Management - ITM Platform | Projects Programs Portfolio

conveyor robot manipulators work businessman in front of control panel analysis production development Risk management has a specific place in protocols and risk management models. In this article we will discuss the six steps to controlling risk for risk managers, as broken down in the PMBOK: planning, identification, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, response planning and monitoring.

In short, a risk manager should take the reins of the risk control process with a detailed plan; find out what the risks are that may affect team members and various units of the organization, assess risks from the perspective of the whole organization; create action plans to respond to each of the risks if they occur; and continuously monitor in order to improve the plan.

Risk management planning

Like any other aspect of project management, risk prevention and response in the case of risk occurrence should be subject to strict planning. Risk management is iterative, implying that the planning phase will be reviewed after each cycle.

More specifically, planning involves a series of essential decisions that will affect the following five steps. Choosing methodologies, assigning responsibilities, defining types and categories and risks, as well as allocating resources are some of the main areas of focus at this moment.

Risk identification

This step is to identify the risks that may affect the development of the project and understand their characteristics. It is essential to identify all risks that may potentially influence the project so that the necessary precautions can be taken and disaster can be avoided. Therefore, planning for all risks is essential. Do not ignore them but instead control them.

For the identification of risks, multiple systems can be used.

One of them is to use similar backgrounds, both in our company and in other companies that resemble by their activity or reach.

Another possibility is to use specific analyzing tools (Ishikawa diagram, flowchart or other types of specialized diagram systems) or other standardized analysis systems, such as SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).

Finally, if the first two possibilities are not feasible, you can resort to expert judgment.

After identification, it is important to proceed to classify risks that have been detected (Technical, external, organizational, management, etc.). Their influence on the project (mild, moderate or severe impact on the project), or the probability of the risk arising (low, intermediate or high probability).

Qualitative analysis

This analysis is used initially to filter risks and prioritize them in order of importance and severity. Although this analysis may not be the best in terms of accuracy and speed.

This type of analysis is also used for risks which need immediate attention. The urgency leads to an analysis that, despite not being the best in absolute terms, is most appropriate for the time available.

The results of this analysis should reflect in a risk assessment matrix.

Quantitative analysis

This is a more comprehensive systems analysis, but also the most complex and time consuming.

To perform a quantitative analysis, specific quantitative risk analysis systems should be used, such as mathematical simulations e.g. Monte Carlo.

A simpler option is to use a decision tree with which you can numerically illustrate the parameters derived for each choice.

If it is not possible to quantify the risks, you can turn to experts in the field to conduct an assessment.

Ideally, experts should be external to the project in order to prevent conflicts of interest. In addition, to avoid bias, the evaluation should be conducted blindly without knowing the outcome of assessments made by the other experts.

There are differences between this point and the assessment of experts in qualitative analysis. While in the former case, experts estimate the relative importance between different types of risks in order to focus on the most important, in the quantitative case experts, despite not having actual data, provide estimates as accurate as possible based on their experience and the results of other projects that they have led previously.

Risk response planning

When a threat is verified, the response must be preplanned and follow the correct procedure. Action plans must be drawn up when risk in the project is present in order to prevent its occurrence. This may include transferring it to an external agent or mitigating their effects, in the event that the risk occurs. Where risks cannot be avoided, in the event of circumstances beyond our control or scope, contingency plans should be developed that allow for coordinated and appropriate action.

Risk monitoring

To predict whether or not risks may occur it is necessary to know warning signs so that it can be anticipated. If this is not possible, monitoring mechanisms should be in place so that a risk in a project can be detected the moment it presents itself.

The purpose of these systems is to instil the attitudes of anticipating risks and having contingency plans in place, before the risk has significantly influenced the project.

In addition, self-monitoring the reaction to the risks and the occurrence of them can improve prevention measures, and thus reduce time and increase the efficiency of the reaction.

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Risk management… The what, the why and the what to do

Juan Delgado

Blogger ITM Platform

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two businessmen playing, try not to make the tower fall on the floor The risk manager is perhaps a position that is not as well recognized as others, however it is essential for the successful development of a company.

