Managing Risks in Complex Projects

Dealing effectively with risks in complex projects is difficult and requires management interventions that go beyond simple analytical approaches. This is one finding of a major field study into risk management practices and business processes of 35 major product developments in 17 high‐technology companies. Almost one‐half of the contingencies that occur are not being detected before they impact project performance. Yet, the risk‐impact model presented in this article shows that risk does not affect all projects equally but depends on the effectiveness of collective managerial actions dealing with specific contingencies. The results of this study discuss why some organizations are more successful in detecting risks early in the project life cycle, and in decoupling risk factors from work processes before they impact project performance. The field data suggest that effective project risk management involves an intricately linked set of variables, related to work process, organizational environment, and people. Some of the best success scenarios point to the critical importance of recognizing and dealing with risks early in their development. This requires broad involvement and collaboration across all segments of the project team and its environment, and sophisticated methods for assessing feasibilities and usability early and frequently during the project life cycle. Specific managerial actions, organizational conditions, and work processes are suggested for fostering a project environment most conducive to effective cross‐functional communication and collaboration among all stakeholders, a condition important to early risk detection and effective risk management in complex project situations.     

3C理论视角下项目管理合规风险预警机制浅探

合规管理是加快项目顺利推进的重要举措。建立健全项目管理过程中的合规管理机制,可以有效防范项目合规风险,保障项目持续健康有序推进。本文基于3C理论视角,结合实际情况,从分类、协调、协作角度来分析、识别合规风险,探讨项目管理合规风险预警机制的有效办法,构建合规管理闭环,持续提升合规管理实践。     

Portfolio Risk Management and Its Contribution to Project Portfolio Success: An Investigation of Organization,Process, and Culture

Previous research has found supporting evidence of a positive relationship between project risk management and project success, but literature on how risk management is applied to and integrated with project portfolios has been scarce. Based on a literature review, a comprehensive conceptual model is developed, which highlights the three components of portfolio risk management: organization, process, and culture. This study investigates their linkage to portfolio success, mediated through risk management quality, and, therefore, provides principles for more effective portfolio risk management. The developed framework can be used for further empirical research on the influence of portfolio risk management and its success.     

How Project Manager–Project Owner Interaction Can Work Within and Influence Project Risk Management

Inherent interest conflicts between a project management team and project owner are often neglected in project risk management. Risk management by the project management team basically focuses on project short‐term survival, or project success toward handover to the customer, while for the project owner, strategic success should be more important. To see how this takes place in and influences real projects, seven large projects were studied, and interaction in project risk management between the project owners and project management team was examined for each project. The study revealed that the main focus in the studied projects was on operational risks, even within the project owner's set of high‐priority risks.     

Project management for new product development

This article examines the intersection of the project management body of knowledge with new product development (NPD). The area under examination is the development of consumer products that have a significant engineering production content. It is concluded that the project management method, with its structured task definition and software tools, is generally useful for managing NPD projects. However, in some areas, project management incompletely meets the needs of NPD. Specifically, NPD is characterized by complex interrelated activities and large uncertainties about precisely which solution path will be taken, such that the full scope of the project can often not be anticipated beforehand. The article identifies that more research is required to validate the stage‐gate and lean project management methods. Whereas cost is the primary focus in project management, with NPD there is a need to consider both cost and income (from product sales) in making strategic decisions. Communication and human resource management are important factors in NPD success, but existing project management perspectives have little to say about the social and behavioral aspects, such as organizational culture, team dynamics, and leadership styles, especially not for NPD. Current project management practices are very much based on “output control” (targets, appraisal, rewards, management by objectives), which the human resource management literature identifies as inhibiting innovation. There is also likely to exist an intersection, as yet poorly understood, between project management and knowledge management, particularly for innovation processes such as NPD. For practitioners, the main message is that the project management method provides a basic, but imperfect, tool for managing NPD. The relevance for researchers is that gaps have been identified in the project management method as it is currently applied to NPD. Several places are identified where further research is required to (a) better understand the causality between factors (e.g., human resource management) and project success and (b) adapt project management methods to better serve the NPD process.     

New product development projects: The effects of organizational culture

Despite the increasing use of project management within organizations, an attendant poor rate of success among these projects has been observed (Clancy & Stone, 2005; Ives, 2005). Seventy‐five percent of all business transformation projects fail (Collyer, 2000) and only 16% of U.S. IT projects are completed on time and on budget (Peled, 2000). In an attempt to overcome such a high project failure rate, this paper investigates the effects of organizational culture on the performance of particular types of projects: new product development (NPD) projects. Using data from 95 U.S. organizations, the study provides evidence of the significant effects of organizational culture on NPD projects.     

