The Effectiveness of Risk Management - Assignment Example

PROJECT PLANNING Name Institution Lecturer Course Date Summary Project planning involves the different technical approaches that are necessary in the completion of a project. As a component of project management, project planning is able to define the sequence of events that are involved in the management of the project from its initial stages to the final stages. This means that planning process also incorporates the estimation of human resource that is required in completion of the project as well as the estimation of the costs that would see the project into completion. From the different readings, it is evident that the project planning process is crucial in ensuring g that a project is successful and is able to generate the expected income with the stipulated period. This implies that the performance of a project after completion is dependent on the planning process which is part of project management process. This report suggests that poor planning of a project would mean poor project management which will render the project non-profitable. Different models have been used in the project planning processes. Hence, proper model analysis is a project planning ensures the success of a project. Additionally, integration of project planning in an institution is crucial in ensuring the success of a project. Hence, the readings have also presented the roles of integration of different project in the planning process. This paper has discussed the general overview of the project planning process and the components of the planning process as per the selected articles. In this report, risk management analysis, the scope of the project and pre-project planning are discussed as the fundamentals of the project planning process (Chen et al., 2013, p. 685). Introduction Project management tools and techniques are employed in both the private sector and public sector in management projects (Wang, & Gibson, 2010, p. 342). Project planning is crucial in ensuring that the events and resources required for the completion of a project are available at the right time. Project planning involves the different technical approaches that are necessary in the completion of a project. Project planning process is crucial in ensuring g that a project is successful and is able to generate the expected income with the stipulated period. This implies that the performance of a project after completion is dependent on the planning process which is part of project management process. In order to properly plan for a project, there is the need for an individual planner to have the necessary project management skills that are necessary for proper identification of component requirement in the planning of a particular project (Zwikael & Ahn, 2011, p. 25). This implies that in order to manage a project properly managers should carry out a proper investigation and gather the necessary information related to the project. This is crucial in the evaluation of the factors that are likely to affect the success of the project. Therefore, this report focuses on the project planning process and the risk management aspects of the planning process in order to properly manage a project in a business organization. Overview Project planning process According to Giezen, (2010), the project planning process is one of the crucial steps in the management of projects in most business organizations. This is because proper planning of a project is helpful in establishing the sequences of events and be able to prioritize the events and activities that should be done in advance. In addition, the estimation of costs and human resource requirements is dependent on the planning process. There are different steps that constitute the planning process. The scope planning is one of the most crucial aspects of project planning and determines the success or failure of a project. This is because it gives the definition of the project scope and the requirement of the project in terms of background information. There is the need to plan for the schedule of the project since time management is a crucial factor in the completion of a project. During time management manager define the sequences of the project activities. In addition, resource estimation is done in correspondence with the activities in each time allocated. Other activities that constitute the planning process are cost management, risk management, quality management and purchase of the resources that will facilitate the completion of the project. Pre-project Planning According to Wang & Gibson, (2010), in order to ensure excellent project management, there is the need to collect the necessary information that is related to the project. This is crucial in the planning process. This means that it is necessary for a project planner to ensure that they collect relevant data in the form of questionnaires, interviews in areas pertaining to the location of the project, budget and the schedule of the project. This is useful in helping to develop the sequences of events. The information gathered during the project planning process is useful in defining the scope of the project. This is crucial since the scope of the business is influenced in determining the performance of the business. Poor scope definition results in unexpected costs of the project. However, it is also crucial to note that strict adherence to the schedules may pose of risk to the completion of the project. This means that during the planning process, project planner should collect data and analysis are in order to determine the risks involved in the planning process in order to establish a flexible schedule. As much as I agree with pre project planning, I tend to believe that different project has different risks hence it is crucial to use different analytical models rather universal models in analysing the risks. Hence, project planner should evaluate different models in pre-project planning. Project Risk Planning Planning is one of the most complex phases in project