Employ the techniques for monitoring and controlling risks
You work for a major defense contractor. Your company prepared and submitted a bid for a recent Department of Defense RFP, entitled Automated Mobile Defense System (AMDS). You have been assigned to lead Project X, which will design, develop, test, demonstrate and deploy 10 AMDS units to a location to be determined by the DoD assuming a successful demonstration. This project is expected to take at least 5 years to complete at a cost of $1.5 billion. If you are successful and deliver a quality product on time and within budget, the DoD will order 150 more AMDS units at a price of $10 million per unit. The goal of Project X is to develop a defense system to protect major and strategic cities within the US in the event of a missile attack from a hostile nation. It is to be a redundant system; the last in a series of defensive weapons to be used only in the event that all other defensive systems have failed; when enemy ABMs are approaching the US and only AMDS is left to take them down.
The conceptual design for the AMDS that your company submitted in response to the RFP consists of a mobile housing unit (MHU) containing 20 anti-ballistic missiles (ABMs) based on a radically new design; an anti-missile control computer (AMCC) used to automatically target and deploy the ABMs; and a retrofitted detection device (code name: SKYEYE) built on proven, patented radar technology which your company owns. All of these devices: the ABMs, the AMCC and SKYEYE will be completely housed in the MHU, which is planned to be an enhanced18-wheel tractor-trailer. A self-contained power source (for the ABMs) and solar charged batteries for the AMCC and SKYEYE make the entire AMDS portable and completely automatic (no personnel are required to operate any of the systems). However, military personnel on a regular basis will perform routine system monitoring and maintenance, preferably from a remote site. On-site maintenance should only be needed on rare occasions expected to arise from unforeseen events such as earthquake, tornados, ice storms, etc. Should it become necessary, military personnel will move the AMDS to a location known only to them. While it was not included in the design accepted by the DoD, your company would like to be able to provide additional capability with the system: they would like the AMDS to be able to operate while it is being moved.
You are the project manager and oversee the efforts of over a dozen nuclear scientists, engineers, and technology professionals. Many of them are acquainted with the rudiments of project management, but very few know much about project risk management. You’ll need to do some education along with managing schedule, budget and scope.
Task –
You’ve already started looking ahead to the time when you’re going to analyze the project risks and apply control strategies. You also want to educate your entire project team on risk control and monitoring. Research risk control and monitoring methods, keeping Project X in mind.
**A risk template was formulated which included the risks for this project. I understand that monitoring/control are the final stages of project and essential to determine if the emphasis of degree of risks have changed or if the risks themselves have changed. Also there are the following tools/techniques available to assist in this area: However any/all assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Risk Reassessment- For Project X, risk reassessment could be included in all meetings of team members as it allow examination of the risks of the project that were determined in the various stages of the project. This will allow assessment of the risks and determination if focus should be altered in any way to decrease the liability, budgetary costs, scheduling downtown and other essential aspects.
Risk Audits- (This is also where I am hazy on how it should be done and connected with the project in question)
Variance and Trend Analysis- Various tools should be utilized to analyze and evaluate the project’s effectiveness to the ensure that the variance is neither too high or low.
Technical Performance Measurement- The performance abilities and the accomplishments of the of the software, AMB unit should be anaylzed to ensure that they are performing properly and with proper specifications. (As you can see further assistance may also be needed in this area)
5. Reserve Analysis- During the duration of the project, we should check the reserves for the budget and supplies against the remaining potential risks to ensure that we will be on time and at budget.
6. Status Meetings- In addition to the above steps, during all status meetings on Project X, we should also include project risk into these meetings to ensure that we are taking the necessary steps to understand project risk, know what our potential risks are for Project X, and know that we are doing all in our power to prevent them from occurring.
But that is about where my knowledge ends so any assistance would be appreciated
