Page 141 - Global Project Management Handbook

6-10 STATE OF THE ART OF GLOBAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project life cycle
Program Preproject Engineering
decision planning & design Construction Operations

Primary application Secondary application
= Potential application points
FIGURE 6.1 Application of the IPRA tool during the project life cycle.

Individuals involved with the project should become familiar with the format of the IPRA
tool and use the IPRA project assessment worksheets when evaluating a project. Two types
of worksheets are available—the difference between them being that participants have the
option of selecting their own relative impact level or using the baseline relative impact for
each element. Table 6.7 gives an example of one of the 14 categories within the worksheets,
showing the structure of the IPRA tool with the baseline values. The baseline is intended for
use when specific values are unavailable or when project participants have little knowledge
of the potential consequences. (Users of the nonbaseline assessment sheets determine their
own level of relative impact, and no baseline is provided.) The mechanics of this process and
of completing an assessment are outlined in succeeding sections.

HOW TO ASSESS A PROJECT

To assess the project, each of the 82 elements must be addressed. Individual elements must
be evaluated by using either of the detailed assessment worksheets in conjunction with the
IPRA risk elements descriptions document, where detailed descriptions and checklists of

concern are provided for each element. Project team members should refer to these defini-
tions and go through the checklist before they rate likelihood of occurrence and relative
impact. This initial evaluation ultimately facilitates a greater understanding of the risk.
Using the element descriptions and associated checklists as guides, the team evalu-
ates the project based on the issues raised by the assessment process. This process
requires common sense and reasonable judgment. The IPRA tool is a process tool to
help identify and assess risks associated with international projects, but it does not
provide solutions to these jurisdiction-specific issues. It should be noted that one of
the key requirements for performing an adequate assessment is to make sure that
knowledgeable participants are included, including business, project management, and
operations representatives.
The likelihood of occurrence combined with the relative impact at the time of the
assessment determines the relative importance of the risk. The difference between the
perceived and actual risks of any IPRA element depends on the knowledge levels of
the project participants and includes such things as
● Availability of information
● Experience and expertise of project participants