management which is faced with uncertainty challenges. In most cases, project planning is aimed at reducing the uncertainty that may lead to poor completion of the project. This means that a project analysis is crucial in order to evaluate the financial risks, and other related risks (Zwikael & Ahn, 2011, p. 26). Project risk management is mostly made during the planning stages. The risk is predicted on what is to be done and when it will be done. It is essential to evaluate the risk, which include both external risks and internal risks that may interfere with the management of the project. Proper identification of risks that are involved or likely to get involved in a project helps in proper planning of a project. This means that it is easy to deal with a problem when it occurs when proper analysis is done during project planning than when there is not proper risk analysis. Hence, mitigation of risks depends on proper planning and risk management analysis. The risk management is able to give information to the managers of the project to prioritize aspects of the project that require immediate attention. This is crucial in the planning process and handling of risks. However, I sometimes differ with the risk management analysis in that there are unexpected things that happen in a project even if proper planning and risk management is done. This is because some unexpected things, which are not included in the planning process, happen. For example, a labourer fall sick, breach of contract with suppliers, or changing climatic conditions that are affecting the management of the project (Giezen, 2010, p. 782). From the evaluation of the articles and their analysis, I tend to agree with the fact that in any project management, planning is crucial in ensuring the success of the project. This means that project management consists of different aspects including project management planning. In planning for the project, I agree with the articles that the proper definition of project planning is essential in ensuring proper planning of the project and proper identification of the risks involved in the project. Additionally, risk management analysis is crucial in the planning of a project. This allows the project manager to evaluate the risks that are likely to interfere with the success and performance of the project. Project risk analysis help in the prioritization of the sequence of events in the project schedule so as to manage them appropriately. Therefore, in project planning, managers should be able to gather enough information that will allow them to investigate the risks involved in the project in order to ensure success of the project. However, I disagree with some facts of the articles in one way or the other. For example, the fact that risk management analysis can be done yet some project fails to complete in time to fail to generate the predicted revenue. This implies that even though the project risk management analysis is crucial in planning for a project, there are other factors, which should be considered such as human errors and unpredicted situation which are likely to affect the planning process and completion of the project. For example, a project may gather associated risk information and fail to consider aspects such as unpredicted weather conditions or employees strike that affects the completion and planning process of the project. This suggests that planner should not only depend on the fact that risk management analysis is the key to successful project planning and project performance. This is because from previous experience, there are projects that have failed to get completed due to poor scope definition, poor planning, and poor risk management or due to unpredicted risks that the managers did not expect (Zwikael & Ahn, 2011, p. 27). There are additional ideas that may have been expected in the articles. These may include the impact of project planning and step by step process of planning involved in a project. This is would have contributed to the better understanding of the project planning process. In addition, while reading the articles, one would have expected to get a broad understanding of the risk management analysis especially examples. However, the articles offered an excellent understanding of the project management process. Conclusion Project planning is able to define the sequence of events that are involved in the management of the project from its initial stages to the final stages. This means that planning process also incorporates the estimation of human resource that is required in completion of the project as well as the estimation of the costs that would see the project into completion. There is the need to understand the risk management and the scope of the project in order to carry out an effective project planning. Moreover, project planning and risk analysis is a crucial aspect when it comes to project management. Hence, risk management analysis reduces the risk involved in ensuring that a project is managed successfully. Hence, the articles have offered an excellent understanding of project management process and its importance in project management. References Chen, C., Liu, H., & Song, J., 2013. Integrated projects planning in IS departments: A multi-period multi-project selection and assignment approach with a computerized implementation. European Journal of Operational Research, vol. 29, no. 3, pp. 683-694. Giezen, M., 2010. Keeping it simple? A case study into the advantages and disadvantages of reducing complexity in mega project planning. International Journal of Project Management, vol. 30, no. 7, pp. 781-790. Wang, Y., & Gibson, G., 2010. A study of pre-project planning and project success using ANNs and regression models. Automation in Construction, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 341-346. Zwikael, O., & Ahn, M., 2011. The Effectiveness of Risk Management: An Analysis of Project Risk Planning Across Industries and Countries. Risk Analysis, Vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 25-37. Read More