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Project Management (5577)

Approved Study Center

ALLAMA IQAL OPEN UNIVERSITY (AIOU)

ASSIGNMENT # 01
COURSE: PROJECT MANAGEMENT (5577)
Level Executive MBA/MPA (3rd) Semester: SPRING 2010

Submitted to

MR.QALANDAR HAYAT

Submitted By

Muhammad Idrees

Roll # AD514761
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Project Management (5577)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank first of all my teacher Mr. Qalandar Hayat for his kind
briefing regarding this Assignment.

My teachers and internet were a big source in accomplishment of my


Assignment.

My class fellows also deserve an Appreciation and Gesture of thankfulness


since their guidance also helped a lot.

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Q. 1 Define project. Write a detail note on project lifecycle


and explain different steps of project life cycle.

Project:

Introduction

Clear and accurate definition of a project is one of the most important actions
you can take to ensure the project's success. The clearer the target the more
likely you are to hit it. Defining a project is a process of selection and reduction
of the ideas and perspectives of those involved into a set of clearly defined
objectives, key success criteria and evaluated risks.

This definition process should culminate in the production of a Project


Definition document, sometimes called a Project Charter. The Project
Definition document should be approved and issued by a manager with the
authority to apply organizational resources to the project activities. Therefore,
the seniority of the manager or the management team will be commensurate
with the size, cost and business value of the project. As a minimum, the
Project Definition should include a statement of the business need that the
project seeks to address and the description of the product, service or
deliverable business objectives that will be its output. When a project is
performed under a contract between seller and buyer, the signed contract may
well serve as the project charter for the seller. However this may not
necessarily be the case for the buyer whose project may include more than the
product or service purchase under the contract.

The way to define a project is to ask a standard set of questions of yourself (as
project leader) the project team, colleagues with particular expertise and
senior managers. The questions fall into the categories given below.

The Purpose (or Mission)

This is the reason for doing the project

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The Goals

These are the targets we want to meet

 What is it we want to achieve?


 When do we want to achieve it?
 What are our specific aims?
 Why are these goals essential to the project?

The Beneficial Gains or Scope

This is how our organization will gain. Here we define our performance
criteria and set our quality standards for the project.

nd the proposed solution?

achieve the goals an important part of the


beneficial gain?
I. E. Is it a learning project?

satisfied?

First, imagine that you have no constraints. Use brainstorming and other
techniques to generate ideas that most succinctly describe the Purpose, Goals
and Beneficial Gains. Now reduce these down to the fundamentals.

Objectives

We need to define specific measurable objectives from our broad aims.


These objectives will tell us if we have met our goals and to what
standard.

From our list of specific goals for the project we must develop a set of
measurable objectives that will confirm that we have reached certain project
milestones (or way points) including the final one of project completion.

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The measurable objectives (when achieved) demonstrate the extent to which


the beneficial gains have been achieved, the goals have been met and that the
purpose of the project has been achieved.

E.G.

Aim: A Local Authority has a statutory duty to provide accommodation


for homeless people. It needs to develop a temporary housing strategy
that removes the need for expensive bed and breakfast accommodation
for homeless people.

Measurable Objectives:

op links with Housing Associations and Shelters to ensure


that we have sufficient capacity to meet our expected (150 per
annum) homeless needs.

100 to 0.
modating homeless people has
reduced by at least 10%.

Project Constraints

Every project has constraints. The primary ones are the trade off
between Time, Resources and Performance Criteria. We must define
our project so that we can manage these constraints.

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To define our project we have to make some hard choices to select and
balance these constraints. Let us look first at Resources and Performance
Criteria and then Time.

Resources

Resources are people, equipment and money. They may be internal or external
and include suppliers, contractors, partners, statutory bodies, governments,
banks, loans, grants, expert opinion (Lawyers, Accountants, Consultants), etc.

Generally, we are reasonably good at estimating or obtaining estimates for the


use and costs of external resources. Where we aren't we can obtain expert
opinion (another cost). Where we often fail is in estimating the cost of the use
of our internal resources, particularly people.

Aside from the employment costs, there are:-

 the costs to the service provision they normally perform,


 the cost of substitution to maintain the service,
 the loss of opportunity for them to work on other projects (i.e. the loss of
the benefit those projects would deliver),
 and the cost of training associated with the project work.

Because internal resources are so constrained it is vital that we select our


projects with the utmost care to maximise the use of that resource. Defining
projects helps us to make this selection objectively and rationally. Consider
these definitions :-

Work in a project is proportional to the number of Objectives and the Performance Criteria

Clearly, if we reduce the number of our objectives and the performance


standard (e.g. 5% rather than 10% improvement of sales or reduction of costs
then we can reduce the work required to complete the project.

Number of resources deployed x Time = Work

So, another way of expressing work is in the number of resources we will need
and the time those resources will have to be deployed on the project. If we can
reduce the work we can reduce the time and/or the number of resources. It
must be borne in mind that the relationship between the number of resources
deployed and the time it takes to do a given amount of work is not linear.
Often, just adding people to a project can increase the time because they have
to be trained, managed and their work co-ordinated with others. All this takes
work and therefore time.

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If we decide that all the objectives must be met and we cannot reduce the
work then what other options do we have?

Time =Work ÷ Resource Capability

Sometimes we can speed up the work by using bigger, faster, more powerful
machines (computers, plant and machinery) but, of course, this has a cost.
When the resource is people we can employ more highly skilled, more
intelligent and more capable people (if we can find them and persuade them to
work on the project). But, whether it is machines or people :-

Resource Capability is normally directly proportional to Resource Cost

And

Work x Resource Cost = Total Cost

Therefore, to reduce the cost of a project and/or to conserve resources for


other projects we need to keep the work to a minimum consistent with
achieving the aims and objectives of the project. But as the Work is reduced by
increasing the Resource Capability there is a trade off between resource cost
and Total Cost. There may also be a reduction in overall project time and this
may have its own opportunities, benefits and/or cost savings.

Performance Criteria

The Performance Criteria are the things the project will deliver and to what
quality standard they will be delivered. For example:-

project to connect travelling or home workers to the


corporate computer network may have 3 possible sets of
performance criteria.
1. Every external employee must have modem access to corporate and
external E-mail via the Internet

2. Every external employee must have access to corporate E-mail and one
departmental server via ISDN connections

3. Every employee must have access to all corporate


computer systems via ISDN (from home) and modem (from
hotels)

The equipment costs; the number and complexity of tasks and the
knowledge requirement associated with each of these performance

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criteria is very different. For example it is not possible to deliver


the same performance using a modem as it is using an ISDN line
so further definition is required if performance criteria 3 is selected.

One of the main reasons for producing a well defined Project Definition is to
ensure that the Performance Criteria are set and agreed. We must define what
it will NOT deliver, what it will deliver, and to what quality standard. The clear
aims and the measurable objectives derived from the definition process enable
us to set the Performance Criteria and the quality standard. Why is this
important?

The number, size and complexity of Project Tasks are directly proportional to
the Performance Criteria

which have been set for the project. The Performance Criteria, therefore,
determines the amount of work to be done.

When looking at resource decisions we have seen that these are directly
affected by the amount and type of work that has to be done. Therefore, the
time the project will take and the amount that it will cost can be expressed as
follows:-

The Performance Criteria are directly proportional to the Resource Days required
divided by the Resource Capability available for each task

And: as Resource Days x Time = Work

And: Time =Work divided by Resource Capability

And: Resource Capability is proportional to Resource Cost

And: Work x Resource Cost = Total Cost

And therefore

Increased Performance Criteria = Increased Project time and Project Cost

So, to increase the performance criteria it is almost always necessary to


increase the Work or to obtain resources with greater capabilities (i.e. they
can perform the same work in a shorter period of time). For example by using
machines or highly skilled staff we can decrease the Resource Days or we can
choose to keep these the same and increase the Performance.

Time

If we choose to reduce the Resource Days by increasing the Resource


Capability this will not necessarily reduce the Total Cost because the

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reduction in resource days may be out weighed by the increased Resource


Cost.

