Risk Breakdown Structure Research Articles

Developing risk breakdown structure for information technology organizations

Any risk management method begins with a preliminary phase of risk identification intended to detect and classify potential risk items. This paper presents a methodological process for developing a Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) constructed by analyzing records from previous projects and past organizational occurrences. An implementation of the method is presented for an Information Technology (IT) organization. The RBS visually portrays the hierarchical structure of the overall organizational risk pattern, thus facilitating the detection of risk areas that require special attention from management. The results of an analysis of this IT organization reveals a risk pattern that focuses on customer involvement and communication issues on the one hand and product description and production requirements on the other hand. The method of analysis described here utilizes various types of information already existing in an organization and thus should enable managers to structure an appropriate RBS for their projects.

Project risk identification and assessment simultaneously using multi-attribute group decision making technique

The identification and assessment of project risks among potential risks can be considered a multi-attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problem including both quantitative and qualitative criteria. We extend the concept of safety to risk identification and assessment; this is to emphasize that the focus should not only be on the time and cost criteria, but also on the health, safety and environment (HSE) criterion. Conventional approaches to risk identification and risk assessment separately tend to be less effective in dealing with the imprecise of the risk assessment individually. The aim of this paper is to present a new methodology for identifying and assessing risks simultaneously by applying MAGDM technique. This paper includes a new procedure for classifying potential risks which it is named potential risk breakdown structure (PRBS) based on project work breakdown structure (WBS). Nominal group technique (NGT) is utilized for gathering potential risks. Obtained results have been applied in gas refinery plant construction successfully.

Project risk identification and analysis based on group decision making methodology in a fuzzy environment

Project risk management process can remarkably facilitate project’s complexity via strategic insight. In project risk management, the modelling process of the risks may not be performed sufficiently and exactly, because the available data and information are vague, inexact, imprecise and uncertain by nature. The aim of this paper is to present a new methodology for identifying and analysing risks of projects concurrently by applying Fuzzy Multi-Attribute Group Decision Making (FMAGDM) approach. MAGDM, the essence of identification and analysis of project risks, lets one considers multi-attribute problems for the Decision Maker (DM), sets priorities for each decision factor, and analysis ranking for all alternatives. The paper includes a new procedure for classifying potential risks which it is named Potential Risk Breakdown Structure (PRBS) based on project Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Lesson learned is used for collecting potential risks. Moreover, Obtained results have been applied in one mega project successfully.

Managing Project Risks Using a Cross Risk Breakdown Matrix

Projects are complex undertakings involving a unique set of tasks and activities conducted within a set of constraints to meet defined objectives. Risk in projects is also complex, arising from a wide range of sources and having a broad scope of possible effects on the project. Given these two dimensions of project complexity, the management of the relationship between project work and project risk is a key success factor for every project. This paper develops a method for understanding and managing risk on a project, using a combination of the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS), resulting in the Risk Breakdown Matrix (RBM). An example is used to demonstrate how to measure risk concentration within the RBM using a “ risk score ” based on the scale or size of individual risks. It is also possible to combine different levels of the WBS and RBS into a pyramidal structure where each of the layers is an RBM.

An analytic hierarchy process based model for risk and opportunity assessment of international construction projects

Risk assessment of international projects is a complicated task because of the sensitivity of project success related to country specific risks as well as project risks. Decision makers face the difficulty of weighing project opportunities against risks and determining attractiveness of projects while giving bidding decisions. The aim of this paper is to propose a methodology for risk and opportunity assessment of international projects. The proposed model uses an analytic hierarchy process for calculation of risk and opportunity ratings. A risk breakdown structure, specific to international construction projects, is proposed as well as a list of factors that affect the ability of construction companies to manage risk. An application of the proposed methodology is demonstrated by using real data supplied by a construction company that is experienced in international markets. Ranking of project options is made according to the opportunity and risk ratings that are calculated by using the proposed methodology based on the judgments of company professionals.Key words: international construction, risk assessment, analytic hierarchy process.

