Luxor over the next several years, based upon the extrapolation of past and present data into the future. Exhibit II shows the impact that a technical risk event could have on each project. Due to the high probability of state$-$of$-$the$-$art advancements needed in the future $($i$.$e$.,95$ percent from Exhibit I$),$ the consultant identified the impact probabilities in Exhibit II for both with and without state$-$of$-$the$-$art advancement needed. Exhibits I and II confirmed management$$s fear that Luxor was in trouble. Strategic decision had to be made concerning the technical risks identified in Exhibit I, specifically the first two risks. The competition had caught up to Luxor in applications engineering and was now surpassing Luxor in patents involving State$-$of$-$the$-$art advancements. From $1992$ to $1998,$ time was considered as a luxury for the technical community at Luxor. Now time was a serious constraint. The strategic decision facing management was whether Luxor should struggle to remain a technical leader in wireless communications technology or simply console itself with a future as a $$follower$.$ Marketing was given the task of determining the potential impact of a change in strategy from a market leader to a market follower. The following list was prepared and presented to management by marketing: $1.$ The company$$s future growth rate will be limited$.2.$ Luxor will still remain strong in applications engineering but will need to outsource state$-$of$-$the$-$art development work. $3.$ Luxor will be required to provide outside vendors with proprietary information. $4.$ Luxor may no longer be vertically integrated $($i$.$e$.,$ have backward integration$).5.$ Final product costs may be heavily influenced by the costs of subcontractors. $6.$ Luxor may not be able to remain a low cost supplier. $7.$ Layoffs will be inevitable, but perhaps not in the near term. $8.$ The marketing and selling of products may need to change. Can Luxor still market products as a low$-$cost$,$ high quality, state$-$of$-$the$-$art manufacturer? $9.$ Price$-$cutting by Luxor$$s competitors could have a serious impact on Luxor$$s future ability to survive. The list presented by marketing demonstrated that there was a serious threat to Luxor$$s growth and even survival. Engineering then prepared a list of alternative courses of action that would enable Luxor to maintain its technical leadership position: $1.$ Luxor could hire $($away from the competition$)$ more staff personnel with pure and applied R&D skills. This would be a costly effort. $2.$ Luxor could slowly retrain part of its existing labor force using existing, experienced R&D personnel to conduct the training. $3.$ Luxor could fund seminars and university courses on general R&D methods, as well as R&D methods for telecommunications projects. These programs were available locally. $4.$ Luxor could use tuition reimbursement funds to pay for distance learning courses $($conducted over the Internet$).$ These were full semester programs. $5.$ Luxor could outsource technical development. $6.$ Luxor could purchase or license technology from other firms, including competitors. This assumed that competitors would agree to this at a reasonable price. $7.$ Luxor could develop joint ventures$/$mergers with other companies which, in turn, would probably require Luxor to disclose much of its proprietary knowledge. With marketing$$s and engineering$$s lists before them, Luxor$$s management had to decide which path would be best for the long term. Source: Project management Case Studies $($Harold Kerzner, Ph$.$D $2017)$ QUESTION $1(20$ Marks$)$ Risk management planning should begin as early as possible when a project is conceived and should be completed early in the project. Appraise the project life cycle diagram associated with project risks and demonstrate how the case study project risks could have been managed better through its life cycle. Ensure the correct diagram is presented and discussed comprehensively in the context of the project in the case study.