The job of a risk manager is to identify potential risks that may affect the organization on multiple fronts: reputation, safety and economic feasibility, even investment security. Although it is common for a risk manager to specialize in a particular area, so as to detect and address potential risks in their corresponding field. For example, risk departments are essential in the banking sector, and insurance companies have risk assessment as one of their core activities. In these areas it is common to find risk directors and risk analysts.

The importance of proper risk management for the development of any economic activity has led to a specialized discipline often known by its acronym: Enterprise Risk Management, or ERM. COSO defines the discipline as follows:

ERM is a process effected by an entity’s board of directors, management team and other personnel. It applies to the entire company in a strategic context, is designed to identify potential situations that may affect the entity, manage risks that are within the scope of its risk appetite and provide reasonable assurance to achieve the objectives of the entity.

Enterprise Risk Management - Integrated Framework

Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission

If you are interested in this value proposition, you should know that the culmination of your professional development could come with the title of Chief Risk Officer (CRO). Although this managerial position is more common in the financial sector, large engineering firms also include them in their structure. A very interesting profile in the US, for example, is that of James Durree, Vice President of Risk, Ethics and Compliance at JACOBS. Durree’s career showcases the strong sectorial mobility of risk expertise: having started as a Risk Analyst at Abbot Laboratories, he then moved out of the healthcare industry and spent 21 years managing risk at Avery Dennison, a global packaging manufacturer. Durree’s last move to JACOBS placed him in front of the kinds of risks that are faced by primary process industries across a series of services.

In short, the risk profile of the specialist is so specific to the role that it can’t be confined to finance or insurance companies. Additionally, risk managers often require a strategic integration with project management. Depending on the size of the company and its organization, PMOs are likely to have access to a risk expert, although smaller or more horizontal companies may distribute that responsibility among regular project managers.

The position of risk manager has its own characteristics and expertise, combining technical knowledge with management experience and an important transversal competence: the ability to communicate and persuade. Therefore, to perform effectively as a risk manager you have to be comfortable taking up a central position, interacting with members of other teams within the company and with customers.

Once risks have been identified and assessed, risk managers work to implement procedures to overcome, transfer, or at least minimize them.

They must understand the objectives of the company, to always direct their efforts and make changes in the initial planning towards producing a product that provides the greatest customer satisfaction.

The result is a soaring new professional profile.

Tasks to be performed by the risk manager

Identify risks. Often, risk managers don’t have all the information they need, resorting to team workshops in which they share progress information and collect data from project units. In this case, the risk manager is the facilitator of conversations and a catalyzer of contingency plans.
Develop contingency plans. Once risks are identified, the risk manager is the person with the technical knowledge necessary to develop a contingency plan. It is possible that many details are beyond his competence and direct influence, so his work can sometimes be seen as internal consulting for the units that demand technical assessment.
Provide methodologies to identify and analyze the economic impact of the loss of any of the components of the organization, workforce changes, or any other damaging impacts.
Seek opportunities. The risk manager should select those enterprise opportunities that are more efficient for the company from a risk perspective.
Anticipate additional costs resulting from newly emerging risks through specific budget items. However, this should not prevail over realistic budget forecasts.
Work collaboratively with the board to maintain control over the objectives of each process, ensuring the end result meets customers’ needs.

Training and skills that a risk manager should have

The development of a risk manager will be different depending on the type of project or the type of risk that they will work with.

In addition to specific project management and risk training, a risk manager should be a subject matter expert of the project in which they will work. For example, if it comes to identifying risks in a project related to construction, it is appropriate for the risk manager to have experience in architecture or engineering. Only then will he be able to truly understand the market, challenges and opportunities that may arise during the execution of this specific project.

The professional profile of a risk manager also allows more varied training in other areas. In addition to project management, other measurable training studies include:

• Math

• Physics

• Statistics

• Business Management

• Financial and Actuarial Studies

• Economics

• Industrial engineering

For example, an engineer may have never worked specifically as a Risk Manager but have experience in construction or related engineering projects, and therefore in tracking tasks and managing projects. In this case, the lack of specific training in risks can be bridged by means of the transferable knowledge and skills developed in previous positions.

