1 Executive Summary
1.1 Purpose and Scope
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.
Question 1a
Explain the difference between qualitative and quantitative risk management and how each method can be used to manage a project. Describe one method of each.
Question 1b
Discuss the risk management process presented in the course text (Page 8 of session 1). Apply it to a specific risk present in your own workplace and pay particular attention to any secondary risks that may be introduced.
1.2 Methods and Approach
In addition to reading the course notes, I also looked at what APMBOK (Association for Project Management, Body of Knowledge 2009, 6th Edition, UK) said about this critical area of Project Management. Additionally, I researched what my Company does to maximize their effectiveness in this area by studying their attitude towards Risk Management throughout the complete life-cycle of a project, and finally I drew from my own knowledge and experiences in this critical area.
1.3 Conclusions
In conclusion I found my Company has a robust Risk Management system, and this is driven through the WGPSN Risk Management Procedure, which
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!
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
Risk Management Procedure: Defining and summarizing the steps to respond to the risk during the project life.
It outlines how risk management activities will be performed, recorded, and monitored throughout the lifecycle of the project and provides practices for recording and prioritizing risks. The intended audience of this document is the project team, project stakeholders and management.
1. What is risk management? Why is the identification of risks, by listing assets and their vulnerabilities, so important to the risk management process?
Effective risk response can help prevent a project failing or at least reduce the negative impacts of risks that affect it. Discuss the risk response strategies that could be used for this project
Successful software project managers usually are concerned with different type of risks that can affect the project performance and objectives. In order to, to reduce the impact of such risk issues and have a stable project, my project team in ENB were able to develop a risk plan in advance to identify,prioritize and analyze these risk . These risks represented in schedule risks, cost , and technical .
A risk is event or occurrence upon which its materialising would disrupt the attainment of project objectives, therefore a risk management plan is that which is prepared to identify, assess, report, mitigate and monitor risks. It outlines clearly how risk management activities will be performed, recorded, and monitored and in some case mitigated throughout the lifespan of the project. It is prepared, monitored and updated by the project manager for the primarily the project sponsor and team officials, as it affords the opportunity to prioritize risks. Many experts refer to project managers as risk managers, Wysocki, (2009) and it is often assumed that anything bad that can happen to a project, will happen, hence the need for a project management plan, Olomolaiye, (2013).
1. What are three ways that research can be conducted for risk-related issues? For each way, briefly describe how it may be done.
Risks are the potential events that may occur in the course of a project, and if they occur would adversely affect the project scope, schedule, quality and/or resources. Further, when risks occur they bring with them consequences. Conversely, risk management is the process with which risk management planning, identification, analysis, response and control is done on a project to mitigate its effects. The goal and objective of risk management is to reduce the chances and effects of adverse events to the project objectives.
As we know there are some uncertain events that can impact to the project objective that called Risk. Therefore, I consider the following set of process that Risk Management must do these. Overall, Risk management should involve identifying, assessing, and responding to project risks in order to minimize the likelihood of the potential impact of the events on the accomplishment the project out comes. Managing risk includes taking action to prevent or minimize the impacts.
The risk management plan is to identify possible negative and positive risks that are unforeseen before and during the project duration. The risks associated with this project can be as little as permit issue to as big as hazardous material abatement and handling. The positive risk can be addressed and over checked for cutting corners and missed work packages. The risk planning must be composed of stakeholders and project team leaders including the project manager. The plan will involve the appropriate team members to address positive and negative risks by using their experience, and skills. The management plan will include instruction with dealing with contractor issue that can possibly put constraints on the project. There will meetings with project team to brainstorm the risks and discuss the impact of those identified risks and how they can resolve them if they do surface. The plan should be part of the decision tree making, especially for very large projects.
According to Kendrick (2009, p. 17), roughly 75 percent of projects fail when project teams refuse to adopt some form of risk monitoring and control. Ken Black (1996), an associate professor of decision sciences, published an article listing twelve factors that contribute to the failure of projects. The article highlighted risks, as one of the factors that can negatively affect project constraints (Black, 1996). A risk, as defined by Kendrick (2009, p. 1), is an event or series of events that occur due to the level of uncertainty associated with the project outcome. If a risk occurs, it threatens the success of a project because it can halt or prolong the project’s constraints.
All projects are subject to the effects of uncertainty. The uncertainty creates the need for organizations to be aware of the many different types of risk they will be challenged with for the duration of the project. To understand the level of risk the organization must have a defined process for project risk management to include their risk appetite, risk tolerance and risk thresholds. Project Risk Management is the processes of conducting risk management planning, identification, analysis, response planning, and controlling risk on a project. (PMI, 2013, p. 555). The PMBOK Guide lists six processes of Project Risk Management as “Plan Risk Management, Identify Risks, Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis, Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis, Plan Risk Responses, and Control Risks” (PMI, 2013, p. 309). Risk management planning has been identified as an important management approach to dealing with uncertainty in projects, aiming to minimize threats and increase opportunities. Understanding each of these processes will give you a clear picture of the importance that risk management plays within a project.
Key among the project manager’s obligations is the acknowledgment that hazard specifically affects the probability of achievement and this danger must be both formally and casually measured all through the lifetime of the project in question. Risks inherent to the project emerge from vulnerability of the project. As such, a successful project manager is the person who concentrates on this as their essential concern. The greater parts of the issues that affect a project result in somehow from another risk.