ASSESSMENT I

Introduction

Risk management incorporates both systemic and integrative mechanisms that ensure successful implementation of projects. Project managers and administrators must have predisposed knowledge to identify, analyze and respond to the risk factors associated to the life cycle of the projects (Burke, 2013). The process of risk management incorporates setting up the onset solutions to the possible risks that the project might face (Koster, 2009). The East Timor solar program is a vital project that would benefit the country citizens immensely. Due to the importance of the project, it is imperative to develop a risk management program taking heed of developments within every phase to meet effective implementation (Caiado et al, 2016). Due to the nature of the project, the potentialities can arise from multiple factors including the environment, resources and costs. Therefore, prioritizing is an integral part as the plan will incorporate the identification, categorization, and planning based on the identified risks and their potentiality to meet completion (Koster, 2009). The major points of deliberation within the East Timor solar project would be the stakeholder engagement and management in the projects undertaking. The evaluation will also engage an effective risk factors evaluation on the projects undertakings and implementation.

Stakeholder engagement and Management

The stakeholder engagement and management process is an integral part of the risk management plan (Glendon et al, 2016). The East Timor Solar project involves several shareholders who play varied roles in the project’s implementation. Additionally, due to their varying roles in the projects, the stakeholders can either expedite or slow down the implementation of the program. The varied stakeholders of the project confer significance to its undertakings based on the different phases of the project. Within the onset of the project, it is imperative to incorporate a change manager due to the cultural disposition of East Timor. The solar project seeks to benefit the residents of the area and therefore, it is vital to communicate any changes that would affect the area residents’ way of life (Javani & Rwelamila, 2016). Therefore, engaging a change manager at the onset of the project would ensure cooperation from the area residents to its completion. It is also important to understand the key stakeholders and those that confer minimal interests in the project (P.M.I, 2013).

In the East Timor Solar project, the government, Google Inc., Alternative Technology Association (ATA) and the East Timor residents are the major stakeholders within the project. However, other stakeholders that also play minor roles include the local authorities, the small-scale solar projects within the area. In order to ensure that the project roll out is smooth, it is vital to ensure that there is a constant communication within the stakeholder network. Through regular communications within the varied stages, the stakeholders are able to operate within similar goals to meet the project completion successfully.

Another issue to address in the stakeholder engagement is the mechanisms of publishing and promoting regular project communication within the project launch and the performance phases (P.M.I, 2013). Such promotion would attract broader stakeholder groups that would gain interests in the distribution of electricity to the East Timor residents. About 35% of the area residents do not have electricity, which would require more stakeholders to join in the efforts of meeting the full electricity needs of the residents.

Risk Identification

The East Timor Solar project faces multiple risks within the different phases that require address before execution. Addressing the potential risks factors is subject to understanding the level of risk in the project (Hopkin, 2017). In order to understand how to take the risk management exercise, it is imperative to understand the implication of each stage in the cycle. The first stage within the risk management cycle is to identify and analyze the potential threats relative to the project (Edelenbos et al, 2017). Based on the information provided on the developments of the project, some of the potential risk factors that may impede the project schedule include language barriers, cultural and historical dispositions within East Timor. Another implication established is the engagement of a contractor within the project. The project management has to ensure that the contacted party is able to exercise accountability and transparency when working with ATA. Another major risk is relative to the duration that the licensing durations and how long the Australian installation experts could stay in East Timor. Therefore, the risk identification aims at evaluating the factors that would interfere with the scheduling of the project from the start to the completion. The risk matrix below incorporates the risk factors based on the implication they confer in the project.

 

Impact
H
Lack of government cooperation
Lack of coopetration from the community members
Shortage of installation Equipment

M
Language  barriers
Lack of Transparency from the contractor
The inability to secure licence in time

L
Cultural clashes
Installation experts inconvenience
Installing solar power in locations with power projects I place

 
L
M
H

 
Probability

Fig.1 Risk Matrix

Impact

High – Risk that has significant potential to greatly impact project cost, project schedule or performance
Medium – Risk has slightly impact on cost, project schedule or performance
Low – Risk has little impact on cost, schedule or performance

 

Probability

High – Higher than <70%> probability of occurrence
Medium – Between <25%> and <60%> probability of occurrence
Low – Below <25%> probability of occurrence

Risk Analysis

Based on the identified potential risks, it is imperative to analyze their implications on the project (Kerzner, 2017). The prioritized risks factors within the red boxes must meet a justified resolution. In dealing with the factors, the project management would eliminate their causative factors. Within this stage, it is important to establish the possibility of vandalism of the installation. This stage would also incorporate the understanding of which companies can avail the solar panel materials needed for the installation and the possible costs. The phase also incorporates contacting the government bodies, which are also key stakeholders in the project. After the verification on security provision, the next step would be mitigating the moderate risk factors. ATA would develop terms with the contractor to ensure transparency and accountability of the organization through government database. ATA would have to accept the low risk factors, which include language barriers, climate and installation inconveniences. Therefore, it will incorporate mechanisms to meet low risk factors but with less impacts.