However, improved Resource Capability will reduce the task time and there
is often a delivery Time Cost associated with a project so that the cost to the
organisation will be less or its income improved. This is the so called 'window
of opportunity' factor.

So it is self evident that there is always a trade off decision to be made


between Time, Resources and Performance Criteria. This is why the
Project Definition is so important. It allows us to define that trade off, to have
the senior managers approve it and the consequent allocation of resources.

Risk Analysis

We need to identify, quantify and make contingency plans to deal with


project risks.

The constraints on a project are one form of risk. The project may well have
specific constraints that lead to identifiable risks. What do we mean by project
risk? A risk is anything that will have a negative impact on any one or all of the
primary project constraints - Time, Resources and Performance Criteria.

Some examples might be:-

key person with specialist skills is required for several projects. If one of
those projects over run then that person will be required to work on several
projects at the same time. If this is not practical then the other projects will be
delayed.

A person selected to do work on a project may not have the skills


to do the work. If this risk is identified then the project plan can
allow for training time and learning curve time. Alternatively,
another resource may be identified.

A vital machine may be scheduled for maintenance during the time


it is required for the project. Both the fact of the maintenance
schedule must be known and the effect of early or late
maintenance or even machine substitution must be assessed and
built into the project plan.

Let us take the example of a new computer system implementation and look at
what is often one of the most time consuming tasks (one that is so often prone
to increased duration) and see how we might reduce the associated risks.

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implementing a new computer system the quantity and difficulty of


data transfer (extracting data from the existing system, reformatting it and
importing it into the new system) is often under grossly estimated. The time
the work will take has a great sensitivity to:-

a. IT staff programming skills, their technical knowledge of both


systems as well as their knowledge about how the old and new
systems will be operated.
b. the similarity of previous transfers by the supplier for other
customers (even similar ones will not be exactly the same),
c. the similarity between the data in the old and new systems,
d. the quality of the data to be transferred,
e. the knowledge and skill of the staff who must validate the data
transferred.
f. The importance of historic data to the satisfactory operation of the
new system or the service level provision to customers.

quantity and type of data transferred the greater the work in constructing the
data transfer programs and in validating the take-on data.

What are the risks?

That the 'live' date will be delayed.

That the system may not operate correctly.

That the customers will be dissatisfied.

That the organisation will be publicly criticised.

That, in consequence, the organisation will lose income or


market share.

Risk can be reduced by analysing what is essential data, what is accurate data
and what is merely nice to have. Risk is minimised by transferring only
essential data that is also accurate. Re-enter essential but inaccurate data and
store the rest on CD-ROM when the data transfer part of the project is
complete. You may never use this data but you will have a warm and
comfortable feeling for having done it. Obviously, putting only your best people
on the project will also substantially reduce the risk of delay and the
consequences of having inaccurate data.
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Product lifecycle management

Global product’s lifecycle.

Product lifecycle management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire


lifecycle of a product from its conception, through design and manufacture, to
service and disposal. PLM integrates people, data, processes and business
systems and provides a product information backbone for companies and their
extended enterprise.

Product lifecycle management' (PLM) should be distinguished from 'Product life


cycle management (marketing)' (PLCM). PLM describes the engineering aspect
of a product, from managing descriptions and properties of a product through
its development and useful life; whereas, PLCM refers to the commercial
management of life of a product in the business market with respect to costs
and sales measures.
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Product lifecycle management is one of the four cornerstones of a corporation's


information technology structure. All companies need to manage
communications and information with their customers (CRM-Customer
Relationship Management), their suppliers (SCM-Supply Chain Management),
their resources within the enterprise (ERP-Enterprise Resource Planning) and
their planning (SDLC-Systems Development Life Cycle). In addition,
manufacturing engineering companies must also develop, describe, manage
and communicate information about their products.

A form of PLM called people-centric PLM. While traditional PLM tools have been
deployed only on release or during the release phase, people-centric PLM
targets the design phase.

Recent (as of 2009) ICT development (EU funded PROMISE project 2004-2008)
has allowed PLM to extend beyond traditional PLM and integrate sensor data
and real time 'lifecycle event data' into PLM, as well as allowing this
information to be made available to different players in the total lifecycle of an
individual product (closing the information loop). This has resulted in the
extension of PLM into Closed Loop Lifecycle Management (CL2M).

Benefits

Documented benefits of product lifecycle management include:

Reduced time to market

 Improved product quality


 Reduced prototyping costs
 More accurate and timely Request For Quote generation
 Ability to quickly identify potential sales opportunities and revenue
contributions
 Savings through the re-use of original data
 A framework for product optimization
 Reduced waste
 Savings through the complete integration of engineering workflows
 Documentation that can assist in proving Compliance for RoHS or Title 21
CFR Part 11
 Ability to provide Contract Manufacturers with access to a centralized
product record

Areas of PLM

Within PLM there are five primary areas;

1. Systems Engineering (SE)

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2. Product and Portfolio Management (PPM)


3. Product Design (CAx)
4. Manufacturing Process Management (MPM)
5. Product Data Management (PDM)

Systems Engineering is focused on meeting all requirements, primary meeting


customer needs, and coordinating the Systems Design process by involving all
relevant disciplines. Product and Portfolio Management is focused on managing
resource allocation, tracking progress vs. plan for projects in the new product
development projects that are in process (or in a holding status). Portfolio
management is a tool that assists management in tracking progress on new
products and making trade-off decisions when allocating scarce resources.
Product Data Management is focused on capturing and maintaining information
on products and/or services through their development and useful life.

Introduction to development process

The core of PLM (product lifecycle management) is in the creations and central
management of all product data and the technology used to access this
information and knowledge. PLM as a discipline emerged from tools such as
CAD, CAM and PDM, but can be viewed as the integration of these tools with
methods, people and the processes through all stages of a product‟s life. It is
not just about software technology but is also a business strategy.

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For simplicity the stages described are shown in a traditional sequential


engineering workflow. The exact order of event and tasks will vary according to
the product and industry in question but the main processes are:

 Conceive
o Specification
o Concept design
 Design
o Detailed design
o Validation and analysis (simulation)
o Tool design
 Realize
o Plan manufacturing
o Manufacture
o Build/Assemble
o Test (quality check)
 Service
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o Sell and Deliver


o Use
o Maintain and Support
o Dispose

The major key point events are:

 Order
 Idea
 Kick-off
 Design freeze
 Launch

The reality is however more complex, people and departments cannot perform
their tasks in isolation and one activity cannot simply finish and the next
activity start. Design is an iterative process, often designs need to be modified
due to manufacturing constraints or conflicting requirements. Where exactly a
customer order fits into the time line depends on the industry type, whether
the products are for example Build to Order, Engineer to Order, or Assemble to
Order.

History

Inspiration for the burgeoning business process now known as PLM came
when American Motors Corporation (AMC) was looking for a way to speed up
its product development process to compete better against its larger
competitors in 1985, according to François Castaing, Vice President for Product
Engineering and Development. After introducing its compact Jeep Cherokee
(XJ), the vehicle that launched the modern sport utility vehicle (SUV) market,
AMC began development of a new model, that later came out as the Jeep
Grand Cherokee. The first part in its quest for faster product development was
computer-aided design (CAD) software system that make engineers more
productive. The second part in this effort was the new communication system
that allowed conflicts to be resolved faster, as well as reducing costly
engineering changes because all drawings and documents were in a central
database. The product data management was so effective, that after AMC was
purchased by Chrysler, the system was expanded throughout the enterprise
connecting everyone involved in designing and building products. While an
early adopter of PLM technology, Chrysler was able to become the auto
industry's lowest-cost producer, recording development costs that were half of
the industry average by the mid-1990s.

Phases of product lifecycle and corresponding technologies

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Many software solutions have developed to organize and integrate the different
phases of a product‟s lifecycle. PLM should not be seen as a single software
product but a collection of software tools and working methods integrated
together to address either single stages of the lifecycle or connect different
tasks or manage the whole process. Some software providers cover the whole
PLM range while others a single niche application. Some applications can span
many fields of PLM with different modules within the same data model. An
overview of the fields within PLM is covered here. It should be noted however
that the simple classifications do not always fit exactly, many areas overlap
and many software products cover more than one area or do not fit easily into
one category. It should also not be forgotten that one of the main goals of PLM
is to collect knowledge that can be reused for other projects and to coordinate
simultaneous concurrent development of many products. It is about business
processes, people and methods as much as software application solutions.
Although PLM is mainly associated with engineering tasks it also involves
marketing activities such as Product Portfolio Management (PPM), particularly
with regards to New product introduction (NPI).

