Managing Project Uncertainty

Download or read book Managing Project Uncertainty written by David Cleden and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-03-02 with total page 131 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dealing effectively with uncertainty requires today's project manager to be familiar with a broad spectrum of strategies, encompassing both 'hard' and 'soft' methods. This theme of unified thinking (i.e. the need to selectively draw upon a wide range of strategies in any given situation) will differentiate the book from its contemporaries. By picking up where traditional risk management techniques begin to fail, it brings together leading-edge thinking from a variety of disciplines and shows how these techniques can be used to conquer uncertainty in projects. The ability to make good decisions when faced with uncertainty is the real challenge. It is a universal truth that a decision is only as good as the information it is based on. But good information is often hard to come by, and all projects are vulnerable to the unknown and the unknowable. Thus, uncertainty becomes the sworn enemy of the project manager. Wherever we try to analyse, quantify, plan and act, uncertainty lies in wait to surprise us with its ambiguity and unpredictability. It lurks in every stage of the project lifecycle: in the planning (how long will this really take?), the initiation (this isn't the situation I expected!), the execution (who could have foreseen that happening?), and even the completion of a project (where are the expected benefits?). But managing uncertainty is a lot more than just applying risk management techniques. It requires a deep appreciation of how uncertainty arises and, by recognising its different guises, the appropriate strategies can be formulated. If we can learn how to reduce uncertainty, we can make better management decisions and increase the chances of the project succeeding. This book addresses five key questions: ¢ Why is there uncertainty in projects? ¢ How do you spot the symptoms of uncertainty, preferably at an early stage? ¢ What can be done to avoid uncertainty? ¢ What strategies can be used to deal with project uncertainty? ¢ How can both the individual and the organisation learn to cope more effectively in the future? The reader is assumed to be a either a project management professional, or a senior manager looking for ways to improve project management strategy within their organisation. As such, a foundation in project management basics is assumed, although not essential. The book then builds on this by exposing new ideas and concepts, and shows how these can be harnessed to tackle uncertainty in its many guises.

Download or read book Managing Project Uncertainty written by David Cleden and published by Gower Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2009 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: By picking up where traditional risk management techniques begin to fail, this book brings together leading-edge thinking from a variety of disciplines and shows how these techniques can be used to conquer uncertainty in projects. The book addresses five key questions: Why is there uncertainty in projects? How do you spot the symptoms of uncertainty, preferably at an early stage? What can be done to avoid uncertainty? What strategies can be used to deal with project uncertainty? How can both the individual and the organisation learn to cope more effectively in the future?

Download or read book Managing the Unknown written by Christoph H. Loch and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-11-30 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Managing the Unknown offers a new way of looking at the problem of managing projects in novel and unknown environments. From Europe's leading business school, this book shows how to manage two fundamental approaches that, in combination, offer the possibility of coping with unforeseen influences that inevitably arise in novel projects: * Trial-and-Error Learning allows for redefining the plan and the project as the project unfolds * Selectionism pursues multiple, independent trials in order to pick the best one at the end Managing the Unknown offers expert guidelines to the specific project mindsets, infrastructures, and management methods required to use these project management approaches and achieve success in spite of unforeseen obstacles. This book equips readers with: * Causal explanations of why unforeseeable factors in novel projects make traditional project planning and project risk management insufficient * Directly applicable management tools that help managers to guide novel and high-uncertainty projects * Real-world case studies of both successful and unsuccessful approaches to managing high uncertainty in novel projects

Download or read book Solving for Project Risk Management: Understanding the Critical Role of Uncertainty in Project Management written by Christian B. Smart and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2020-11-23 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Risk is real—but you can manage it with this hard-hitting guide to reducing risk on any project, in any industry All projects, large and small, are subject to various risks. But the failure to manage inherent risk with diligence and know-how can lead to devastating consequences for an organization. In this comprehensive hands-on guide, a renowned expert in the field provides everything organizations need to conduct project risk management the right way. Why do so many projects come in over schedule and over budget? How do projected expenditures and schedules line up with reality? How can you accurately assess risk to mitigate financial disaster? Through a methodical, statistics-based approach, Christian B. Smart reveals: The enduring problem of cost and schedule growth How rigorous project risk management can reduce the impact of uncertainty The systematic tendency to underestimate risk—and how to avoid it Ways to accurately assess confidence levels in project risk management The need for proper risk management at the portfolio level The author lays out common problems and explains how to effectively solve them. And while he employs a wealth of illustrative charts, graphs, and statistics, he presents the material in an accessible style, and peppers the text with powerful personal anecdotes. Ideal for project managers, business analysts, and senior decision makers in both the public and private sectors, Solving for Project Risk Management offers everything you need to ensure your projects run smoothly, on budget, and deliver the expected outcomes.

Download or read book Project Risk Management written by C. B. Chapman and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on sound conceptual foundations yet developed to meet practical concerns, Project Risk Management has become recognized as a standard work on its subject. It sets out the key issues and concepts involved in effective risk and uncertainty management in a clear and accessible way, providing a comprehensive discussion of risk management processes set firmly in the context of the project management task as a whole and focused on improving performance.

Download or read book Proactive Risk Management written by Guy M. Merritt and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2020-10-28 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Listed as one of the 30 Best Business Books of 2002 by Executive Book Summaries. Proactive Risk Management's unique approach provides a model of risk that is scalable to any size project or program and easily deployable into any product development or project management life cycle. It offers methods for identifying drivers (causes) of risks so you can manage root causes rather than the symptoms of risks. Providing you with an appropriate quantification of the key factors of a risk allows you to prioritize those risks without introducing errors that render the numbers meaningless. This book stands apart from much of the literature on project risk management in its practical, easy-to-use, fact-based approach to managing all of the risks associated with a project. The depth of actual how-to information and techniques provided here is not available anywhere else.

Download or read book The Business Analyst / Project Manager written by Robert K. Wysocki and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-08-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A breakthrough game plan illustrating the need for better collaboration between Project Managers and Business Analysts In The Business Analyst/Project Manager, author Robert Wysocki draws on his forty-five years of professional experience as a PM/BA to shed light on the similarities and differences of the roles and responsibilities of these two positions, the need for greater collaboration, and how to staff a project with one or both of these professionals. Examines the boundaries and interactions between the BA and the PM Looks at how to identify the skill sets needed to make the project a success The typical relationship of the BA and PM across the project management life cycle Making the best configuration of leadership assignments based on project characteristics Where the responsibilities of the BA leave off and the PM's begins and where the two have collaborative responsibilities How to use a PM/BA to enhance project performance How to foster a "dual career path" for PM/BAs development The in-depth discussion of the synergies between the two roles and the advantages of a combined PM/BA makes The Business Analyst/Project Manager a valuable contribution in your ability to be successful on the complex projects of the 21st century.