Besides the specific training in risk, a Risk Manager must have a series of non-specific, transferable competences, including but not limited to:

• Ability in problem-solving and decision-making

• Analytical skills and attention to detail

• Organizational skills

• Negotiation and persuasion skills

• Strong mathematical and quick calculation skills

• Business intelligence, to integrate risk calculations on the dynamics of development of the company.

If you wish to acquire the training and skills needed in the field of risk management, there are a number of institutions of reference in the US. One of the most renowned internationally is the Institute of Risk Management. Other prominent organizations are the International Risk Management Institute, or the Global Association of Risk Professionals. These organizations provide continuously updated courses and training qualifications.

Allies of a risk manager

In addition to the training and skills possessed by a risk manager, one of the keys to succeeding in the risk management field and transferring these assets to a company is the support of specific and advanced software.

In ITM Platform we work to provide a solution that allows you to maximize your productivity and complete projects effectively. You can start by testing the new online version of our risk assessment matrix tool, which you will also find in our integrated solution.

If you request a 14-day free trial on ITM Platform you can see just how easy it is to get custom reports, track tasks and perform the basic functions all risk managers need, including communication and coordination with all departments of the company.

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Collaborative work has changed the workplace. Every day more and more companies are choosing to work remotely from home. Thus, office maintenance costs are saved and the quality of life of workers is improved.

The savings in time and transportation, added to the greater schedule flexibility achieved with these new work systems, means every day more workers are choosing this system, because for workers it is easier to accommodate work and family life.

According to satisfaction studies both workers and companies prefer this method to the traditional office system.

In addition, telecommuting enables companies to choose workers located anywhere in the world, on the sole criterion their suitability for the job offered, without geographical restrictions.

long hands characters keys to teamwork success production process concept with computers poster flat abstract vector illustration

Even for those who decide to continue with the traditional office work, the use of remote working tools allows a degree of interaction and flexibility that they could not otherwise get.

In a world in which the use of technology is essential for communications and business, using the appropriate software can make the difference between the success and failure of your business.

In this article we'll give you some tips to help you choose the best collaboration software for your company.

Identifying the problem

In order to find a solution, it should raise the problem that needs to be solved. The software will be different depending on your needs. Just as there are sectors where communication is more important than in other more traditional sectors, it is not the same as an international company with hundreds of employees than a local company with few employees who tend to live near their workplace.

Users also participate in the decision making

The company decisions that affect everyone should have the greatest possible consensus, especially those who will be affected by the changes and, after all, use the tool. If they like it and it suits them, adoption is feasible; otherwise, it will become quite a problem.

Good software requires good implementation to squeeze the most out of its technological capabilities, achieve maximum efficiency and get the most benefit for the workers themselves and for the company.

Therefore, the choice of a particular type of software should have the opinions of all the staff who will be using it.

A practical example would be the design of a hospital. Doctors and nurses should be the first port of call when it comes to designing a hospital. The distribution of space and resource management cycles should include information and advice from healthcare workers who subsequently use the facility. In other words, distributing the different services so that they can provide the best patient care is something that exceeds the limits of architecture and economic management.

Returning to project management, using IT solutions can be a breakthrough, as long as they are understood and properly used by the personnel involved, you should obtain answers and solutions to their questions or problems. Therefore, the adoption process must include information collection cycles, both formal and informal. Discussion sessions, surveys or even the use of software testing by the technical staff are some of the alternatives.

Evaluate programs from different companies

When evaluating alternatives, it is likely that most companies offer a similar basic service, so this section will not help you decide on one or the other. However, if you dig deeper under the conditions that each offers, you will note that differences do exist. Some present more complex algorithms or specific utilities that help you perform the most complicated of tasks.

For example, in the case of ITM platform we present, among other utilities, a specifically integrated communication functionality in each of the work panels.