Phase 1: Conceive

Imagine, specify, plan, and innovate

The first stage in idea is the definition of its requirements based on customer,
company, market and regulatory bodies‟ viewpoints. From this specification of
the products major technical parameters can be defined. Parallel to the
requirements specification the initial concept design work is carried out
defining the visual aesthetics of the product together with its main functional
aspects. For the Industrial Design, Styling, work many different media are
used from pencil and paper, clay models to 3D CAID Computer-aided industrial
design software.

Phase 2: Design

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Describe, define, develop, test, analyze and validate

This is where the detailed design and development of the product‟s form starts,
progressing to prototype testing, through pilot release to full product launch. It
can also involve redesign and ramp for improvement to existing products as
well as planned obsolescence. The main tool used for design and development
is CAD Computer-aided design. This can be simple 2D Drawing / Drafting or 3D
Parametric Feature Based Solid/Surface Modeling. Such software includes
technology such as Hybrid Modeling, Reverse Engineering, KBE (Knowledge-
Based Engineering), NDT (Nondestructive testing), Assembly construction.

This step covers many engineering disciplines including: Mechanical, Electrical,


Electronic, Software (embedded), and domain-specific, such as Architectural,
Aerospace, Automotive, ... Along with the actual creation of geometry there is
the analysis of the components and product assemblies. Simulation, validation
and optimization tasks are carried out using CAE (Computer-aided engineering)
software either integrated in the CAD package or stand-alone. These are used
to perform tasks such as:- Stress analysis, FEA (Finite Element Analysis);
Kinematics; Computational fluid dynamics (CFD); and mechanical event
simulation (MES). CAQ (Computer-aided quality) is used for tasks such as
Dimensional Tolerance (engineering) Analysis. Another task performed at this
stage is the sourcing of bought out components, possibly with the aid of
Procurement systems.

Phase 3: Realize

Manufacture, make, build, procure, produce, sell and deliver

Once the design of the product‟s components is complete the method of


manufacturing is defined. This includes CAD tasks such as tool design; creation
of CNC Machining instructions for the product‟s parts as well as tools to
manufacture those parts, using integrated or separate CAM Computer-aided
manufacturing software. This will also involve analysis tools for process
simulation for operations such as casting, molding, and die press forming.
Once the manufacturing method has been identified CPM comes into play. This
involves CAPE (Computer-aided Production Engineering) or CAP/CAPP –
(Production Planning) tools for carrying out Factory, Plant and Facility Layout
and Production Simulation. For example: Press-Line Simulation; and Industrial
Ergonomics; as well as tool selection management. Once components are
manufactured their geometrical form and size can be checked against the
original CAD data with the use of Computer Aided Inspection equipment and

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software. Parallel to the engineering tasks, sales product configuration and


marketing documentation work will be taking place. This could include
transferring engineering data (geometry and part list data) to a web based
sales configurator and other Desktop Publishing systems.

Phase 4: Service

Use, operate, maintain, support, sustain, phase-out, retire, recycle and


disposal

The final phase of the lifecycle involves managing of in service information.


Providing customers and service engineers with support information for repair
and maintenance, as well as waste management/recycling information. This
involves using such tools as Maintenance, Repair and Operations Management
(MRO) software.

All phases: product lifecycle

Communicate, manage and collaborate

None of the above phases can be seen in isolation. In reality a project does not
run sequentially or in isolation of other product development projects.
Information is flowing between different people and systems. A major part of
PLM is the co-ordination of and management of product definition data. This
includes managing engineering changes and release status of components;
configuration product variations; document management; planning project
resources and timescale and risk assessment.

For these tasks graphical, text and metadata such as product bills of materials
(BOMs) needs to be managed. At the engineering departments level this is the
domain of PDM – (Product Data Management) software, at the corporate level
EDM (Enterprise Data Management) software, these two definitions tend to
blur however but it is typical to see two or more data management systems
within an organization. These systems are also linked to other corporate
systems such as SCM, CRM, and ERP. Associated with these systems are
Project Management Systems for Project/Program Planning.

This central role is covered by numerous Collaborative Product Development


tools which run throughout the whole lifecycle and across organizations. This
requires many technology tools in the areas of Conferencing, Data Sharing and
Data Translation. The field being Product visualization which includes
technologies such as DMU (Digital Mock-Up), Immersive Virtual Digital
Prototyping (virtual reality) and Photo realistic Imaging.

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Product development processes and methodologies

A number of established methodologies have been adopted by PLM and been


further advanced. Together with PLM digital engineering techniques, they have
been advanced to meet company goals such as reduced time to market and
lower production costs. Reducing lead times is a major factor as getting a
product to market quicker than the competition will help with higher revenue
and profit margins and increase market share.

These techniques include:-

 Concurrent engineering workflow


 Industrial Design
 Bottom-up design
 Top-down design
 Front loading design workflow
 Design in context
 Modular design
 NPD New product development
 DFSS Design for Six Sigma
 DFMA Design for manufacture / assembly
 Digital simulation engineering
 Requirement driven design
 Specification managed validation

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References

1. "About PLM". CIMdata. http://www.cimdata.com/plm.html.


2. "What is PLM?". PLM Technology Guide.
http://plmtechnologyguide.com/site/?page_id=435.
3. Evans, Mike. "The PLM Debate". Cambashi.
http://www.cambashi.com/the-plm-debate---outsourcing-upsets-the-it-
integration-pillars.
4. Day, Martyn (2002.04.15). "What is PLM". Cad Digest.
http://www.caddigest.com/subjects/PLM/select/day_plm.htm.
5. Hill, Sidney (2006.12.01). "A winning strategy". Manufacturing Business
Technology.
http://www.mbtmag.com/current_issues/2006/sept/coverstory1.asp?Cat
egoryID=66.
6. Teresko, John (2004.01.02). "The PLM Revolution". IndustryWeek.
http://www.industryweek.com/CurrentArticles/Asp/articles.asp?ArticleId
=1558.
7. Stackpole, Beth (2003.05.15). "There's a New App in Town". CIO
Magazine. http://www.cio.com/archive/051503/app.html.
8. Goul, Lawrence (2002.06.05). "Additional ABCs About PLM". Automotive
Design and Production.
http://www.autofieldguide.com/articles/120506.html.
9. Sidney Hill, Jr., "How To Be A Trendsetter: Dassault And IBM PLM
Customers Swap Tales From The PLM Front", retrieved on March 28,
2008.
10. Incose SYSTEMS ENGINEERING HANDBOOK, A “HOW TO” GUIDE
For All Engineers, Version 2.0, July 2000. pg 358

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Q. 2 Elaborate your understanding about scope planning, also explain its needs
and importance in project management.

Scope (project management)

Project Scope "The work that needs to be accomplished to deliver a product,


service, or result with the specified features and functions."

Product Scope "The features and functions that characterize a product,


service, or result." Notice that Project Scope is more work-oriented, while
Product Scope is more oriented toward functional requirements.
If requirements are not completely defined and described and if there is no
effective change control in a project, scope or requirement creep may ensue.

Scope creep management is important for effective project management.


Projects are expected to meet strict deadlines with resource restraints, and an
unvetted and unapproved change in the scope can affect the success of the
project. Scope creep sometimes causes cost overrun.

Scope creep is a term which refers to the incremental expansion of the scope
of a project, which may include and introduce more requirements that may not
have been a part of the initial planning of the project, while nevertheless failing
to adjust schedule and budget. There are two distinct ways to separate scope
creep management. The first is business scope creep, and the second is
called features (also technology) scope creep. The type of scope creep
management is always dependent upon on the people who create the changes.

