All projects have risk. Selecting a methodology that meets the needs of the project will also have risks. Project managers must be able to assess all risks prior to the project kickoff and throughout the projects life-cycle.

Provide a risk assessment for each indicated case studies in the article

Case 1

The organization: An Israeli logistics company delivers merchandise to approximately 300 customers countrywide. Deliveries originate in a central logistic warehouse, following orders received through a third-party company linked to the company's enterprise resource planning system (ERP). Deliveries' frequency range from one to three times a week per customer on predetermined routes, ensuring maximum efficiency. Itineraries and delivery notes are printed in advance.

The project: The project's primary goal was to replace the printed itineraries and delivery notes with a mobile interface. In addition, the project would serve as a pilot for testing feasibility of ERP-based solutions for mobile for future use in the company.

The project was divided into two stages: the scope of the first stage included the delivery process. The second stage included the returns process. The first stage was scheduled to take place between January and June, 2015. This stage included one major milestone: a pilot would be conducted in April, before rollout, which was scheduled to take place during May and June. The second stage was scheduled from July to October, 2015 and included another milestone for a second pilot, followed by a quick rollout to all customers.

The project budget was estimated at US$41,000, which was determined based on the cost of the mobile devices and cost of work: 550 hours, composed of two full-time programmers (260 hrs.), one full time person (50 hrs.), and one ERP consultant (30 hrs.). This did not include the project manager, who also worked as a system analyst and tester (150 hrs.).

Project summary: The project was (and still is) managed according to internal best practices. The first stage rollout did not meet the plan, due to a technical problem and performance issues, causing a delay in the entire project. Additional causes for delay were:

• Time to learn the new technology used in the project took almost twice the time estimated.
• Management decided to delay the rollout by more than three weeks in order to collect additional data from the customers.

The project's second stage is estimated to be complete on time, but with a budget slip of approximately 20%.

Case 2