Project risk planning in high-tech new product development

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present the implementation and testing of a modified project risk management framework that integrates PMI’s framework with Monte Carlo simulation to improve the effectiveness in high-tech new product development (NPD) projects.Design/methodology/approachThe modified framework considers three bodies of knowledge: project management, risk management, and Monte Carlo simulation to produce an enhance project risk management framework. Its application is shown through a case study.FindingsUsing the integrated framework in a recent case study project and prior NPD projects measures (as benchmarks), it was shown that it could help to enhance risk responses caused by task durations and costs’ uncertainties. The framework proved to be better than segregated generic best practices and was key in providing insight to the issue of early project risk assessment.Research limitations/implicationsMore experimental replications are required for enhancement effectiveness assertions of the framework, through the application of the framework to similar case studies. Furthermore, this could improve its reliability and soundness.Practical implicationsFuture directions for research could include case and empirical studies that include hypothesis’s testing, and the integration of optimization procedure for improved NPD project’s planning and execution.Originality/valueThis paper outlines a way to close the gap of project risks management planning in NPD’s initiatives. It was motivated by a relatively new tendency in exploring integrated frameworks to deal with complex project risks issues.