Business scope creep management occurs when decisions that are made
with reference to a project are designed to solve or meet the requirements and
needs of the business. Business scope creep changes may be a result of poor
requirements definition early in development, or the failure to include the users
of the project until the later stage of the systems development life cycle.

Scope management plan is one of the major Scope communication


documents. The Project Scope Management Plan documents how the project
scope will be defined, managed, controlled, verified and communicated to the
project team and stakeholders/customers. It also includes all work required to
complete the project. The documents are used to control what is in and out of
the scope of the project by the use of a Change Management system. Items
deemed out of scope go directly through the change control process and are
not automatically added to the project work items. The Project Scope
Management plan is included in as one of the sections in the overall Project
Management plan. It can be very detailed and formal or loosely framed and
informal depending on the communication needs of the project.

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Features (Technology) scope creep occurs when the scope creep is


introduced by technologists adding features not originally contemplated.
Customer-pleasing scope creep occurs when the desire to please the customer
through additional product features adds more work to the current project
rather than to a new project proposal. Gold-plating scope creep occurs when
technologists augment the original requirements because of a bias toward
"technical perfectionism" or because the initial requirements were insufficiently
clear or detailed.

Scope Planning
The Project scope management plan describes:
How project scope will be defined
How detailed project scope statement will be developed
How work breakdown structure will be created
How scope verification will be performed
How project scope control will be done

Importance of Scope in Project Management

Introduction

Project scope management is management of the process required to ensure


that the project includes all the work required and to complete the project
successfully.

 Scope Planning
 Scope Definition
 Create WBS
 Scope Verification
 Scope control

Scope Definition

Scope definition process is a detailed project which is critical to project


success.

In this process the project is defined with greater details and with more
specific information about the project. Stakeholder needs and expectations are
detailed in this document. The assumptions and constraints are analyzed and
detailed.

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Creating WBS (Work Breakdown Structure)

The Work Breakdown Structure is a deliverable-oriented hierarchical


decomposition of the work to be performed by the project team to create
deliverables.

The WBS subdivides the project work into smaller, more manageable pieces of
work. Each lower level of the WBS represents further detailed breakup of the
project work. Each lower level of the WBS represents further detailed break-up
of the project work. The Lowest level WBS nodes are called work packages,
which can be scheduled, estimated, monitored, and controlled by an individual
or a team.

A Work Breakdown structure is a result-oriented family tree that captures all


the work of a project in an organized way. It is often portrayed graphically as a
hierarchical tree; however, it can be a tabular list “element" categories and
task or the indented task list that appears in your Gantt chart schedule.

The WBS is commonly used at the beginning of a project for defining project
scope, organizing Gantt schedules and estimating costs. It lives on, throughout
the project schedule and often is the main path for reporting project costs. On
larger projects, the WBS may be used throughout the project to identify and
track work packages, to organize data for Earned Value Management (EVM)
reporting and for tracking deliverables.

Scope Verification

Scope verification is the process of completed project scope and deliverables


by stakeholders. This includes performing review and getting formal
acceptance from stakeholders.

Scope verification process is different from quality control process as in scope


verification is concerned with the deliverables and work as per project scope
while the quality control process focuses on meeting the quality requirements
specified for the deliverables. Usually quality control is performed before scope
verification, but sometimes these processes can be performed in parallel.

Scope Control

Project Scope Control process controls the factors which induce changes in
project scope. It also controls the impact of those changes on project scope.
Scope Control is associated with Integrated Change Control Process. This
process makes sure that all requested changes and recommended corrective
actions are processed through the Integrated Change Control process.

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This process also manages the actual changes when they occur in coordination
with other control processes. It controls scope creeps, which is one of the
biggest reasons of unsuccessful projects.

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Q. 3 What is resource planning and principles of cost management in project


management?

Resource Plan

This Project Resource Management Plan helps you to identify all of the
resources required to complete your project successfully.

Using this Resource Plan, you will be able to identify the quantity of labor,
equipment and materials needed to deliver your project.

You will then create a resource schedule, which enables you to plan the
consumption of each type of resource, so that you know that you will have
enough resources to complete the project.

This Resource Planning template will help you identify the:

 Types of labor required for the project


 Roles and key responsibilities for each labor type
 Number of people required to fill each role
 Items of equipment to be used and their purposes
 Types and quantities of equipment needed
 Total amount of materials needed

This Resource Plan template will also help you to:

 Plan the dates for using or consuming these resources


 Identify the amount of resource required per project activity
 Create a detailed resource utilization schedule

By purchasing this resource planning template, you can schedule the resources
needed to complete your project successfully.

What is a Resource Plan?

A Resource Plan summarizes the level of resources needed to complete a


project. A properly documented Resource Plan will specify the exact quantities
of labor, equipment and materials needed to complete your project. This
Resource Planning template also helps you gain approval from your Sponsor,
ensuring their buy-in.

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When do I use a Resource Plan?

A Resource Plan is created during the Resource Planning phase of the project.
Anyone responsible for Project Resource Management will need to create a
comprehensive Resource Plan, to ensure that all of the resources needed to
complete the project are identified. By implementing proper Resource Planning
practices, it also helps you with budgeting and forecasting project expenditure.

Principles of Cost Management in project management

Many information technology projects are never initiated because information


technology professionals do not understand the importance of knowing basic
accounting and finance principles. Important concepts such as net present value
analysis, return on investment, and payback analysis are discussed as Project Scope
Management. Likewise, many projects that are started never finish because of cost
management problems. Most members of an executive board understand and are
more interested in financial terms than information technology terms. Therefore
information-technology project management professionals need to be able to present
project information in financial ten as well as in technical terms. In addition to net
present value analysis, return on investment, and payback analysis, project managers
must understand several other Cost management principles, concepts, and terms.
This section describes general topics such as profits, life cycle costing, cash-flow
analysis, internal rate of return, tangible and intangible costs and benefits, direct
costs, sunk costs, learning curve theory, and reserves. Another important topic and
one of the key tools and techniques for controlling project costs, earned value
management, is described in detail in the section on cost control.

Profits are revenues minus expenses. To increase profits, a company can


increase revenues, decrease expenses, or try to do both. Most executives are
more concerned with profits than with other issues. When justifying
investments in new information systems and technology, it is important to
focus on the impact on profits, not just revenues or expenses. Consider an
electronic commerce application that you estimate will increase revenues for a
$100 million company by ten percent. You cannot measure the potential
benefits of the system without knowing the profit margin. Profit margin is the
ratio between revenues and profits. If revenues of $100 generate $2 in profits,
there is a 2 percent profit margin. If the company loses $2 for every $100 in
revenue, there is a -2 percent profit margin.

Life cycle costing allows one to take a picture view of the cost of a project
over its entire life. This helps you to develop a more accurate projection a
benefits. Life cycle costing considers the total cost of owner or development
plus support costs, for a project. For example, a company might complete a
project to develop and implement a new customer service system in one or

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two years, but the new system could be in place for ten years. Project
managers should create estimates of the costs and benefits of the project for
its entire life, or ten years in the preceding example. Recall that the n present
value analysis for the project would include the entire ten-year period of costs
and benefits. Senior management and project managers need to consider the
life cycle costs of projects when they make financial decisions.

Cash flow analysis is a for determining the estimated annual costs and
benefits for a project and the resulting annual cash flow. It must be done to
determine set net present value (Google “Project Scope Management” for more
on this topic). Most con summers understand the basic concept of cash flow. If
they do not have enough money in their wallets or checking accounts, they
cannot purchase something. Managers must take cash flow concerns into
account when selecting projects in which to invest. If managers select too
many projects having high cash flow needs in the same year, the company will
not be able to support all of the projects and maintain its profitability. It is
important to define clearly the year on which the dollar amounts are based. For
example, if you based all Costs on 2002 estimates, you would need to account
for inflation and other factors when projecting costs and benefits in future-year
dollars.

