Degree to Which Project Managers Have Implemented Risk Management Planning, Identification, Evaluation and Strategies within Information Systems Projects

Abstract

The purpose and overall goal of the study is to further develop an understanding of the degree to which Information Systems project managers have implemented risk management planning, identification, evaluation and strategies within projects. The population selected for study consisted of 651 Information Systems Development (ISD) project managers who are responsible for managing the ISD components of projects who are members of the Project Management Institute Information Systems Specific Interest Group (PMI-ISSIG). With almost 90,000 members worldwide, PMI is the leading nonprofit professional association in the area of Project Management.

The survey was constructed using the Project Risk Management Processes Checklist to determine the nature of risk management processes utilized within ISD projects. As well, the survey was development using the Risk Management Maturity Checklist for the purposes of constructing questions to assess the degree to which risk project management activities are occurring as well as the level of risk-maturity associated with these efforts.

The research design selected for the study was an exploratory survey design. The implementation of an exploratory survey design permits the researcher to explore and discover relationships among a large number of variables within a study. The main purpose is to establish whether two variables are related, and if so, establish the direction of the observed relationship.

Using comparisons of means, it was found that on average, both years experience and education level effected how respondents viewed risk management strategies. In general, as education increased and as years experience increased, respondents thought that risk management strategies were being employed more often.

It appears that when upper management and clients were involved in the implementation of risk management techniques, those techniques were far more likely to be implemented across the board.

About the Author

Dr. Snyder holds a DBA from Argosy University with specialization in Information Systems. He has an MBA from City University, Washington State, and a BA in Behavioral Science from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

He has over twenty-three years of managerial, technical and training experience in the field of Information Systems. Dr. Snyder has instructed Management and Information Systems courses in both corporate and university environments since 1983 and has twenty years of management experience working in various corporate environments.

Dr. Snyder currently is a full time faculty member at National University's Costa Mesa campus in the School of Engineering and Technology.

Dr. Snyder has published on Information Systems Development Project Risk Management.

Dr. Snyder has taught at the following colleges: American InterContinental University, Argosy University, California State University, San Bernardino, California National University, College of Notre Dame, Jones International University, National University, Riverside Community College, Saddleback Community College, Southeastern University, Webster University