Uncertaintieswithin Project Management
Projectmanagement can be described as the application of skills, experience,knowledge, processes and methods to attain the project objectives. Aproject, on the other hand, is a distinctive endeavor done toaccomplish planned objectives that are described regarding benefits,outcomes or outputs. There are some steps involved while undertakingproject management. Each step follows the other in a systematicmanner. An essential project management has around five phases i.e.project initiation, project definition and planning, execution,performance and control and then closure. Some systems incorporatefollow-up so as to ensure the outcomes continue to functionseffectively even after closure. In planning and managing a project,some aspects are also involved. For instance, project uncertaintieshave to be taken into consideration. A well-planned project processhas to incorporate changes and how to handle them. An uncertain evententails something that is not definite. The occurrence of an event isnot exact hence one has to preplan to ensure it is well incorporatedinto the process. It can also be described as the intangible measureof what is not known [ CITATION Fio10 l 1033 ].
Inthis paper, uncertainties within an aerospace will be discussed.Being an intensive undertaking, a project manager ought to plan thephases taking risks into consideration. By looking at the aerospaceproject, the paper will discuss how uncertainties could be captured.If they are not well handled, they can cause a project to pause oreven halt. The changing economy ought to be well monitored so that aproject does not stop due to lack of funds. In that respect, thispaper will address the effects of not having an adequate plan orhaving a dysfunctional management. As portrayed in many projects, theentire phases have to work in harmony for success to be achieved.
Theaerospace industry is one of the most highly-regulated safety-crucialindustry across many countries. The industry delivers complexproducts where errors and failures can result in reputational damageand massive financial losses. The project managers involved inconstructing efficient airplanes bear a lot of responsibility.Uncertainties involved in these complex projects are non-trivial andLegion in nature. For instance, what values should be assigned to theaerospace program yet the design has not been approved. How toascertain the development schedules yet resources are limited.Project managers have to take all these into consideration whencoming up with an efficient plan [ CITATION Cat11 l 1033 ].
Uncertaintyis one of the most crucial components of the current projectmanagement systems. As portrayed by various studies, it is one of themost researched aspects of the modern project management system.Uncertainties may arise due to different causes. For example,understanding of a problem, the complexity of the project or even dueto alterations of the timings. The tempo of undertaking a project canalso be a cause of uncertainties. Inherency of uncertain eventswithin projects is so common such that project managers have to makeconscious well-informed choices from several alternatives within theunclear areas. The aerospace industry, therefore, assigns highlyqualified managers to ensure no errors occur during the project. Theymust have the ability to make the right choices when necessary. Asimple error is quite detrimental to the entire operation of theindustry. The losses if felt are fatal hence the need to foresee theimprobable [ CITATION Mar14 l 1033 ].
Onetactic of managing uncertainty involves the extension of project riskmanagement procedures to include change. In that case, theconventional risk management system is augmented using SWOT analyses.Impact matrices are also utilized to draw out both harmful threatsand positive opportunities. The threats are hence identified andanalyzed efficiently and if possible mitigated. According to Chapmanand Ward (2000), 6 W’s have been devised to manage uncertainty i.e.Who, What and Where among others. Atkinson et al. (2006) furtheraffirm that it is necessary for the risk requirements to be addressedin each project phase. By addressing this, emphasis on clarificationof priorities, description of objectives among others could bediscussed. Applying this to the aerospace project the uncertainevents could be addressed by elongating the project risks so as toidentify each threat correctly. For instance, if the project turnsout to be more complicated than anticipated, assessing the threatscould help alleviate such fears. In some cases, estimation of fundsis quite hard. Determining the amount of funds necessary to cover thewhole process of constructing flight terminals as well as hangersmight be hard. It is quite probable to fall short when it comes tofinances. However, if the details are well captured within theanalyses of threats, it becomes easier to handle such a scenario.Many studies concur when it comes to incorporating uncertaintieswithin risk management. The uncertain event may also includeattraction of various airlines. For instance, building terminalsexpecting to add routes to individual countries. The event is unkownsince not all airlines can be attracted to the airport. In such acase, the project manager ought to assess the same during threatsassessment to minimize losses [ CITATION Joh11 l 1033 ].
Thevarious sources of uncertainties as mentioned above include finances,technical, social, external and business environment. A technicalchallenge may arise during construction of an aircraft or otheraspects of aerospace. Due to the complexity of such projects,sometimes technical issues occur. For instance, determining how tomake an airplane as light as possible without compromising safety. Itmay require collaboration from other innovators to solve such aproblem. Uncertainty can also be a positive one. A technicalbreakthrough may be achieved resulting in alteration of the project.For example, if an innovator comes up with a better method ofrealizing results while the development is ongoing, the project hasto be altered [ CITATION Bro10 l 1033 ].
Anotheruncertain event entails nature. Acts like epidemics, floods,tornadoes, and disease or weather patterns could affect the entireproject. Such occurrences cannot be easily predicted and are notbound to occur. In the aerospace setting, if one of the innovatorsfalls ill, would the project continue or come to a halt? A projectmanager should be able to capture such instances before they evenoccur. Calamities such as floods or even earthquakes are not aguarantee. However, an effective plan should incorporate suchaspects. Though the extensiveness of the calamity determinescontinuation of the project, they should not halt it. Aerospaceimmensely depends on weather patterns. In other words, for theindustry to flourish, the weather patterns have to be well monitored.Unfavorable weather patterns can hinder the progress of the industryin various facets. If the corporation foresees a rainy period, thetimetable is made by the pattern. However, if the prospected rains donot occur, the operations will be altered. In that regard, theweather patterns result in a positive alteration of the project [ CITATION Bro10 l 1033 ].
Thebusiness environment is another core factor of uncertain events.During the initiation of a project, a country may be enjoying aparticular political atmosphere. The political, market andregulations may be appropriate for the project to prosper. Anychanges to the political environment may be quite detrimental to theprogress of the project. For instance, a destabilized political scenemay deter constructors from acquiring material required for theconstruction work. Apart from that, a new regulation may be adoptedhindering the project progression. Such regulations may be touchingon the affordability of commodities. In that case, the budget has tobe revised to cater for new happenings. In the aerospace setting, ittakes quite a while to complete individual projects. Many thingschange during the project phases forcing adjustments to thedevelopment. A profound project management should be able to caterfor any events arising from the political scenes.
Stakeholdersmainly hinder some projects. They can inhibit the progression of aproject through interference on grounds of shares among other things.In the aerospace industry, it sometimes requires collaboration fromvarious innovators. In a scenario where one or more collaboratorsrefuse to cooperate, it becomes highly unlikely for the project tocontinue unless mechanisms are devised to prevent the same. A projectmanager is therefore tasked with ensuring such scenarios do not occurand if they do, alternatives ought to be in place.
Theaerospace industry is one intricate system in which care has to betaken. The uncertainties involved are quite diverse with limited roomfor error. Most of them have to consider, the weight of an airplane,capacity, and future development among others. A small error canresult in massive losses that are quite fatal in nature. In thatrespect, uncertainties have to be well monitored and incorporatedwithin risk assessment and management.
References
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Milton, J. (2011). Assessing and Preparing for Project Uncertainties. Assessing and Preparing for Project Uncertainties, 167-199.
Norris, C. (2011). Project Risk Analysis and Management. Project Risk Analysis and Management, 1-11.
Saunders, F. (2010). Confronting uncertainty: Perceptions and practices of project managers in safety critical industries. Confronting uncertainty: Perceptions and practices of project managers in safety critical industries, 1-10.