信息系统项目的风险管理分析

信息系统项目的风险管理对信息系统项目的成功起着重要的作用。分析了信息系统项目的风险类别、后果、驱动因素和行动路径;提出了信息系统风险管理程序,以及在信息系统项目实施中进行有效的风险管理。     

Practices and strategies for sustainability-related risk management in multi-tier supply chains

This study investigates how sustainability-related risks are managed in multi-tier supply chains. It focuses on the strategies and practices that companies use to manage sustainability-related risks and how these differ between supply chains and supply chain tiers. We use a multiple-case study with 25 companies forming 5 multi-tier supply chains. As a result of this study, we present a conceptual framework for sustainability-related risk management practices in multi-tier supply chains and apply it empirically by defining sustainability-related risk management profiles for the case supply chains. We show that in multi-tier supply chains, companies need direct and indirect collaboration and direct and indirect monitoring practices for managing sustainability-related risks emanating from not only their first-tier suppliers but also lower-tier suppliers. Our framework helps purchasing and supply chain managers understand the dimensions of sustainability-related risk management in a multi-tier setting and develop strategies and practices for mitigating and managing those risks. We also empirically show the challenge of extending sustainability-related risk management practices beyond first-tier suppliers due to the different practices in different supply chain tiers.     

A performance-oriented risk management framework for innovative R&D projects

Uncertainty is one of the major inherent difficulties in developing innovative products, due to their highly dynamic markets and technologies. The presence of a large degree of uncertainty leads to high R&D risks, resulting in many R&D failures. Therefore, it is important to manage R&D risks through all R&D stages to improve R&D project success rates. This paper proposes a new risk management framework that aligns project risk management with corporate strategy and a performance measurement system to increase success rates of R&D projects and to accomplish corporate strategic goals. The balanced scorecard is used to identify major performance measures of an R&D organization based on the firm vision and strategy. Quality function deployment is adapted to transform organizational performance measures into project performance measures and a systematic procedure is developed for risk identification, assessment, response planning, and control. The proposed risk management framework enables an R&D project to be focused on achieving the corporate goals and provides a more effective way to identify, assess, analyze, and monitor R&D risks along the project cycle. The proposed methodology is illustrated with a drug development project.     

软件开发过程中的风险管理

每个软件在其研发过程中都隐含着许多不确定因素,这为软件的成功开发带来了风险。软件的交付时间也与项目的风险管理有着直接的关系。论文对软件开发项目风险管理的概念、主要的风险类别、风险管理的策略进行了论述。     

新产品研发项目管理模式的应用

应用新产品研发项目管理模式能实现企业资源的高效利用,缩短研发周期,降低产品成本,提高产品质量,减小风险,提高企业新产品研发的能力与水平。文章从项目管理的相关理论知识入手,结合实践对先进的新产品研发项目管理模式进行研究,有针对性地提出解决措施,为促进新产品研发项目管理模式应用,进一步提高企业新产品研发能力和水平积累经验和提供参考。     

论建筑施工企业如何防范常见风险

众所周知,建筑施工是一项规模庞大、结构复杂、因素众多的系统工程,同时也是一项高风险工程,对风险控制的成败直接关系着建筑企业的生存和可持续发展。本文着眼于建筑施工企业风险防范能力的提高,结合当前建筑施工企业常见的风险类型,就如何防范风险进行思考。     

A conceptual framework for tackling knowable unknown unknowns in project management

Understanding and dealing with the unknown is a major challenge in project management. An extensive body of knowledge—theory and technique—exists on the “known unknowns,” i.e., uncertainties which can be described probabilistically and addressed through the conventional techniques of risk management. Although some recent studies have addressed projects where the existence of unknown unknowns (unk unks) is readily apparent or may be assumed given the type of project—e.g., new product development or new process implementation—very little work has been reported with respect to projects in general on how a project manager might assess its vulnerability to unk unks. In this paper, we present a conceptual framework to deal with (i.e., recognize and reduce) knowable unk unks in project management. The framework is supported by insights from a variety of theories, case analyses, and experiences. In this framework, we first present a model of the key factors—relating to both project design and behavioral issues—that increase the likelihood of unk unks and a set of propositions linking these factors to unk unks. We then present a set of design and behavioral approaches that project managers could adopt to reduce knowable unk unks. Our framework fills a gap in the project management literature and makes a significant practical contribution: it helps project managers diagnose a project to recognize and reduce the likelihood of unk unks and thus deal more effectively with the otherwise unrecognized risks and opportunities.     

