Title: An empirical analysis of project risk in a time perspective

Authors: Hans Petter Krane, Asbjorn Rolstadas, Nils O.E. Olsson

Addresses: Department of Production and Quality, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway. ' Department of Production and Quality, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway. ' Department of Civil and Transport Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway

Abstract: The risk management (RM) of large projects should be closely linked to the projects| objectives and success factors, although they more often have short-term perspectives. This article explores these RM aspects with reference to a study of risk registers in seven large projects. As part of a longitudinal study, all of the projects| risk elements were categorised, both as strategic/operational and threat/opportunity, and analysed against other factors. This revealed, among other findings, that the projects mainly focused on threats and operational risks, and this increased towards the end of the construction phase. Based on the findings, the article raises a number of questions. For instance, when identified strategic risks are few this prompts questions of whether strategic RM has been done but has left few tracks in risk registers. In such cases, do risk registers represent just parts of a project|s risk management? Overall, the projects identified rather few opportunities and this raises the question: Are opportunities there, but not utilised, or do they not exist?

Keywords: risk management; uncertainty management; risk registers; strategic risks; operational risks; project risks; time perspectives; project objectives; success factors; short-term perspectives; strategic elements; operational elements; threats; opportunities; project organisation; project management.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPOM.2011.038863

International Journal of Project Organisation and Management, 2011 Vol.3 No.1, pp.36 - 56

Received: 25 Jul 2009
Accepted: 27 Apr 2010
Published online: 14 Jan 2015 *

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