Internal rate of return (IRR) is the rate that makes net present value equal
to zero. It is also called the time-adjusted rate of return. Some companies
prefer to estimate the internal rate of return instead of, or in addition to, net p
value and set minimum values that must be achieved for projects to be
selected or continued. For example, assume a three-year project had projected
costs in year one of $100 and projected benefits in years two and three of
$100 each year. Assume there were no benefits in year one and no costs in
years two and three. Using a 10 percent discount rate, you could compute the
net present value to be about $67 (Google for details on “performing net
present value calculations”.) The internal rate of return for this project is the
discount rate that makes the net present value equal to zero. In this example,
the internal rate of return is 62 percents

Tangible and intangible costs and benefits are categories for determining
how definable the estimated costs and benefits are project. Tangible costs or
benefits are those costs or benefits that can be easily measured in dollars. For
example, suppose that the surveyor‟s assistant project described in the
opening case included a preliminary feasibility study. If a firm completed this
study for $100,000, the tangible cost of study is $100,000. If Juan‟s
government estimated that it would have cost them $150,000 to do the study
themselves, the tangible benefits of the study would be $50,000. In contrast,
intangible costs or benefits are costs or benefits that are difficult to measure in
monetary terms. Suppose Juan and a few other people, out of personal
interest, spent some time using government-owned computers, books, and

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other resources to research areas related to the study. Although their hours
and the government-owned materials were not billed to the project, they could
be considered to he intangible costs. In benefits of the study might be the
perceived potential benefit of having a system that could help the government
lay water lines or fiber-optic cable faster or for less money. Because intangible
costs and benefits are difficult to quantify, they are often harder to justify.

Direct costs are costs related to a project that can be traced back in a cost-
effective way. You can attribute direct costs directly to a certain project. For
example, the salaries of people working full-time on the project and the cost of
hardware and software purchased specifically for the project are direct costs.
Project managers should focus on direct costs, since they can control them.

Indirect costs are costs related to a project that cannot be traced back in a
cost-effective way. For example, the cost of electricity, paper towels, etc. in a
large building housing a thousand employees who work on many projects
would be indirect costs. Indirect costs are allocated to projects, and project
managers have very little control over them.

Sunk cost is money that has been spent in the past. Consider it gone like a
sunken ship that can never be returned. When deciding what projects to invest
in or continue, you should not include sunk costs. For example, in the opening
case, suppose Juan‟s office had spent $1 million on a project over the past
three years to create a geographic information system, hut nothing valuable
was ever produced. If his government was evaluating what projects to fund
next year and someone suggested that they keep funding the geographic
information sys tem project because they had already spent $1 million on it, he
or she would he incorrectly making sunk cost a key factor in the project
selection decision. Many people fall into the trap of considering how much
money has been spent on a failing project and, therefore, hate to stop
spending money on it. This trap is similar to gamblers not wanting to stop
gambling because they have already lost money. Sunk costs should be
forgotten.

Learning curve theory states that when many items are produced
repetitively, the unit cost of those items decreases in a regular pattern as more
units are produced. For example, suppose the surveyor‟s assistant project
would potentially produce 1,000 hand-held devices that could run the new
software and access information via satellite. The cost of the first hand-held
device or unit would be much higher than the cost of the 1,000 unit. Learning
curve theory should be used to estimate costs on projects involving the
production of large quantities of items. Learning curve theory also applies to
the amount of time it takes to complete some tasks. For example, the first
time a new employee performs a specific task, it will probably take longer than
the tenth time that employee performs a very similar task.

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Reserves are dollars included in a cost estimate to mitigate cost risk by allow
for future situations that are difficult to predict. Contingency reserves allow for
future situations that may be partially planned for (sometimes called known
unknowns) and are included in the project cost For example, if an organization
knows it has a 20 percent rate of turnover for information technology
personnel, it should include contingency reserves to pay for recruiting and
training costs for project personnel. Management reserves allow for future
situations that are unpredictable (sometimes called unknown unknowns). For
example, if a project manager gets sick for two weeks or an important supplier
goes out of business, management reserve could be set aside to cover the
resulting costs.

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Q.4 Explain the implementation of motivational theories in project


management.

Motivational Theories

Introduction

Great leaders are invariably great motivators too.

Understanding some basics of motivational theories will help you to become


a successful project manager. You will already have read that the main roles
of a project manager are to plan, organize, co-ordinate, control and lead. It
is the role in which you are a leader that will require you to be at your very
best in motivating others. Pretty well any one can manage other people when
it is simply a job of telling them what to do, the difference between managing
someone and leading them is that a leader will engage people in working on a
task such that they feel ownership and responsibility for it, raising their self-
esteem and ensuring the best possible job is done. So, just how might you
motivate people working for you?

Needs, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation basics.

A definition of motivation could be – that which compels us to participate in


an activity or maintains particular behaviors. Acting entirely in our
subconscious we are all in a state of eternal motivation. Whether it is being
motivated to eat when hungry or sleep when tired – we are motivated to do so
according to our basic needs. In turn everyone has two types of needs that
are referred to as intrinsic and extrinsic ones, for which we can be intrinsically
or extrinsically motivated to attain them. An intrinsic motivation to do
something arises when you decide you want to do something; it is something
that gives you feelings of great personal causation or satisfaction in doing it.
The alternative is extrinsic motivation, which is when you receive some form
of reward as a result of doing something, the easiest example to cite here
would be money; but it could just as easily be winning a trophy or medal and

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even a threat against you can be an extrinsic motivation to do something. The


feelings of personal causation that arise from intrinsic motivation are what
drives people on to making that extra effort and taking that extra pride in
their work, which we all know are vital to the success of a project. However,
before anyone is capable of becoming concerned with their intrinsic needs their
extrinsic needs have to be satisfied.

Needs theory and motivation.

Some people can only be motivated by money to satisfy basic needs.

Our basic needs can be organized into the five following categories:
Physiological - that which we need to physically survive. Safety – having
satisfied our physiological needs we can become concerned with our safety
which could be something as relatively minor as maintaining a routine we are
comfortable with or as important as securing our homes. Social - far more
than just how many friends we have or where we go with them. This need
includes love, affection, and our sense of belonging and acceptance;
particularly regarding our family relationships. Esteem – everyone wants and
needs to feel valued and respected by others in order to maintain their self-
esteem. Your level of self-esteem is established according to your sense of
achievement and confidence. Self-Actualization – the desire to reach your
maximum of potential in all that you do. In a hierarchy of needs this would
be the highest one. In theory once the previous four needs were met, self-
actualization would be a persistent goal. As once we felt we had reached our
maximum potential we would then seek other new and higher goals. However,
the significant point about understanding „needs‟ in motivational theory is
that the first four needs in that list are extrinsic ones and only self-
actualization is an intrinsic need. Until the first four needs are satisfied
humans cannot move on to consider being motivated by their intrinsic need of
self-actualization – which is the one that will be of most benefit to you and
your project.

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Cognitive dissonance theory.

Founded on principles of Gestalt psychology, the cognitive dissonance


theory of motivation arises from the need to reconcile two conflicting
cognitions at the creative sub-conscious level. To exemplify this theory imagine
that you have a broken window in your home, you recognize that something
isn‟t right and determine to fix the window. At the sub-conscious level you
have a dissonance between something being wrong and the need to fix it, a
cognitive dissonance that won‟t be resolved until the window is fixed.
Individuals level‟s of cognitive dissonance can vary, but in the workplace staff
who are sensitive to cognitive dissonance issues will persist in seeing tasks
through to completion and to the very best of their ability, they will also often
make the best problem solvers. Cognitive dissonance is a good example of
intrinsic motivation, where the person concerned constantly seeks to
improve themselves.

Goal setting theory and motivation.

Not everyone needs the 'stick and carrot' approach to motivation.

Goal setting can work in several ways but is most simply seen as the setting
of goals to be achieved by someone else or an individual setting themselves
goals. In the latter case people who are able to set themselves goals and
achieve them to a high degree are often using a combination of cognitive
dissonance and goal setting to achieve something. In essence the setting of
goals simply breaks down a large task into smaller components, as each goal
is attained the owner of the goals has feelings of empowerment in achieving
something, driving them on to successfully complete the next goal or
objective. The acronym SMART is often applied to goal setting, where goals
have to be: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timed. In setting
goals that are SMART you are giving the person to whom they are assigned a
clear framework in which they need to accomplish them. This level of direction
can be needed as some people, when given a task to do, will try and find ways
of not doing the task without actually not doing any work, creative
avoidance; this is as different again to someone who is simply incapable of
doing the task, in which case they should not have been assigned he task

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anyway. On the other hand without making the goals SMART someone might
seek perfection to such a degree that they seemingly can never finish it.

