thomsett
INTERNATIONAL
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PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Risk in Projects The Total Tool Set
©
Rob Thomsett 2004
INTERNATIONAL
thomsett
Risk In Projects – The Total Tool Set
Eyes Wide Shut (without Nicole and Tom to help)
Many project mangers, when first introduced to risk management, feel that there is something “macho” about undertaking high risk projects “without a net” and that formal risk management is a sign of weakness. Secretly, I guess that we all identify somewhat with Indiana Jones as he plunges from disaster to disaster just surviving by good luck and sheer guts. The good news is that if you
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If you lived in an apartment next to the building in which you work, the risk involved in getting to work on time is many times lower than that facing a person with a 20 mile commute involving driving to the station, getting kids to school, taking a pre-work study course and public transport. The second process in risk management is the process of Risk Reduction, Minimization or Containment. This process involves planning and action to reduce the risks and, if that is not possible, to introduce strategies to minimize the impact of failure. To manage the risks in our commute, we could reduce risk by moving closer to work, obtaining flexible working hours or undertaking community and political action to improve public transport. Contingency planning such as having alternative routes or transport would be part of this process. The third and fourth processes of Risk Management are the Risk Monitoring and Risk Reporting of the status of risks [particularly High risk factors], the identification of new risk factors that have emerged during the project and reports on the effectiveness of containment strategies. In our commute example, risk monitoring would involve watching the clock and for traffic snarls. Risk reporting could be calling work to say you’ll be late and to inform your work colleagues of potential delays for other colleagues. Risk management also involves the evaluation and management of the impact of failure of the
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!
After discovering the risks it may determine the risk tolerance. This is the level of tolerance that is about the risks that may occur (Heldman, 2011). Within a project refers to the level of risk tolerance that can be tolerated by putting in perspective the benefits that occur when taking that risk (Heldman, 2011). Project Manager depart a game of the budget as a contingency reserve. This is used so that in the event of any problems the project is not affected. It is a reserve that is intended to be used in case of emergencies, which can not be addressed through another type of risk (Heldman, 2011) management strategy. Manager can use several strategies to respond to the risks. Strategies to respond to negative risks are: acceptance, rejection, transfer, mitigation (Heldman, 2011). Acceptance is face the risk and accept the consequences of the risk already...Risks can have a positive impact, and for these the project manager uses
All efforts will be made by the Project Manager to plan for and handle any risks. Continual risk monitoring will be done by the project manager throughout the projects duration.
Risks management is an important step during the process of a project. Failing to manage a risk may result in unforeseen event happening and a project’s failure. For example, with limited budget, an unforeseen event or an accident occurs in the middle of a project and this matter has not been considered and needs a big sum of expense, then the project may be stopped because of this unexpected event. We should know it is necessary to understand how to identify risks and assumptions based on the information. After identifying risks, it is important for project managers to set contingency plans to prevent and deal with these risks when they occur. Of course, several problems may happen during considering
Risk or threat is common and found in various fields of daily life and business. This concept of risk is found in various stages of development and execution of a project. Risks in a project can mean there is a chance that the project will result in total failure, increase of project costs, and an extension in project duration which means a great deal of setbacks for the company. The process of risk management is composed of identifying, assessing, mitigating, and managing the risks of the project. It
Construction projects are always unique and risks raise from a number of the different sources. Construction projects are inherently complex and dynamic, and involving multiple feedback processes. A lot of participants – individuals and organizations are actively involved in the construction project, and they interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of the project execution or project completion. Different participants with different experience and skills usually have different expectations and interests. This naturally creates problems and confusion for even the most experienced project managers and contractors.
Definition: A Risk is an unwanted situation which might arise in an organization which might lead to negative impact on the desired result. Risk management plans involves the analyzing, managing and evaluating the projects risk and threats. It involves layout of the entire project i.e from the beginning during and after results of the project.
Project Risk Management – identifies potential risks (good and bad) that can affect the objectives of the project.
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
Advancing from level 2 to level 3 requires using a risk register. 'The Risk Register is a tool to assist Project Managers in identifying likely sources of risk and the impact they may have on achieving objective. ' (Government office from the North West,2008). The first step is a brainstorm session to identify risk that may affect the project. It is important that the risks are clearly defined so that the risk is understood clearly and can be tackled. Secondly, consequence and probability of risks need to be rated (e.g. 1-5) and define each rating by their impact or likelihood. Finally, multiply the ratings of consequence and impact, rank the risks from highest severity to lowest severity. (Government office from the North West,2008). Every risks should be assigned to a risk owner which is responsible for managing the risk, a risk response to minimise both the likelihood and impact of the risk and a target completion date for the mitigation. Regular risk reviews need to be done because risks might emerge or become no longer relevant constantly. However, the impact
This assignment is included in the 2014 session of the Risk Management module of the MSc in Project Management course at University of Aberdeen. The main purpose of the assignment is to demonstrate my understanding of the issues involved in Risk Management and how they are applied in my current Project environment. The assignment is split in to two questions as detailed below.
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.