Risk management and measurement of risk management performance in complex projects

• Main Author: Rahman, M. (Mohammad)
• Format: Dissertation
• Language: English
• Published: University of Oulu 2018
• Subjects: Industrial Engineering and Management
• Online Access: http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-201808312690; http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:fi:oulu-201808312690

In today’s technologically advanced world, every project, especially large, complex projects are very prone to facing different kinds of risks throughout the project timeline. Project complexity plays a major role in the emergence of numerous risks in large projects. In addition, the complexity of projects is on the rise due to various unanticipated characteristics such as, sudden natural phenomena, workplace accidents, increased material costs, etc. Nowadays, project complexity and its corresponding risks are major contributors to project failure. To minimize the impacts of risk, a good and effective risk management (RM) system must be incorporated into every project. An effective RM system should also include the assessment and measurement of its performance, as this can provide real-time updates about its progress, which in turn can be used to make the RM system more effective and efficient. The aim of this thesis is to gain an insight into risk management literature in the field of complex projects, along with understanding of project complexity and the importance of measuring RM performance. In first part of this research, an in-depth review of literature concerning project complexity, project RM and measurement of RM performance is presented. This is then analyzed and validated using two case projects as examples. The literature review covers how a project can develop complexity, its underlying managerial actions, the type of risks different complex projects may face, their management plan and finally, the effectiveness of measuring RM performance. Following this, a qualitative case study method is followed, whereby two case projects are analyzed in order to gain insights into their RM and risk performance management procedures. The empirical analysis and findings of this thesis focus on the importance of RM for complex projects. Through the analysis and discussion, major risks faced by complex construction project, management strategies to mitigate them, RM performance evaluation strategies and the impact of alliance contracting in RM can be understood thoroughly. Overall, this research provides an in-depth overview of project complexity, RM and its performance measurement for large complex projects and it can be used as a basis for further research into RM perspectives in complex projects.