探讨基础设施PPP项目的全生命周期的动态项目管理

当前,PPP模式不仅在我国基础设施建设中发展前景良好,同时在很多国家得到了广泛应用。相比传统的工程项目建设模式,PPP项目具有风险因素复杂和风险较大的特征,因此,PPP项目的成功会在很大程度上受动态项目管理的有效性影响。对项目管理来说,尤其是动态项目风险管理,应贯穿于PPP项目的全生命周期,而只有实现全生命周期的动态风险管理,才能使PPP模式在我国基础设施建设领域中成功利用。     

Impact of nontechnical leadership practices on it project success

This article examines the leadership practices utilized by information technology (IT) project managers that contribute to project success. Specifically, technical and nontechnical leadership practices are contrasted. The importance of nontechnical leadership practices in IT project management has been largely ignored in research until recently. The article identifies key nontechnical leadership practices that are important for the success of IT projects. The article is based on a qualitative study that gathered data from actual IT projects conducted at U.S. companies across several different industry segments. Study results are analyzed to determine the relevance and value of Heifetz's adaptive leadership framework to the area of IT project management. Study findings indicate that nontechnical leadership practices are important to the success of IT projects. Findings also indicate that Heifetz's adaptive leadership framework is consistent with the key nontechnical leadership practices that are important for the success of IT projects. A framework for the development of IT project managers is also proposed.     

Translating single project management knowledge to project programs

Over the past decade, the efficient implementation of project programs became of great importance. Many authors are concerned with improving the professionalism of implementing project programs, and most of them identify context‐related factors that are considered the bases of successful implementation. However, little has been written on how to use the project management toolkit in project programs. In mid‐2007, a research program was initiated to highlight the role of the single project management toolkit in implementing programs. During the research, both case‐based and interview‐based research methods were used. The primary question addressed in this article is how to translate single project management knowledge to program management.     

探析电力项目工程期管理的风险控制

电力工程项目由于技术含量高、环节众多、周期长、投入大、不确定性因素多,从项目的工期、质量、成本都存在各种风险,项目风险管理是为了最好地达到项目的目标,识别、分配、应对项目生命周期内风险的科学与艺术,是一种综合性的管理活动。本文介绍电力工程项目风险管理与风险控制,提出了电力工程项目中的风险控制方式。因此通过识别、判断风险,制定风险控制计划、应对策略,加强监管等尽可能地减少风险,以最大限度地实现工程项目管理的目标。     

Risk-based classification of supplier relationships

The management and exploitation of external resources has increased and become a new source of business success. This has given rise to various new risks and therefore increased the need for collaborative risk management and learning. The objective of this paper is to explore the differences in risk management and learning across supplier relationships classified through network risks. The paper provides a theoretical review of supplier relationships and risk management, as well as a survey-based empirical study conducted in one case company's supply network. A set of network risks and risk-management measures is developed by means of factor analysis, and a supplier classification by means of cluster analysis. According to the results, the exploitation of collaborative risk management and learning is highest among the most strategic supplier relationships. A classification typology based on suppliers’ opinions helps both parties in the relationship and enables the efficient exploitation of mutual risk management with collaborative learning as one of its keystones.     

新产品研发项目管理模式的应用

应用新产品研发项目管理模式能实现企业资源的高效利用,缩短研发周期,降低产品成本,提高产品质量,减小风险,提高企业新产品研发的能力与水平。文章从项目管理的相关理论知识入手,结合实践对先进的新产品研发项目管理模式进行研究,有针对性地提出解决措施,为促进新产品研发项目管理模式应用,进一步提高企业新产品研发能力和水平积累经验和提供参考。     

企业风险管理与内部控制的实施策略应用思考

当前,随着社会经济的不断发展,企业在运行过程中存在一系列的风险,这些风险对企业的发展造成了负面影响。所以企业管理人员应根据项目在实际运行过程中遇到的一些问题,制定合理的方案措施,并发掘项目管理潜在的风险,提前做好风险评估工作,这既有利于推动企业可持续发展,也让企业在运行的过程中保证自身的安全性。论文提出企业应通过实施有效的策略方案、落实风险管理制度,确保企业稳定运行。