The incentive theory of motivation.

No matter what the level of salary some people are on they always seek, or
even expect, further reward for their work. Incentive theory tells us that
some people can be motivated to work by both tangible and intangible
rewards, in both cases the incentive instills in the person receiving it the
desire to repeat the behavior that resulted in the reward. Tangible and
intangible rewards can, of course, be directly related to the extrinsic and
intrinsic needs theory of motivation, in that receiving the reward satisfies an
apparent need.

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Q.5 Define and explain the process of Project Risk Management?

Risk management

Risk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks


(defined in ISO 31000 as the effect of uncertainty on objectives, whether
positive or negative) followed by coordinated and economical application of
resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of
unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities. Risks can
come from uncertainty in financial markets, project failures, legal liabilities,
credit risk, accidents, natural causes and disasters as well as deliberate attacks
from an adversary. Several risk management standards have been developed
including the Project Management Institute, the National Institute of Science
and Technology, actuarial societies, and ISO standards. Methods, definitions
and goals vary widely according to whether the risk management method is in
the context of project management, security, engineering, industrial processes,
financial portfolios, actuarial assessments, or public health and safety.

The strategies to manage risk include transferring the risk to another party,
avoiding the risk, reducing the negative effect of the risk, and accepting some
or all of the consequences of a particular risk.

Certain aspects of many of the risk management standards have come under
criticism for having no measurable improvement on risk even though the
confidence in estimates and decisions increase.

Introduction

In ideal risk management, a prioritization process is followed whereby the risks


with the greatest loss and the greatest probability of occurring are handled
first, and risks with lower probability of occurrence and lower loss are handled
in descending order. In practice the process can be very difficult, and balancing
between risks with a high probability of occurrence but lower loss versus a risk
with high loss but lower probability of occurrence can often be mishandled.

Intangible risk management identifies a new type of a risk that has a 100%
probability of occurring but is ignored by the organization due to a lack of
identification ability. For example, when deficient knowledge is applied to a
situation, a knowledge risk materializes. Relationship risk appears when
ineffective collaboration occurs. Process-engagement risk may be an issue
when ineffective operational procedures are applied. These risks directly
reduce the productivity of knowledge workers, decrease cost effectiveness,
profitability, service, quality, reputation, brand value, and earnings quality.
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Intangible risk management allows risk management to create immediate


value from the identification and reduction of risks that reduce productivity.

Risk management also faces difficulties in allocating resources. This is the idea
of opportunity cost. Resources spent on risk management could have been
spent on more profitable activities. Again, ideal risk management minimizes
spending and minimizes the negative effects of risks.

Method

For the most part, these methods consist of the following elements, performed,
more or less, in the following order.

1. identify, characterize, and assess threats


2. assess the vulnerability of critical assets to specific threats
3. determine the risk (i.e. the expected consequences of specific types of attacks
on specific assets)
4. identify ways to reduce those risks
5. prioritize risk reduction measures based on a strategy

Principles of risk management

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) identifies the


following principles of risk management:

Risk management should:

 create value
 be an integral part of organizational processes
 be part of decision making
 explicitly address uncertainty
 be systematic and structured
 be based on the best available information
 be tailored
 take into account human factors
 be transparent and inclusive
 be dynamic, iterative and responsive to change
 be capable of continual improvement and enhancement

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Process

According to the standard ISO 31000 "Risk management -- Principles and


guidelines on implementation," the process of risk management consists of
several steps as follows:

Establishing the context

Establishing the context involves:

1. Identification of risk in a selected domain of interest


2. Planning the remainder of the process.
3. Mapping out the following:
o the social scope of risk management
o the identity and objectives of stakeholders
o the basis upon which risks will be evaluated, constraints.
4. Defining a framework for the activity and an agenda for identification.
5. Developing an analysis of risks involved in the process.
6. Mitigation or Solution of risks using available technological, human and
organizational resources.

Identification

After establishing the context, the next step in the process of managing risk is
to identify potential risks. Risks are about events that, when triggered, cause
problems. Hence, risk identification can start with the source of problems, or
with the problem itself.

 Source analysis Risk sources may be internal or external to the system that is
the target of risk management.

Examples of risk sources are: stakeholders of a project, employees of a


company or the weather over an airport.

 Problem analysis Risks are related to identified threats. For example: the
threat of losing money, the threat of abuse of privacy information or the threat
of accidents and casualties. The threats may exist with various entities, most
important with shareholders, customers and legislative bodies such as the
government.

When either source or problem is known, the events that a source may trigger
or the events that can lead to a problem can be investigated. For example:
stakeholders withdrawing during a project may endanger funding of the
project; privacy information may be stolen by employees even within a closed
network; lightning striking a Boeing 747 during takeoff may make all people
onboard immediate casualties.

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The chosen method of identifying risks may depend on culture, industry


practice and compliance. The identification methods are formed by templates
or the development of templates for identifying source, problem or event.
Common risk identification methods are:

 Objectives-based risk identification Organizations and project teams have


objectives. Any event that may endanger achieving an objective partly or
completely is identified as risk.
 Scenario-based risk identification In scenario analysis different scenarios
are created. The scenarios may be the alternative ways to achieve an objective,
or an analysis of the interaction of forces in, for example, a market or battle.
Any event that triggers an undesired scenario alternative is identified as risk -
see Futures Studies for methodology used by Futurists.
 Taxonomy-based risk identification The taxonomy in taxonomy-based risk
identification is a breakdown of possible risk sources. Based on the taxonomy
and knowledge of best practices, a questionnaire is compiled. The answers to
the questions reveal risks.
 Common-risk checking In several industries, lists with known risks are
available. Each risk in the list can be checked for application to a particular
situation.
 Risk charting This method combines the above approaches by listing
resources at risk, Threats to those resources Modifying Factors which may
increase or decrease the risk and Consequences it is wished to avoid. Creating a
matrix under these headings enables a variety of approaches. One can begin
with resources and consider the threats they are exposed to and the
consequences of each. Alternatively one can start with the threats and examine
which resources they would affect, or one can begin with the consequences and
determine which combination of threats and resources would be involved to
bring them about.

Assessment

Once risks have been identified, they must then be assessed as to their
potential severity of loss and to the probability of occurrence. These quantities
can be either simple to measure, in the case of the value of a lost building, or
impossible to know for sure in the case of the probability of an unlikely event
occurring. Therefore, in the assessment process it is critical to make the best
educated guesses possible in order to properly prioritize the implementation of
the risk management plan.

The fundamental difficulty in risk assessment is determining the rate of


occurrence since statistical information is not available on all kinds of past
incidents. Furthermore, evaluating the severity of the consequences (impact) is
often quite difficult for immaterial assets. Asset valuation is another question
that needs to be addressed. Thus, best educated opinions and available
statistics are the primary sources of information. Nevertheless, risk
assessment should produce such information for the management of the

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organization that the primary risks are easy to understand and that the risk
management decisions may be prioritized. Thus, there have been several
theories and attempts to quantify risks. Numerous different risk formulae exist,
but perhaps the most widely accepted formula for risk quantification is:

Rate of occurrence multiplied by the impact of the event equals risk

Composite Risk Index

The above formula can also be re-written in terms of a Composite Risk Index,
as follows:

Composite Risk Index = Impact of Risk event x Probability of Occurrence

The impact of the risk event is assessed on a scale of 0 to 5, where 0 and 5


represent the minimum and maximum possible impact of an occurrence of a
risk (usually in terms of financial losses).

The probability of occurrence is likewise assessed on a scale from 0 to 5, where


0 represents a zero probability of the risk event actually occurring while 5
represents a 100% probability of occurrence.