Using a Risk Breakdown Structure in project management

Risk identification often produces nothing more than a long list of risks, which can be hard to understand or manage. The list can be prioritised to determine which risks should be addressed first, but this does not provide any insight into the structure of risk on the project. Traditional qualitative assessment cannot indicate those areas of the project which require special attention, or expose recurring themes, concentrations of risk, or ‘hot‐spots’ of risk exposure. The best way to deal with a large amount of data is to structure the information to aid comprehension. For risk management, this can be achieved with a Risk Breakdown Structure )RBS) a hierarchical structuring of risks on the project. The RBS can assist in understanding the distribution of risk on a project or across a business, aiding effective risk management. Just as the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) is an important tool for projects because it scopes and defines the work, so the RBS can be an invaluable aid in understanding risk. The WBS forms the basis for many aspects of the project management process; similarly, the RBS can be used to structure and guide the risk management process. This paper presents the concept of the RBS, and gives a number of examples drawn from different project types and industries. Although not necessarily based in FM, the concepts and experience can be applied to any project. The benefits of using the RBS are then outlined, including as an aid for risk identification or risk assessment, comparison of projects, providing a framework for cross‐project risk reporting, and structuring lessons to be learned for future projects. This paper shows how to use the RBS to gain these benefits.

A fuzzy approach to construction project risk assessment and analysis: construction project risk management system

The construction industry is plagued by risk, and poor performance has often been the result. Although risk management techniques have been applied, the lack of a formalised approach has produced inconsistent results. In this paper, a hierarchical risk breakdown structure is described to represent a formal model for qualitative risk assessment. The relationships between risk factors, risks, and their consequences are represented on case and effect diagrams. Risk descriptions and their consequences can be defined using descriptive linguistic variables. Using fuzzy approximation and composition, the relationships between risk sources and the consequences on project performance measures can be identified and quantified consistently.

A proposal for construction project risk assessment using fuzzy logic

The construction industry is plagued by risk and often has suffered poor performance as a result. There are a number of risk management techniques available to help alleviate this, but usually these are based on operational research techniques developed in the 1960s, and for the most part have failed to meet the needs of project managers. In this paper, a hierarchical risk breakdown structure representation is used to develop a formal model for qualitative risk assessment. A common language for describing risks is presented which includes terms for quantifying likelihoods and impacts so as to achieve consistent quantification. The relationships between risk factors, risks and their consequences are represented on cause and effect diagrams. These diagrams and the concepts of fuzzy association and fuzzy composition are applied to identify relationships between risk sources and the consequences for project performance measures. A methodology for evaluating the risk exposure, considering the consequences in terms of time, cost, quality, and safety performance measures of a project based on fuzzy estimates of the risk components is presented.

Information modelling for a construction project risk management system

The construction industry is greatly plagued by risk; too often, this risk is not dealt with adequately, resulting in poor project performance. Communication of construction project risks in practice is poor, incomplete and inconsistent, both throughout the supply chain and through the project lifecycle. Part of the problem is the lack of a formalized approach to the project risk management process. Recently, attempts have been made to overcome this and this paper uses these attempts as a foundation for building a better approach to construction risk management. Underlying this approach is the development of a common language for describing risks and remedial actions. This is grounded in a taxonomy of risk based on a hierarchical risk breakdown structure. In addition, to facilitate the production of a working risk management system, a number of models have been developed using unified modelling language (UML) and IDEFO. Finally, the use of the system has been tested via a working software prototype. This prototype is being used as a basis for discussion with practitioners with regard to the practical requirements of the approach for further development.

Contractor project risks contingency allocation using linguistic approximation

This paper demonstrates the application of fuzzy set theory to the subjective assessment of risks during tender preparation for the purpose of allocating contingencies. The need for contingency allocation is discussed and relevant project risk factors are identified. A hierarchical risk-breakdown structure for contractor risk assessment and a model for contractor contingency allocation are developed. A brief introduction to fuzzy set theory and the fuzzy risk analysis model to be applied is presented. A simple example is used to illustrate the application of the model in practice. The model is currently being used to develop a knowledge-based system.

Estimation des coûts et des durées pour les projets de construction

ABSTRACT This paper presents a risk analysis approach applied to cost-and-schedule estimates for construction projects using Intelligent Decision System (IDS) technology. The paper discusses a pilot cost-and-schedule IDS based on influence diagram technology that contains (1) a deterministic model that links and computes specific schedule and cost factors and (2) a risk breakdown structure that describes the parameters influencing these factors. The paper also describes how a user may validate the deterministic and risk models. It concludes by discussing how the IDS calculates the results using a probabilistic engine and how the results are presented to the user.

Risk Management: The Key to Successful Software Projects

This paper describes a systematic approach to risk management for software projects. A brief survey of risk management is presented, various types of risks for software projects are identified, a project infrastructure for risk management is described, and a risk breakdown structure of specific techniques for risk management is presented.