Execution

Within the execution phase, ATA would follow up on the possibility of the government contributing to secure the installation process and offer security to personnel within East Timor. It would also be important to engage scrutiny of the companies that manufacture resources needed to complete the project at this stage. Additionally, the phase will incorporate getting the contact of the bodies and institutions that would secure the licenses needed for the project completion. ATA would send personnel within the regions to interact with the locals and communicate with them with the help of a translator. More importantly, the stage would engage understanding the necessities for the monitoring.

Risk Response & Execution Monitoring

While the project is underway, the administrators would set mechanism to monitor the progress of the project. East Timor has varied terrains that might impede proper installation. Therefore, within this stage, the management would establish what parts of the country to recall the project and reschedule the installation to later dates. It is also vital to understand the level of appreciation from the locals that live within areas with finished installations. Through the recalls, ATA would engage improved strategies to inform all stakeholders in order to complete the installations within the areas with unfriendly terrains.

 

ASSESSMENT II

Methodology of Cost and Schedule Tracking

Monitoring and controlling the project is vital and therefore, it is important for ATA to develop mechanisms that would accomplish the two factors. It is imperative that the East Timor solar project governance incorporate cost and schedule tracking methods in order to meet its successful completion (Kotetunov, 2017). The monitoring tool that ATA would use in the monitoring and controlling objective is the Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT). Through incorporating PERT, the project manager would be able to understand the specific activities and milestones of the project and their varied implications in meeting costs and schedules of the project (Koster, 2009). The tool would also enable the determination of proper sequence of activities under the project. However, due to the need to meet a faster roll out of the programs, it would be more effective to engage both the activities and the project milestones within the first step in the monitoring and control. The incorporation of PERT in the project monitoring and control would produce better results due to the ability of developing a network diagram, which incorporates implementing parallel activities within the varied phases of the project (Kerzner, 2017). Therefore, through using parallel lines to represent activities and bubbles to represent milestones, the project management would ensure successful monitoring and control mechanisms. Another important factor in using PERT is the ability to estimate the time by which to complete the identified activities and determining the critical paths that require expedited measures (Edelenbos et al, 2017). Due to the possible changes, that the project might undergo during its roll out, the PERT tool would enable ATA to update information and new values to meet optimization.

Alternative Report Tools

A Gantt chart would also be an effective tool to incorporate in meeting the control and monitoring of the project (Kotetunov, 2017). The framework incorporates the use of graph charts in tracking the progress of the project. However, unlike the PERT framework, the Gantt chart incorporates the use of graphs in benchmarking the milestones and activities within the project. Therefore, its nature of complexity would confer major incompatibilities in understanding the implications of risk factors within the phases of the project. Another imposition of the Gantt chart is in the sequential demands within the project. The tool requires that the project manager follow a sequential formula in rolling out the programs (Martinelli & Milocevic, 2016). The nature of the project and the factors of uncertainty relative to undertaking the tasks would impose major challenges in using the tool for the control and monitoring functions. Therefore, unlike PERT, the Gantt tool would impose major challenges in understanding the implication of the project within its varied stages.

Format and Structure of report (Manager& Team)

When undertaking a monitoring and control process, it is imperative that the project manager and other administrative units understand the format and structure to incorporate when undertaking the project report (P.M.I, 2013). The format and the structure of the report will incorporate beneficial details for the stakeholders with interests in the project. Due to the need to engage brief but precise indications on the progress of the report, the best format to use is a project management planning software (PMPS). The software incorporates integrative functions that allow the manager and the administrative team to evaluate the average rate of the project performance through the evaluation of the data presented within its data entry units (Furlong et al, 2017). Due to the high reliability of the software, the entry detail will incorporate the financial resources used in the varied phases of the project and that of the remaining work. Therefore, the structure entry will engage a weekly update of the funds incorporated in the project and the amount of resources to meet completion. Through evaluating the costs of the materials within the immediate time lapse, the stakeholders would be able to establish whether the remaining resources are sufficient in meeting the demands of the project (Virine, 2016). The choice to incorporate timeframe schedules and the costs incurred is due to the software processing qualities of the PMPS, which has the capacity to inform the stakeholders and give updates on the project.