The Composite Index thus can take values ranging from 0 through 25, and this
range is usually arbitrarily divided into three sub-ranges. The overall risk
assessment is then Low, Medium or High, depending on the sub-range
containing the calculated value of the Composite Index. For instance, the three
sub-ranges could be defined as 0 to 8, 9 to 16 and 17 to 25.

Note that the probability of risk occurrence is difficult to estimate since the
past data on frequencies are not readily available, as mentioned above.

Likewise, the impact of the risk is not easy to estimate since it is often difficult
to estimate the potential financial loss in the event of risk occurrence.

Further, both the above factors can change in magnitude depending on the
adequacy of risk avoidance and prevention measures taken and due to
changes in the external business environment. Hence it is absolutely necessary
to periodically re-assess risks and intensify/relax mitigation measures as
necessary.

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Risk Options

Risk mitigation measures are usually formulated according to one or more of


the following major risk options, which are:

1. Design a new business process with adequate built-in risk control and
containment measures from the start.

2. Periodically re-assess risks that are accepted in ongoing processes as a


normal feature of business operations and modify mitigation measures.

3. Transfer risks to an external agency (e.g. an insurance company)

4. Avoid risks altogether (e.g. by closing down a particular high-risk business


area)

Later research has shown that the financial benefits of risk management are
less dependent on the formula used but are more dependent on the frequency
and how risk assessment is performed.

In business it is imperative to be able to present the findings of risk


assessments in financial terms. Robert Courtney Jr. (IBM, 1970) proposed a
formula for presenting risks in financial terms. The Courtney formula was
accepted as the official risk analysis method for the US governmental agencies.
The formula proposes calculation of ALE (annualised loss expectancy) and
compares the expected loss value to the security control implementation costs
(cost-benefit analysis).

Potential risk treatments

Once risks have been identified and assessed, all techniques to manage the
risk fall into one or more of these four major categories:

Avoidance (eliminates, withdraw from or not become involved)

 Reduction (optimise - mitigate)


 Sharing (transfer - outsource or insure)
 Retention (accept and budget)

Ideal use of these strategies may not be possible. Some of them may involve
trade-offs that are not acceptable to the organization or person making the risk
management decisions. Another source, from the US Department of Defense,
Defense Acquisition University, calls these categories ACAT, for Avoid, Control,
Accept, or Transfer. This use of the ACAT acronym is reminiscent of another
ACAT (for Acquisition Category) used in US Defense industry procurements, in
which Risk Management figures prominently in decision making and planning.
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Risk avoidance

This includes not performing an activity that could carry risk. An example
would be not buying a property or business in order to not take on the legal
liability that comes with it. Another would be not be flying in order to not take
the risk that the airplane were to be hijacked. Avoidance may seem the answer
to all risks, but avoiding risks also means losing out on the potential gain that
accepting (retaining) the risk may have allowed. Not entering a business to
avoid the risk of loss also avoids the possibility of earning profits.

Hazard Prevention

Hazard prevention refers to the prevention of risks in an emergency. The first


and most effective stage of hazard prevention is the elimination of hazards. If
this takes too long, is too costly, or is otherwise impractical, the second stage
is mitigation.

Risk reduction

Risk reduction or "optimisation" involves reducing the severity of the loss or


the likelihood of the loss from occurring. For example, sprinklers are designed
to put out a fire to reduce the risk of loss by fire. This method may cause a
greater loss by water damage and therefore may not be suitable. Halon fire
suppression systems may mitigate that risk, but the cost may be prohibitive as
a strategy.

Acknowledging that risks can be positive or negative, optimising risks means


finding a balance between negative risk and the benefit of the operation or
activity; and between risk reduction and effort applied. By an offshore drilling
contractor effectively applying HSE Management in its organisation, it can
optimise risk to achieve levels of residual risk that are tolerable.Modern
software development methodologies reduce risk by developing and delivering
software incrementally. Early methodologies suffered from the fact that they
only delivered software in the final phase of development; any problems
encountered in earlier phases meant costly rework and often jeopardized the
whole project. By developing in iterations, software projects can limit effort
wasted to a single iteration.

Outsourcing could be an example of risk reduction if the outsourcer can


demonstrate higher capability at managing or reducing risks. For example, a
company may outsource only its software development, the manufacturing of
hard goods, or customer support needs to another company, while handling
the business management itself. This way, the company can concentrate more
on business development without having to worry as much about the

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manufacturing process, managing the development team, or finding a physical


location for a call center.

Risk sharing

Briefly defined as "sharing with another party the burden of loss or the benefit
of gain, from a risk, and the measures to reduce a risk."

The term of 'risk transfer' is often used in place of risk sharing in the mistaken
belief that you can transfer a risk to a third party through insurance or
outsourcing. In practice if the insurance company or contractor go bankrupt or
end up in court, the original risk is likely to still revert to the first party. As
such in the terminology of practitioners and scholars alike, the purchase of an
insurance contract is often described as a "transfer of risk." However,
technically speaking, the buyer of the contract generally retains legal
responsibility for the losses "transferred", meaning that insurance may be
described more accurately as a post-event compensatory mechanism. For
example, a personal injuries insurance policy does not transfer the risk of a car
accident to the insurance company. The risk still lies with the policy holder
namely the person who has been in the accident. The insurance policy simply
provides that if an accident (the event) occurs involving the policy holder then
some compensation may be payable to the policy holder that is commensurate
to the suffering/damage.

Some ways of managing risk fall into multiple categories. Risk retention pools
are technically retaining the risk for the group, but spreading it over the whole
group involves transfer among individual members of the group. This is
different from traditional insurance, in that no premium is exchanged between
members of the group up front, but instead losses are assessed to all members
of the group.

Risk retention

Involves accepting the loss, or benefit of gain, from a risk when it occurs. True
self insurance falls in this category. Risk retention is a viable strategy for small
risks where the cost of insuring against the risk would be greater over time
than the total losses sustained. All risks that are not avoided or transferred are
retained by default. This includes risks that are so large or catastrophic that
they either cannot be insured against or the premiums would be infeasible.
War is an example since most property and risks are not insured against war,
so the loss attributed by war is retained by the insured. Also any amounts of
potential loss (risk) over the amount insured is retained risk. This may also be
acceptable if the chance of a very large loss is small or if the cost to insure for
greater coverage amounts is so great it would hinder the goals of the
organization too much.
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Create a risk management plan

Select appropriate controls or countermeasures to measure each risk. Risk


mitigation needs to be approved by the appropriate level of management. For
instance, a risk concerning the image of the organization should have top
management decision behind it whereas IT management would have the
authority to decide on computer virus risks.

The risk management plan should propose applicable and effective security
controls for managing the risks. For example, an observed high risk of
computer viruses could be mitigated by acquiring and implementing antivirus
software. A good risk management plan should contain a schedule for control
implementation and responsible persons for those actions.

According to ISO/IEC 27001, the stage immediately after completion of the


risk assessment phase consists of preparing a Risk Treatment Plan, which
should document the decisions about how each of the identified risks should be
handled. Mitigation of risks often means selection of security controls, which
should be documented in a Statement of Applicability, which identifies which
particular control objectives and controls from the standard have been
selected, and why.

Implementation

Implementation follows all of the planned methods for mitigating the effect of
the risks. Purchase insurance policies for the risks that have been decided to
be transferred to an insurer, avoid all risks that can be avoided without
sacrificing the entity's goals, reduce others, and retain the rest.

Review and evaluation of the plan

Initial risk management plans will never be perfect. Practice, experience, and
actual loss results will necessitate changes in the plan and contribute
information to allow possible different decisions to be made in dealing with the
risks being faced.

Risk analysis results and management plans should be updated periodically.


There are two primary reasons for this:

1. to evaluate whether the previously selected security controls are still applicable
and effective, and
2. to evaluate the possible risk level changes in the business environment. For
example, information risks are a good example of rapidly changing business
environment.

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Limitations

If risks are improperly assessed and prioritized, time can be wasted in dealing
with risk of losses that are not likely to occur. Spending too much time
assessing and managing unlikely risks can divert resources that could be used
more profitably. Unlikely events do occur but if the risk is unlikely enough to
occur it may be better to simply retain the risk and deal with the result if the
loss does in fact occur. Qualitative risk assessment is subjective and lacks
consistency. The primary justification for a formal risk assessment process is
legal and bureaucratic.

