Risk management of total product-development projects - A case study of Semcon

Abstract

Background and problem: The problem of this thesis concerns the existence of project failures in companies caused by poor knowledge and poor use of project management and project risk management. There is a gap between the recommendations in the literature on how projects and the risks connected to projects should be managed and how it is actually done in practice. We have analysed how well a high-technological company, conducting work in project form, uses project management and project risk management theory in order to avoid project failures. Semcon develops products featuring the latest technology in projects for external customers and is one of Scandinavia's leading design and competence companies. The business is conducted through external consulting activities and through taking full responsibility for product-development projects. Semcon’s objective is to grow by taking on more commercial product-development projects. The high complexity of the projects places Semcon in a situation where it is important to manage the risks facing the projects. Semcon has had problems with losses and even failure in some of their product-development projects. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is, therefore, to analyse how Semcon works with project management and project risk management. An identification of risks was done and Semcon’s risk management process was analysed. Limitations: The empirical study will only be done on Semcon’s project management and project risk management. Method: A qualitative case-study strategy is applied since qualitative research obtains a deeper knowledge of the studied phenomenon in its context. The qualitative method is flexible to the extent that new information that appears in the initial phase of the analysis can lead to improvements in the wording of questions. We studied literature in the field of project management and project risk management and made several interviews with employees at Semcon. Conclusion: The most relevant conclusion is that Semcon needs to develop and implement a more standardized method for project management and project risk management if they are to create growth by taking on more projects.