CASE STUDY Risk Management, Quality Management $10$ October $2015$

PMI Global Congress$$North America

Griffin, Joseph A$.$

How to cite this article:

Griffin, J$.$ A$.(2015).$ Have you seen my bulldozer?: a case study on why integrating the execution of risk and quality processes are critical for project success. PMI Global Congress$$North America.

Dr$.$ Joseph A$.$ Griffin, PMP

Northeastern University, College of Professional Studies

Have You Seen My Bulldozer? is a humorous and, unfortunately, true case study of how one project leader experienced an unexpected challenge when he watched a multimillion$-$dollar bulldozer sink from sight. This paper will introduce the case study and provide readers with a foundational overview of why integrating risk and quality processes is critical for project success. Both the benefits of leveraging such an approach and the consequences of failing to integrate them are explored as part of the case study. This paper provides the reader with a copy of the case study, and provides a rationale for how one can approach this case study as a means of addressing the complex challenges that one faces when managing the execution of risk and quality processes.

Introduction

This paper is different from most conference papers. Most conference papers$$at least, those I have written$$provide the reader with a detailed analysis of a particular topic for the purpose of introducing the reader to the issues one will cover as part of a conference presentation. It provides readers with a way to begin formulating the questions they want to ask when they attend the actual presentation. This is not that kind of paper. This paper provides the reader with very limited information about the actual topic$$integrating the execution of risk and quality processes. The purpose is to provide readers with the case study and some prompts so they can reflect on the case study details and on their own experiences so as to arrive at the conference session prepared to engage on the case study. The goal of the case study is to help participants apply their real$-$world experiences and knowledge to a particular situation. Often when people do this, it helps them begin to identify areas where they could benefit from a more refined or mature approach to project management. Although we are all analyzing the case study, it should lead us to analyze our own approach to integrating project quality and risk processes. Therefore, this paper contains only the case study and some considerations on project quality and risk complexity, which should serve to $$prime the pump$$ or $$jumpstart the conversation$$ that will occur when one seeks to analyze and address the challenges and situations present in the case study.

Case Study: Have You Seen My Bulldozer?

The following is the Have You Seen My Bulldozer? case study, which has been adapted from a real$-$world project. It provides relevant details and prompts to help the reader focus on key points within the case study.

Background:

Jill is a project manager at a mining company working on an open$-$pit mine project. Currently, she is working on a major deliverable$$building a $3-$mile road to the new mine site. The first phase of the road $(1\mathrm{.}3$ miles$)$ has just been finished, which the company considers a major accomplishment. The company has decided to hold an event to recognize the completion of this first major deliverable and to symbolically initiate phase two of building the road. The company has invited members of the senior leadership team; local, state, and federal elected officials; and members of key regulatory agencies and the local media to participate in this event. The organizers have decided that instead of a traditional ribbon cutting for initiating the next phase, they will have their Cat D$11$T bulldozer drive through the ribbon, breaking ground for phase $2.$

Current Issue$($s$)$:

Jill couldn't be happier about completing phase $1$ of the road. The most difficult phase is behind her, and the celebratory event has gone very well. All the $$bigwigs$$ gave their congratulatory speeches and everyone is watching the bulldozer drive through the ribbon. Jill turns to speak with the project sponsor for a couple minutes, when she hears a member of the project team screaming, $$The dozer is sinking! The dozer is sinking!$$ Uncertain if she has correctly understood her teammate, she turns and watches in frozen horror as the bulldozer steadily continues to sink into the ground. The driver is desperately trying to free the dozer, but this only seems to be quickening the decline. Within six minutes, the dozer has completely disappeared from sight.

After the initial shock has passed, Jill begins trying to answer a few specific questions:

What happened to the bulldozer, and how do we retrieve it$?$

How did this happen?

How could this have been avoided?

How can we mitigate the impact on the project?

After some initial work, Jill discovers the following answers to some of her questionsOnce Pick two of the questions