Prioritizing the risk management processes too highly could keep an


organization from ever completing a project or even getting started. This is
especially true if other work is suspended until the risk management process is
considered complete.

It is also important to keep in mind the distinction between risk and


uncertainty. Risk can be measured by impacts x probability.

Areas of risk management

As applied to corporate finance, risk management is the technique for


measuring, monitoring and controlling the financial or operational risk on a
firm's balance sheet. See value at risk.

The Basel II framework breaks risks into market risk (price risk), credit risk
and operational risk and also specifies methods for calculating capital
requirements for each of these components.

Enterprise risk management

In enterprise risk management, a risk is defined as a possible event or


circumstance that can have negative influences on the enterprise in question.
Its impact can be on the very existence, the resources (human and capital),
the products and services, or the customers of the enterprise, as well as
external impacts on society, markets, or the environment. In a financial
institution, enterprise risk management is normally thought of as the
combination of credit risk, interest rate risk or asset liability management,
market risk, and operational risk.

In the more general case, every probable risk can have a pre-formulated plan
to deal with its possible consequences (to ensure contingency if the risk
becomes a liability).

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From the information above and the average cost per employee over time, or
cost accrual ratio, a project manager can estimate:

 the cost associated with the risk if it arises, estimated by multiplying employee
costs per unit time by the estimated time lost (cost impact, C where C = cost
accrual ratio * S).
 the probable increase in time associated with a risk (schedule variance due to
risk, Rs where Rs = P * S):
o Sorting on this value puts the highest risks to the schedule first. This is
intended to cause the greatest risks to the project to be attempted first
so that risk is minimized as quickly as possible.
o This is slightly misleading as schedule variances with a large P and small
S and vice versa are not equivalent. (The risk of the RMS Titanic sinking
vs. the passengers' meals being served at slightly the wrong time).
 the probable increase in cost associated with a risk (cost variance due to risk,
Rc

where Rc = P*C = P*CAR*S = P*S*CAR)

o Sorting on this value puts the highest risks to the budget first.
o see concerns about schedule variance as this is a function of it, as
illustrated in the equation above.

Risk in a project or process can be due either to Special Cause Variation or


Common Cause Variation and requires appropriate treatment. That is to re-
iterate the concern about extremal cases not being equivalent in the list
immediately above.

Risk management activities as applied to project management

In project management, risk management includes the following activities:

 Planning how risk will be managed in the particular project. Plan should include
risk management tasks, responsibilities, activities and budget.
 Assigning a risk officer - a team member other than a project manager who is
responsible for foreseeing potential project problems. Typical characteristic of
risk officer is a healthy skepticism.
 Maintaining live project risk database. Each risk should have the following
attributes: opening date, title, short description, probability and importance.
Optionally a risk may have an assigned person responsible for its resolution and
a date by which the risk must be resolved.
 Creating anonymous risk reporting channel. Each team member should have
possibility to report risk that he/she foresees in the project.
 Preparing mitigation plans for risks that are chosen to be mitigated. The
purpose of the mitigation plan is to describe how this particular risk will be
handled – what, when, by who and how will it be done to avoid it or minimize
consequences if it becomes a liability.

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 Summarizing planned and faced risks, effectiveness of mitigation activities, and


effort spent for the risk management.

Risk management techniques in petroleum and natural gas

For the offshore oil and gas industry, operational risk management is regulated
by the safety case regime in many countries. Hazard identification and risk
assessment tools and techniques are described in the international standard
ISO 17776:2000, and organisations such as the IADC (International
Association of Drilling Contractors) publish guidelines for HSE Case
development which are based on the ISO standard. Further, diagrammatic
representations of hazardous events are often expected by governmental
regulators as part of risk management in safety case submissions; these are
known as bow-tie diagrams. The technique is also used by organisations and
regulators in mining, aviation, health, defence, industrial and finance.

Risk management and business continuity

Risk management is simply a practice of systematically selecting cost effective


approaches for minimising the effect of threat realization to the organization.
All risks can never be fully avoided or mitigated simply because of financial and
practical limitations. Therefore all organizations have to accept some level of
residual risks.

Whereas risk management tends to be preemptive, business continuity


planning (BCP) was invented to deal with the consequences of realised residual
risks. The necessity to have BCP in place arises because even very unlikely
events will occur if given enough time. Risk management and BCP are often
mistakenly seen as rivals or overlapping practices. In fact these processes are
so tightly tied together that such separation seems artificial. For example, the
risk management process creates important inputs for the BCP (assets, impact
assessments, cost estimates etc.). Risk management also proposes applicable
controls for the observed risks. Therefore, risk management covers several
areas that are vital for the BCP process. However, the BCP process goes
beyond risk management's preemptive approach and assumes that the
disaster will happen at some point.

Risk communication

Risk communication is a complex cross-disciplinary academic field. Problems


for risk communicators involve how to reach the intended audience, to make
the risk comprehensible and relatable to other risks, how to pay appropriate
respect to the audience's values related to the risk, how to predict the
audience's response to the communication, etc. A main goal of risk

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communication is to improve collective and individual decision making. Risk


communication is somewhat related to crisis communication.

Bow tie diagrams

A popular solution to the quest to communicate risks and their treatments


effectively is to use bow tie diagrams. These have been effective, for example,
in a public forum to model perceived risks and communicate precautions,
during the planning stage of offshore oil and gas facilities in Scotland. Equally,
the technique is used for HAZID (Hazard Identification) workshops of all types,
and results in a high level of engagement. For this reason (amongst others) an
increasing number of government regulators for major hazard facilities (MHFs),
offshore oil & gas, aviation, etc. welcome safety case submissions which use
diagrammatic representation of risks at their core.

Communication advantages of bow tie diagrams:

Visual illustration of the hazard, its causes, consequences, controls, and how
controls fail.

 The bow tie diagram can be readily understood at all personnel levels.
 "A picture paints a thousand words."

Seven cardinal rules for the practice of risk communication

 Accept and involve the public/other consumers as legitimate partners.


 Plan carefully and evaluate your efforts with a focus on your strengths,
weaknesses, opprtunities, and threats.
 Listen to the public's specific concerns.
 Be honest, frank, and open.
 Coordinate and collaborate with other credible sources.
 Meet the needs of the media.
 Speak clearly and with compassion.

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References
1. Hubbard, Douglas (2009). The Failure of Risk Management: Why It's Broken
and How to Fix It. John Wiley & Sons. p. 46.
2. ISO/IEC Guide 73:2009 (2009). Risk management — Vocabulary. International
Organization for Standardization.
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_ics/catalogue_detail_ics.htm?c
snumber=44651.
3. ISO/DIS 31000 (2009). Risk management — Principles and guidelines on
implementation. International Organization for Standardization.
http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnu
mber=43170.
4. "Committee Draft of ISO 31000 Risk management" (PDF). International
Organization for Standardization.
http://www.nsai.ie/uploads/file/N047_Committee_Draft_of_ISO_31000.pdf.
5. CMU/SEI-93-TR-6 Taxonomy-based risk identification in software industry
6. Common Vulnerability and Exposures list
7. Crockford, Neil (1986). An Introduction to Risk Management (2 ed.).
Cambridge, UK: Woodhead-Faulkner. p. 18. ISBN 0859413322.
8. Disaster Recovery Journal
9. Dorfman, Mark S. (2007). Introduction to Risk Management and Insurance (9
ed.). Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-224227-3.
10.IADC HSE Case Guidelines for MODUs 3.2, section 4.7
11.Roehrig, P (2006). "Bet On Governance To Manage Outsourcing Risk". Business
Trends Quarterly. http://www.btquarterly.com/?mc=bet-governance&page=ss-
viewresearch.
12.http://www.bowtiexp.com.au/bowtiexp.asp#aboutBowTies
13.Covello, Vincent T.; Allen., Frederick H. (April 1988). Seven Cardinal Rules of
Risk Communication. Washington, DC: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
OPA-87-020.

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