Hans Petter Krane

Categorizing risks in seven large projects—Which risks do the projects focus on?†

In a hierarchy of project objectives, strategic objectives will often be principally different from the operational ones. Operational objectives concern the project outputs/results, and strategic objectives concern the project goal and purpose. In this study, risks are categorized as risks to operational, long-term, or short-term strategic objectives, and, by studying a dataset of some 1,450 risk elements that make up the risk registers of seven large projects, we examine how operational and strategic risks are distributed in the projects. The study strongly indicates that risks to a projects strategic objectives rarely occur in the projects risk registers, though project success and failure stories indicate their importance.

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 owners set of high-priority risks.

A Review on Possible Approaches for Detecting Early Warning Signs in Projects

In this paper, we attempt to provide an overview of the full extent of early warning detection approaches, which are directly or indirectly addressed in the literature. These approaches can aid project managers in taking corrective actions timely enough for preventing failures. The study is based on a review of the current literature within the field of early warning in project management and our own experiences gained from practice. An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each approach and their applications in different contexts are also performed. We conclude that the choice of the most effective approach is arguably dependent on the type of project, organizational culture, and the project environment.

A Case Study of How Stakeholder Management Influenced Project Uncertainty Regarding Project Benefits

The influence of stakeholders and stakeholder management on project uncertainty is examined, and particularly uncertainty regarding functionality delivered by projects. The case studies, two projects in the Norwegian Rail Authority Jernbaneverket, included interviews with representatives of internal and external stakeholders and also examination of project documentation. In addition, conflicts and use of power between stakeholders in the projects were studied. The projects actively managed relations with external stakeholders, thereby reducing the risks of negative media attention and neighbour disputes, and also cost and time overruns that such disputes may cause. Both of the projects focused on risk reductions regarding costs and time schedules, and less on the functionality delivered by the project. While mastering potential conflicts with external stakeholders well, the largest project appears to have handled internal disputes less convincingly. The smaller project handled internal disputes well, but experienced problems concerning both costs and time schedules.

Uncertainty management of projects from the owners' perspective, with main focus on managing delivered functionality

Projects are often claimed not to produce the effects or deliver the functionality that are expected from them. When this claim is mentioned also by the project owner and other central stakeholders ...