Project managers and professionals in construction, property, civil engineering and transport planning need to base their decisions on realistic information. For this they require a sound understanding of risk and of people's attitudes towards it.
The focus of the second edition of John Raftery's successful and well-established text Risk Analysis in Project Management has been expanded to encompass the entire risk management process and to provide a fuller presentation of how risk is perceived by the general public. This new material is covered in two new chapters on risk identification and risk response and by a complete reorganisation of the chapters on risk analysis.
The style is still very straightforward and easy to read, but there is an increased attention to the theory underlying the principles, and an expanded bibliography is given for those wishing to examine the subject in greater detail. Risk management is demystified by presenting the subject in simple and practical terms, free of technical jargon. Case studies are used extensively to illustrate the concepts discussed.
The authors of Risk Management in Projects present a persuasive argument, that for risk management to be ultimately successful it must be inclusive and reflect the legitimate interests of all the stakeholders, including the general public. One of the authors' stated aims is to encourage managers and professionals to recognise and value the full diversity of interests in a project and to engender a sense of collective responsibility throughout the supply chain in order to manage effectively both risks and opportunities. In this regard it achieves its aim; for example, some books on the subject of risk management only explain risk in the abstract, whereas this book goes further by examining the practical application of risk and what to do when things go wrong.
The book is based on a series of workshops, consultancies and research projects undertaken by the authors over the past 25 years, involving some of the largest international clients, consultants and contractors in Australia, but also involving some operating in Europe, Asia and America. By frequently drawing upon this experience and providing numerous practical examples and case studies of how research and theory can be of great value in managing major engineering, building and facilities management projects, the book demonstrates how innovative companies can utilise best practice and contemporary risk management research to drive system and cultural reform.
This is an easily accessible book which will provide invaluable assistance to those in the construction industry who are seeking to manage project risks in a manner that gains widest possible community support.
