THE IMPACT OF RISK CHECKLISTS ON PROJECT MANAGER\u27S RISK PERCEPTION AND DECISION-MAKING PROCESS

Risk checklists are often used to assist project managers to identify the potential risks in software projects. Previous study found that the checklists can help managers identify more risks, but the number of risks identified doesn’t significantly correlate with managers’ decision. This might because some risk items could play more important role than other risk items in manager’s decision-making process. This paper uses a survey-based research method to investigate the weight of different risk items on project manager’s risk perception and decision-making. This research will be carried out in two phases: 1) Pilot study. A questionnaire will be developed and administrated to college students. The result will be analyzed and research instrument will be modified based on the feedback. 2). Formal study. A group of IT project managers will be recruited and the revised instrument will be sent to them for participation. A detailed research design is presented

Risk Profiles in Individual Software Development and Packaged Software Implementation Projects: A Delphi Study at a German-Based Financial Services Company

The aim of this paper is to compare risk profiles of individual software development (ISD) and packaged software implementation (PSI) projects. While researchers have investigated risks in either PSI projects or ISD projects, an integrated perspective on how the risk profiles of these two types of information system (IS) projects differ is missing. To explore these differences, this work conducted a Delphi study at a German-based financial services company. The results suggest that: First, ISD projects seem to be more heterogeneous and face a larger variety of risks than the more straightforward PSI projects. Second, ISD projects seem to be particularly prone to risks related to sponsorship, requirements, and project organization. Third, PSI projects tend to be predominantly subject to risks related to technology, project planning, and project completion. Finally, in contrast to available lists of risks in IS projects and irrespective of the project type, the paper found a surprisingly high prominence of technology and testing-related risks

IMPROVING ISD AGILITY IN FAST-MOVING SOFTWARE ORGANIZATIONS

Fast-moving software organizations must respond quickly to changing technological options and mar-ket trends while delivering high-quality services at competitive prices. Improving agility of infor-mation systems development (ISD) may reconcile these inherent tensions, but previous research of agility predominantly focused separately on managing either the individual project or the organiza-tion. Limited research has investigated the management that ties the agility of individual projects with the company agility characterizing fast-moving organizations. This paper reports an action research study on how to improve ISD agility in a fast-moving software organization. The study maps central problems in the ISD management to direct improvements of agility. Our following intervention ad-dressed method improvements in defining types of ISD by customer relations and integrating the method with the task management tool used by the organization. The paper discusses how the action research contributes to our understanding of ISD agility in fast-moving software organizations with a framework for mapping and evaluating improvements of agility. The action research specifically points out that project managers need to attend to the company’s agility in relating to customers, that company agility links to project agility, and that this requires light method and tool support

Improving Communication Between Cancer Patients and Providers During a 15-Minute Office Visit: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments for cancer often experience adverse side effects, including cognitive deficits. These deficits impact the patient\u27s ability to communicate effectively with their oncology provider. Ineffective communication can adversely affect patient outcomes and decrease patient-provider satisfaction. The resulting poor communication can contribute to poor patient outcomes. This systematic literature review focused on assistive communication tools that could be used in an outpatient oncology setting to improve patient-provider communication. The literature review findings led to the development of a resource for providers that includes 15 communication tools that can be used to assess and improve communication in cancer care. Initially 4, 533 articles were identified using the search terms; cancer patient/providers, communication tools, chemo brain, and improving/ineffective communications. Articles were selected for inclusion that included communication tools, which assisted oncology providers in improving cancer care. Articles were excluded if they were not specific to cancer patients and did not contain communication tools. Analysis of the systematic review of the literature utilized Bandolier\u27s hierarchy levels of evidence. The Health Promotion Model serves as the theoretical framework to guide the project. Oncology providers that utilized communication tools with patients found an 116% improvement in documentation of symptoms, adverse effects, and corresponding medical management compared to providers who did not use communication tools. Implementation of communication tools in outpatient oncology settings can result in a positive social change in the patient-provider relationship during cancer treatment

Mitigating Cognitive Biases in Risk Identification: Practitioner Checklist for the Aerospace Sector

This research contributes an operational checklist for mitigating cognitive biases in the aerospace sector risk management process. The Risk Identification and Evaluation Bias Reduction Checklist includes steps for grounding the risk identification and evaluation activities in past project experiences, through historical data, and the importance of incorporating multiple methods and perspectives to guard against optimism and a singular project instantiation focused view. The authors developed a survey to elicit subject matter expert (SME) judgment on the value of the checklist to support its use in government and industry as a risk management tool. The survey also provided insights on bias mitigation strategies and lessons learned. This checklist addresses the deficiency in the literature in providing operational steps for the practitioner for bias reduction in risk management in the aerospace sector

QPLAN: Decision support for evaluating planning quality in software development projects

Decisions about whether or not to approve a project plan for execution are critical. A decision to continue with a bad plan may lead to a failed project, whereas requesting unnecessary additional planning for an already high-quality plan may be counterproductive. However, these decisions can be influenced by psychological biases, such as the endowment effect, optimism bias and ambiguity effect, which are enhanced when uncertainty is substantial and information incomplete. As a result, a non-biased model for evaluating the quality of project planning is important to improve planning approval decisions and resource allocation. This paper introduces a novel artifact (QPLAN) that evaluates and improves planning quality, and a case study to demonstrate its effectiveness within a business environment