PM War Stories #16 – Mitigating Risks in Project Management

Download PMW_0016_Mitigating_Risks.mp3 (21.2 MB)

Uncertainty is inherent to all projects.  Good project managers have developed their own strategies to both manage and mitigate project uncertainties that can have either a positive or negative impact on a project's outcome.  To further complicate matters, project managers must face overlapping or conflicting views of risk by both the business side and the project team.  What separates the good project managers from the bad is the ability not to only plan for project uncertainities, but the ability to manage risk across the entire organization.

In this episode we will examine the evaluation and management of project risk in its appropriate context, as well as how professional services organizations can mitigate risk when selecting an enterprise resource planning system or ERP system.

Our show is divided into 2 segments.

In part 1, we will be talking to industry insider, Dr. Wilhelm Kross, who is a recognized expert in the fields of risk- and project management. Currently he is President of the PMI Frankfurt Chapter and a Senior Vice President with Marsh GmbH, a subsidiary of Marsh - the world's leading insurance broker and strategic risk advisor. During his career, Dr. Kross has focused on IT mega-projects, crisis and turnaround management, and operational risk audits and management assignments in more than 30 countries. In this episode he will be sharing his insights and experiences in the management of complex and troubled projects while mitigating risks.

In Part 2, the Technology Corner, we sit down with David Hofferberth, who has over 20 years experience in the information technology industry. David is the Managing Director at Service Performance Insight, covering the services economy, with particular emphasis on white-collar productivity issues.  His area of specialization is the technologies that enable peak performance of people and service organizations. In this episode he discusses how ERP technology can provide business benefits and how to make effective ERP purchase and deployment decisions.

We hope you enjoy the show and encourage you to send your questions, issues, and war stories.

Music Notes

1. The opening of the episode – “Country” by The Videos 
2. Interview with industry insider – “Risk your life” by Flipper Dave
3. Technology Corner  – “Integration is InteGREAT” by Csub1
4. The closing of the episode – “PSA” by DynaMic Produktionz