Project Risk Management Implementation in SMEs: Case Study Report

This report analyzes the implementation of project risk management (PRM) in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), based on a case study from Italy. The study examines the main issues, including strategic and organizational risks such as ineffective task assignment and the absence of a risk register, leading to reduced project effectiveness. The techniques used for risk identification and analysis included context analysis, stakeholder analysis, brainstorming, interviews, and the 5 Whys technique, alongside cost-benefit analysis. The article highlights the contribution of the study by addressing the gap in empirical evidence concerning PRM adoption in SMEs, providing insights into the phases, tools, and procedures necessary for successful implementation. The report emphasizes the importance of PRM for SMEs and the positive cost-benefit ratio achievable through its adoption.

Running head: PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT
PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT
Name of Student
Name of University
Author’s Note

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The article is named as “project risk management implementation in SMEs: A case
study from Italy”, the authors of this particular article are Priscila Ferreira de Araujo Lima
and Chiara Verbano. The article had been published in the year of 2018, the volume number
of the article is 14 and it consists of 10 pages. This article reflects of the findings of ISO
31000: 2009, it states that risk could be defined as a particular effect, in the aspects of
optimistic or damaging nonconformity from the product that has been expected and resulted
from the uncertainty on the objectives that have been targeted.
Main issue
Among numerous issues, the main issues that was identified in the article is strategic
risks, these issues impended a particular user adoption that is effective in nature. Along with
various organizational risks such as operational risks, there were strategic risks as well, the
leaders could not sort our whom to assign with which tasks, there were numerous experts
having similar skills but there limited tasks relevant to that particular skill (Lima & Verbano,
2019). This ad created an issue in the project, people were assigned with tasks in which they
did not have any expertise. Due to this various tasks were to be performed by unskilled
employees and hence reduction of the effectiveness of the project had taken place. One more
risk among the category of strategic risk include the inability to creation of a risk register.
The team members had a casual approach towards the creation of the risk register, this had
resulted in inability to identify other risks within the project. One more strategy that had
failed in its usage include risk prioritization. This strategy was not used in the project which
had resulted in minimum effectiveness of the efforts of the project.
Techniques used
For the purpose of risk identification as well as analysis, the techniques that have been
used include context analysis, analysis of stakeholders, identification of opportunities and

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risks. Some more techniques were brainstorming, interviews with numerous expert, technique
of 5 Whys, SWOT analysis. The technique that was commonly used include technique of 5
Whys along with a cost benefit analysis, gaining a particular qualitative estimation of various
risks that have been identified (Lima & Verbano, 2019). This techniques had helped in
detecting the user adoption as a particular risk along with the evaluation of team members.
Some more techniques that had been used include risk mitigation as well as risk transfer.
Contribution
This particular article contributes in reflecting in the fact that the dispersion of project
risk management has been made restricted to the huge businesses. This usually rends to leave
a lack of empirical evidence which addresses the medium or small sized organizations. This
paper contributes in analysing the way by which PRM could be adopted in SMEs along with
a cost benefit ratio that is positive in nature with the phases of risk management help of
considering the phases of risk management, tools of activities, instruments, organizations
aspects including numerous procedures which help in enabling the proper implementation of
PRM in SMEs.

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References
Lima, P. F. D. A., & Verbano, C. (2019). Project Risk Management Implementation in
SMEs: A Case Study from Italy. Journal of technology management &
innovation, 14(1), 3-10.