Conceptualising Project Uncertainty in the Context of Building Refurbishment Safety: A Systematic Review

Project uncertainty is an inherent attribute in safety-critical projects, such as building refurbishment. While it has been suggested that project safety performance is often challenged due to project uncertainty, uncertainties are yet to be conceptualised in building refurbishment projects. The purpose of this research is to propose an industry-specific factor model of project uncertainty that can be used to diagnose and assess uncertainty in construction refurbishment research and practice. An extensive review of existing literature, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, where 53 articles were selected to identify the determinants of project uncertainty and strategies for managing uncertainty. In total, 23 project uncertainty factors were identified and clustered under the taxonomy of uncertain information, uncertain complexity, uncertain temporal clarity, and uncertain understanding. Thus, twelve management strategies for coping with uncertainty in building refurbishment projects were determined. Learning and a flexible working environment were the most frequently raised strategies among all the reviewed articles. The factor model proposed enables project managers and academics to better understand, assess and manage project uncertainty and deliver safer building refurbishment projects. As such, it also provides a sufficient platform and initiates debate towards the development of uncertainty management strategies to better prepare for surprises as projects progress.

Impact of Risk Attitude on Risk, Opportunity, and Performance Assessment of Construction Projects

This article explores the impact of risk attitude on the assessment of project uncertainty encompassing both risk and opportunity and expected project performance. A survey was conducted involving project risk management experts from the construction industry, and the data collected were analyzed using various statistical techniques. The findings reveal that the impact of risk attitude significantly varies across multiple dimensions of project uncertainty and project performance. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the association between risk attitude and project uncertainty and expected performance assessments has never been explored while capturing multiple dimensions of project uncertainty and performance.

Project management for the production of high-tech products

The features of the formation of projects for the production of high-tech products and project management are considered. The influence of uncertainties and risks on the effectiveness of innovative projects and changes in uncertainties during their implementation are investigated. Keywords: high-tech products, production project, uncertainty, risks, effectiveness. [email protected], [email protected]

Identifying Project Factors That Affect an Investor’s Escalation of Commitment in Public-Private Partnership Projects

The study comprehensively discusses 18 project factors affecting investors’ escalation of commitment (EOC) in a public-private partnership (PPP) project. Using factor analysis, five factor groupings were addressed: the project information and economic benefit, the reward and punishment mechanisms, project uncertainty, the degree of participation and completeness, and the resources invested in the project. The results revealed that the influence of five grouping factors on investor’s EOC is not independent; after performing the weight analysis, the 18 factors had different influences on EOC. These findings offer effective suggestions and theoretical guidelines for reducing the risk of investor EOC.

A Quantitative Measure For Evaluating Project Uncertainty Under Variation And Risk Effects

The effects of uncertainty on a project and the risk event as the consequence of uncertainty are analyzed. The uncertainty index is proposed as a quantitative measure for evaluating the uncertainty of a project. This is done by employing entropy as the indicator of system disorder and lack of information. By employing this index, the uncertainty of each activity and its increase due to risk effects as well as project uncertainty changes as a function of time can be assessed. The results are implemented and analyzed for a small turbojet engine development project as the case study. The results of this study can be useful for project managers and other stakeholders for selecting the most effective risk management and uncertainty controlling method.