Another increasingly popular trend in both the United States and the rest of the world, is the utilization of team communication platforms such as Slack. This company is looking to transform business communication by adopting the traditional model of chat rooms and adapting them to the needs of modern organizations. One of the most interesting aspects is the fact that, similarly to giants Facebook or Google, Slack are opening an ecosystem of apps developed by third parties with simple text commands entered using the backslash key. While some are humorous, like the one that lets you send animated images taken from giphy, other apps can solve quick calculations or retrieve specific information that a member of another department may need, without opening another window. This communication tool is evidently improving productivity within the workplace.

Consider software integration

Whatever system you choose, it should be integrated into your workflow and accessible to all members of your team.

So, ideally, this would be a cloud software that allows synchronization of all information anytime, anywhere and at the same time allows the maximum number of tasks without leaving the software itself.

Quantify the impact for your company

Introducing the use of online solutions for project management will undoubtedly be a positive change for your company. Although in the early days an extra effort will have to be made to learn to use the software, however, soon you will see that its simple and easy to use interface has much to contribute to your business.

You may have the feeling that it has increased your efficiency and productivity. However, until we quantify its results we cannot know exactly how much the new tool brings.

In the case of ITM Platform, the transition is simple. The platform is cloud based, offers a wide variety of features and is scalable so you do not pay for anything you don’t need.Why not give it to your project managers to test?

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Juan Delgado Moraleda

Blogger ITM Platform

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Time is gold. This phrase has even more meaning in the field of project management.

Technology should provide tools capable of making projects more efficient. Nowadays, collaborative platforms should not only allow task status information to be shared between team members and clients or offer instant messaging and videoconferencing services.
They should go a step further and seek more functional and time-monitoring roles.

Those companies that switch from a more classical system to a more modern and functional system notice the difference; even if they were already leading companies in their sector. This is the case of an Australian company that uses cloud-based IT systems. In 2013, this company had developed approximately 600 websites and created approximately 100 applications for companies. If there was one word to define the development of this company, it would be “success”.
In 2012, with 12 years of experience, its client portfolio included major companies in all sectors - both national and international - and it had become a benchmark in its industry. However, economically-speaking, the situation was not so wonderful. When the CEO checked the company budgets, he realized that profits did not match the number of projects or the quality of the clients in the company’s portfolio.

While trying to analyze the reasons for this, he discovered certain periods of “dead time”. In other words, despite time being clearly distributed on tasks, there were many time periods that were apparently not allocated to any work and there was no way of knowing what had been done during those periods.

Besides this wasted time, there was time supposedly used for tasks that proved useless. It could therefore be considered that this time had also been wasted. In other words, many employees - while thinking they were doing their job right - were actually wasting time on paperwork or “fighting” with the software instead of applying their skills to genuinely productive tasks.

In the case of the company in question, most of its work plans were being created in Excel spreadsheets while ignoring the possible use of more advanced and specialized project management software.

To begin with, considering that the company was small and only had a few clients, it was able to complete all its projects in spite of the fact that the tools being used were unproductive. Nonetheless, as time passed and the workload increased, the company realized it was often unable to deliver projects on time. When completing a project behind schedule, payments also arrived late. This began to create budgeting problems and complicated the employee remuneration policy. Furthermore, the accumulation of delays prevented more orders from being accepted that could have been carried out if the previous projects had been delivered on time.

Faced with this situation, company executives decided to seek new IT solutions that would enable more streamlined development of the company and began to gradually implement their discoveries.

The first few months were tough. Not only did employees have to get the work done but they also had to learn how to use the new tools. However, following an initial period of adaptation, everyone was satisfied with the results. Productivity had increased, projects were being delivered on time, employees felt more fulfilled and wasted less time on useless tasks, and the company was obtaining much larger profits.

According to the CEO of the company, the result was a reduction in total project cycle duration from approximately 60 days before the two systems were implemented to approximately 18 days.
One of the main challenges faced by the company was monitoring the time spent on each task, which was unusual at the time for the sector in which the company operated. Time monitoring provided information on which tasks were inefficient and also allowed the holes through which time was “leaking” to be plugged.
Prior to implementing the new software tools, company executives could only monitor 36% of the time worked. Only one year later, with the tools partially in place, they were capable of monitoring 62% of the hours worked.

