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Managing Risk and Opportunities in Complex Projects

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2020) | Viewed by 10646

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Asbjørn Rolstadås

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: project management; productivity; production management

Prof. Agnar Johansen

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Guest Editor

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
Interests: project management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to submit papers to this Special Issue on managing risks and opportunities in complex projects. We are looking for research contributions on topics such as:

Complexity factors—what are the complexity drivers in large complex projects (urban devolvement of cities and municipalities)?
Typology of complexity;
Classification of risks and opportunities in varies types of projects;
Opportunity identification techniques and approaches;
Risk and opportunity management approaches for complex projects;
Tools and techniques for managing risk and opportunities in complex projects;
Critical success factors for complex projects;
Value of effectively managing risks and opportunities during planning and from the different stakeholders’ perspective;
Case studies and lessons learned.

Complex projects are found in different industrial and public sectors and span over different types of projects such as building and construction, product innovation, ICT systems development, organizational change, etc. The complexity is dependent on the capability of the organization. Thus, a small project may be complex for a small organization. We are looking for projects that represent a major challenge to an organization.

Risk is associated with negative uncertainty, whilst opportunity is associated with positive uncertainty. Project risk management is a well-developed field with substantial literature contributions, but this is not the case for opportunities. We are aiming at papers that address both risks and opportunities in complex projects.

We are open to reviewing any contributions adding to the understanding of how to manage risks and opportunities in complex projects. This may be new theory, tools, methods, new approaches, etc. We also welcome case studies that can support research questions and bring lessons learned together with new insight on the above-described topics.

Prof. Asbjørn Rolstadås
Prof. Agnar Johansen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

project management
risk management
project complexity

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Editorial

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3 pages, 158 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

The Dawn of a New Era for Project Management

by Asbjørn Rolstadås and Agnar Johansen

Sustainability 2021, 13(2), 695; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13020695 - 13 Jan 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2802

Abstract

Projects are today widely used as a business model for private and public sectors and they constitute the preferred model for developing changes in construction, oil and gas, chemical processes, aerospace, defence, etc [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Risk and Opportunities in Complex Projects)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

18 pages, 3609 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Preparing for Successful Collaborative Contracts

by Ole Jonny Klakegg, Julien Pollack and Lynn Crawford

Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 289; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su13010289 - 30 Dec 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3247

Abstract

Preparing well before entering a contract is always vital, independent of the characteristics of the project and type of contract. However, as projects become larger and more complex, and value for stakeholders and society becomes the dominating perspective on success, the need for well-developed collaboration is becoming more and more critical. In this paper, we investigate how the parties should prepare for a collaborative project. The purpose is to help owners secure the success of the project for its key stakeholders. We choose to address the issues as an active risk mitigation strategy that serves as a vehicle to reduce uncertainty, avoid unnecessary risks, and utilize opportunities as a project owner. We look at the project mainly through a project owner perspective, but on key points, we contrast this with contractor perspectives. The research was performed in Australia in 2020 and includes public and private sector investment projects. The methodology is qualitative case studies and includes primarily in-depth interviews supplemented with document studies and two workshop group discussions. The paper highlights the difference between being collaborative in a contract and using a collaborative contract. The results document significant differences in preparations depending on the degree of complexity of the projects. One major difference is illustrated in the different levels of precision in terms and definitions used in communication. Complex projects require freedom of interpretation only gained by allowing wide and less precise expressions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Risk and Opportunities in Complex Projects)

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23 pages, 1958 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Indicators for Sustainable Demand Risk Allocation in Transport Infrastructure Projects

by Athena Roumboutsos, Alenka Temeljotov-Salaj and Iosif Karousos

Sustainability 2020, 12(22), 9650; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12229650 - 19 Nov 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1937

Abstract

Efficient risk allocation has been proven to be at the heart of effective and efficient infrastructure project operation. While most risks may be reasonably assigned in transport infrastructure projects, demand risk remains ambiguous due to the multiple factors influencing its appropriate allocation. The present research is a first attempt to introduce indicators as tools to guide contracting parties in assigning demand risk. The level of control, based on infrastructure characteristics and attributes, describes the potential control over demand an operator may have. The optimal demand risk allocation is seen as an assessment of the appropriateness of demand risk allocation effected. The indicators are constructed following accomplished rules set by supranational organizations. Furthermore, 51 project cases ranging different transport infrastructure modes from 19 European countries including projects delivered traditionally and as Public Private Partnerships were used to validate the indicators and assess their performance. Results show the potential of both indicators to guide governments, operators and also financiers in appropriately allocating demand risk in transport infrastructure projects. This optimality was shown to be related to more accurate traffic forecasts resulting in sustainable transport infrastructure as the project then delivers on its economic, environmental, and social/welfare targets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Risk and Opportunities in Complex Projects)

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17 pages, 2431 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Contracts to Build Energy Infrastructures to Optimize the OPEX

by Jesus Javier Losada-Maseda, Laura Castro-Santos, Manuel Ángel Graña-López, Ana Isabel García-Diez and Almudena Filgueira-Vizoso

Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 7232; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su12177232 - 03 Sep 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2163

Abstract

The employer (owner) of the project wants to obtain the maximum profit for the money invested and the consultant (contractor) will try to give less for that money. The regulation of their relationship is based on the contractual agreement, which in the energy sector is mainly based on the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) model. The objective of this work was to evaluate which factors should be included in the drafting of contracts, to minimize problems between the parties, and thus minimize execution costs and optimize operation and maintenance costs. Information and data on the integration of operability and maintainability criteria in contracts for 158 projects, with a total contract value of close to €40,000M, were analyzed. Several of those projects corresponded to wind, solar, and hydroelectric plants. The information collected the perception of the agents involved, and was classified according to the experience of the agents consulted in the operation and maintenance areas. Finally, the proposed criteria were prioritized. In general, the owner is willing to introduce these criteria in his contracts if they reduce the operation and maintenance cost by around 1–5%, while the contractor is interested in increasing his probability to be selected by 1–3%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Risk and Opportunities in Complex Projects)

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