall within the approximate budget and be of the required quality standards. However, most of the projects are affected by adverse changes and unforeseen events that occur during the execution period. Research shows that the magnitude of change is dependent on the size of the project, with large projects experiencing more uncertainties due to several factors including; planning and design complexity, interest groups having deferring opinions, resource availability, Economic and political climate and statutory regulations, which may necessitate change of plan. Most of the uncertainties are known to occur in the concept phase and if not intervened, they may affect the entire project. The burden falls on the management of such risk as some managers choose to ignore the uncertainties since they call for additional costs. Other inherent risks may go unnoticed and therefore remain unsolved,

The point that Kippenberger (2000) is making in his article titled ‘there’s no such thing as risk free project’ is that almost everything we do in a project involves a risk of some kind – by so saying, it is therefore essential that we are prepared or able to deal with risks. Most literature puts emphasis on the negative connotation that the word ‘risk’ carries. For instance, Chapman and Ward (2003) provide the meaning of risk as: hazard, chance of bad consequences, loss, and exposure to chance of injury or loss. Galway (2004) defines risk as an event which is uncertain and has negative impact, and similarly, Martin (2008: 38) defines risk as the ‘chance of something occurring that has an adverse effect on the project’. This negativity highlights the fact that problems can occur or things can go wrong and it is therefore important to have a systematic approach to managing them. Therefore in project management, risk management is necessary to increase the chances of the proposed project succeeding.