Returning to that phrase at the start of this article, time is golden. The executives produced an estimate of the economic impact caused by the loss of these hours. The result was between 30,000 and 50,000 dollars in one month.

The Australian company is now a staunch proponent of new technologies. It uses them every day for everything it does: it works in the cloud, it monitors its projects and its employees stay in touch via IT platforms.

This new management method is not only supported by inferred results but by the statistics and actual results obtained in recent years.

At ITM Platform, we offer you a cloud-based system for managing your projects. We include features that allow collaborative work and instant communication between the various members of a project. At the same time, we are a flexible platform that can be run from multiple devices. This means we can accompany you at any time and in any location.

If you seek the best for your company, go right ahead and commit to technology. Commit to ITM Platform.

Article written by: Juan Delgado, Blogger at ITM Platform

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Projects are carried out within an organization whose culture, style and structure influence the way in which these projects are carried out. Project managers should be aware of this reality and adapt to the environmental factors of the organization where the project is developed.

Improve the information systems that support your projects with ITM Platform

It’s worth beginning with a caveat: the environmental factors of a project should not be confused with considerations of the environmental impact of an organization's activities, which are especially important in the case of public works or industrial activities that could result in chemical waste or other forms of pollution. While these assessments are limited to certain areas of activity and are highly regulated in most developed countries, environmental factors always exist in each and every project: from a small-scale internal project to a macro-project of hundreds of millions of dollars in budget.

The notion of environmental factors in a project is much more general, referring to all circumstances surrounding the project during its execution. Thus, we can consider environmental factors as all the conditions that are beyond the direct control of the project team and that influence positively or negatively on the project. All these conditions must be considered in project management and vary significantly in type and nature depending on the organization.

As a reference, the main environmental factors that can affect project management can be classified into three categories; organizational, human resources and technological systems.

Environmental factors inherent in the organization

Shared vision, mission, values, beliefs and expectations of the organization
Culture, structure and organizational governance
Availability and geographical distribution of facilities, resources, infrastructure and materials
Industry or government standards that affect the organization
Internal standards, policies, methods and procedures

Human Resource environmental factors

Existing human resources, skills and knowledge
Personnel management, motivation systems and incentives
Perception of leadership, hierarchy and authoritative relationships
Organizational risk tolerance
Project stakeholders and organizational stakeholders

Technological environmental factors

Operational environments and company authorization systems
The formal and informal communication channels established in the organization
Available databases
Project management information systems

In addition, the environmental factors of a project can be classified as internal and external factors. While internal factors will be stable for each organization independent of the project, external factors are more susceptible to change and require superior analytical attention from the project manager. For example, the location of the project in a country where it has never been worked will expose itself to an unknown regulatory environment, generating many risks in terms of legal feasibility, the labor framework, etc.

It is essential that each organization knows which of the internal factors act as limiting conditions and which are the drivers of the projects. It is appropriate that this analysis be shared.

In project management, it is possible to influence those factors that are closer and more directly related to management, such as resources or project management information systems, but it will be more difficult to affect the more general cultural and environmental factors or external to the organization. For example, although it may seem that organizational culture is a flexible factor and can be easily shaped, it is necessary to always consider the inertia produced by resistance to change and how such culture is not an abstract idea, but is part of the daily practices of all members of the organization.

Changing environmental cultural factors that are more detrimental to effective project management can be a much longer and more expensive decision than to just support such management with new information systems. In turn, the adoption of new information systems can serve as a catalyst from which to modify the behavioral aspect of human factors, influencing the corporate culture from its base.

In all cases, the project manager must be aware of these factors and act accordingly, including the project risks to the detrimental environmental factors over which the project manager cannot exercise any control and communicating to all his team the importance of being alert about signals indicating the emergence of the risk or the change in environmental circumstances.