Frequency of Governance Board Meetings

Due to the possible changes within the project undertaking, it is important to hold governance board meetings to ensure smooth progress of the project. The governance meeting is vital especially in decision making and evaluating the progress of the East Timor solar installation program. Establishing a regular frequency on the meeting is also important especially in evaluating the project positions and the need to optimize the project (Martinelli & Milocevic, 2016). Due to the nature of the East Timor solar project, it is imperative to call the meeting within a monthly basis to ensure that the operations run smoothly. The ATA is a foreign organization and operates in East Timor for a limited time and therefore, stakeholders require constant updates to complete the project. Moreover, the installation experts are also in the country within the limitations established by the licensing bodies of East Timor. Therefore, holding meetings within monthly basis would ensure that the project does not meet major hindrances to its completion stage. Another major point of deliberation is the stakeholders that should participate in the meetings and their relevance within the new undertakings.

Attendees of the Governance Board Meetings

The project governance meeting must incorporate the agents that engage in the scrutiny of the project to implement the necessary decisions to meet effective completion. Another important stakeholder that should participate in the meeting is a representative of the contracted company in undertaking the solar installation. The relevance of the representative is the brief on the finances spent from their undertakings. Through analyzing the costs and comparing them to the ATA records, the management would establish transparency within the resource utility. A representative from the East Timor community is also an important entity within the project governance meeting. The undertakings of ATA within East Timor have some cultural implications and it is important for the rest of the stakeholders to get a response from the residents that the project aims to benefit. Moreover, due to language barrier, the community representative would help by presenting the possible negative implications of the installation within the various localities in East Timor. Through collecting information on the various stakeholders, the board can make informed decisions on how to proceed within the varied project phases.

 

 

Format and Structure of Report (C.E.O and Board Members)

The CEO and the board project report must incorporate the appropriate information that would allow for effective decision-making (Martinelli & Milocevic, 2016). The structure of the reports presented to the CEO of the project must reflect the overall progress and status of the project. The best format of the report would be real time reports that would incorporate both performance and costs incurred in the project undertaking. Through logging into the ATA database and viewing the ongoing reports, the stakeholders would understand the progress. Moreover, the real time reports are the most effective as they would enable the C.E.Os and the board members check in on the project at any time. After receiving the real-time dashboard reports on the go, the CEOs, the board members are able to contact the team managers to make decisions on how to ensue with the related undertakings. The report will accommodate updated information from the PMPS to ensure that the decision from the senior management bodies has positive impacts on the project. Moreover, the CEO and the board members are within different countries and the real-time reports would be most appropriate in meeting the completion of the project.

 

References

Burke, R. (2013). Project management: planning and control techniques. New Jersey, USA.

Caiado, R. G. G., Lima, G. B. A., de Mattos Nascimento, D. L., Neto, J. V., & de Oliveira, R. A. M. (2016). GUIDELINES TO RISK MANAGEMENT MATURITY IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. Brazilian Journal of Operations & Production Management, 13(3), 372-385.

Edelenbos, J., Van Buuren, A., Roth, D., & Winnubst, M. (2017). Stakeholder initiatives in flood risk management: exploring the role and impact of bottom-up initiatives in three ‘Room for the River’projects in the Netherlands. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 60(1), 47-66.

Furlong, C., De Silva, S., Gan, K., Guthrie, L., & Considine, R. (2017). Risk management, financial evaluation and funding for wastewater and stormwater reuse projects. Journal of environmental management, 191, 83-95.

Glendon, A. I., Clarke, S., & McKenna, E. (2016). Human safety and risk management. Crc Press.

Hopkin, P. (2017). Fundamentals of risk management: understanding, evaluating and implementing effective risk management. Kogan Page Publishers.

Javani, B., & Rwelamila, P. M. D. (2016). Risk management in IT projects–a case of the South African public sector. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 9(2), 389-413.

Kerzner, H. (2017). Project Risk Management. Project Management Case Studies, 355-422.

Koster, K. (2009). International project management. Sage.

Kotetunov, V. Y. (2016). Risk management in projects. Cherkasy University Bulletin: Economics Sciences, (1).

Martinelli, R. J., & Milosevic, D. Z. (2016). Project management toolbox: tools and techniques for the practicing project manager. John Wiley & Sons.

Project Management Institute. 2013. A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide) (5th ed.). Newtown Square, Pennsylvania: Project Management Institute.

Shrivastava, S. V., & Rathod, U. (2017). A risk management framework for distributed agile projects. Information and Software Technology, 85, 1-15.

Virine, L. (2016). Risk Management, from Projects to Portfolio: Step by Step Guide to Project Risk Management. World Scientific Pub.

 

 

 

 

 

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