RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN SCOPE AND IDENTIFICATION 5 Christopher Mihun Risk Management Plan Scope and Identification – Sydney Opera House Project PM650-1801B-01 Professor Al-Nizami Risks Associated with the Project The development of the Sydney Opera House was scheduled to be completed in 4 years with a budget of around AUD 7 million. But the project ended costing more than AUD 102 million and 14 years to complete. The risks associated with the development of the project include: i. Incomplete designs which resulted in poor structural planning and delivery of the project. ii. Poor stakeholder involvement in the due process and project planning iii. Lack of project leadership from the project manager iv. Lack of project progress reports and this hampered the performance appraisals v. Poor Cost Estimates and budgeting vi. Incomplete designs requirement gathering vii. Failure to keep within the cost estimate. viii. Inability to meet the completion timeline ix. Changes in project scope and requirements. x. Project scope and design changes. xi. Lack of project change controls and Scope of the project xii. The pressure to deliver projects on an accelerated schedule. xiii. Inaccurate contract time estimates. xiv. Lack of communication between project participants. xv. Inadequately defined roles and responsibilities. xvi. Insufficient skilled staff. xvii. Political risks. xviii. Poor task and roles assigning among the project stakeholders xix. Inexperienced project managers xx. Lack of stakeholders engagement in the development of the project development Techniques Used to Identify the Risks There are different techniques which can be used in the risk identification and this will be critical to risk assessment and management in any project. Based on the project carried and developed by the Sydney Opera House, risk identification was conducted through the use of risk screening using risk registers and identification of the risk associated with the project (Shenhar, Aaron, & Dvir, 2007). The risk registers as indicated in the table below, it indicates the process of meeting and identification of the critical risks which impacts the different phases of the project. The project considers the development of a construction project which takes into consideration process of planning, site reconnaissance and survey. It is only possible by ensuring there is a process for engaging in the managerial of risks and their root causes. Therefore, through root cause analysis, the risks as identified were analyzed and this helped in the planning, development and recognition of the necessary and ideal breakdown phases or work structures(National Research Council, 2005). The risks identified also were conducted through work uncertainties and checking the work phases such as planning on the phases and plotting the risks through risk registers. Risk registers indicates the ranking the risks in terms of impacts, probability and hazard level. Stak ...

1. RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN SCOPE AND IDENTIFICATION
5
Christopher Mihun
Risk Management Plan Scope and Identification – Sydney Opera
House Project
PM650-1801B-01
Professor Al-Nizami
Risks Associated with the Project
The development of the Sydney Opera House was scheduled to
be completed in 4 years with a budget of around AUD 7 million.
But the project ended costing more than AUD 102 million and
14 years to complete. The risks associated with the development
of the project include:
i. Incomplete designs which resulted in poor structural planning
and delivery of the project.
ii. Poor stakeholder involvement in the due process and project
planning
iii. Lack of project leadership from the project manager
iv. Lack of project progress reports and this hampered the
performance appraisals
v. Poor Cost Estimates and budgeting
vi. Incomplete designs requirement gathering
vii. Failure to keep within the cost estimate.

2. viii. Inability to meet the completion timeline
ix. Changes in project scope and requirements.
x. Project scope and design changes.
xi. Lack of project change controls and Scope of the project
xii. The pressure to deliver projects on an accelerated schedule.
xiii. Inaccurate contract time estimates.
xiv. Lack of communication between project participants.
xv. Inadequately defined roles and responsibilities.
xvi. Insufficient skilled staff.
xvii. Political risks.
xviii. Poor task and roles assigning among the project
stakeholders
xix. Inexperienced project managers
xx. Lack of stakeholders engagement in the development of the
project development
Techniques Used to Identify the Risks
There are different techniques which can be used in the risk
identification and this will be critical to risk assessment and
management in any project. Based on the project carried and
developed by the Sydney Opera House, risk identification was
conducted through the use of risk screening using risk registers
and identification of the risk associated with the project

3. (Shenhar, Aaron, & Dvir, 2007). The risk registers as indicated
in the table below, it indicates the process of meeting and
identification of the critical risks which impacts the different
phases of the project. The project considers the development of
a construction project which takes into consideration process of
planning, site reconnaissance and survey. It is only possible by
ensuring there is a process for engaging in the managerial of
risks and their root causes. Therefore, through root cause
analysis, the risks as identified were analyzed and this helped in
the planning, development and recognition of the necessary and
ideal breakdown phases or work structures(National Research
Council, 2005). The risks identified also were conducted
through work uncertainties and checking the work phases such
as planning on the phases and plotting the risks through risk
registers. Risk registers indicates the ranking the risks in terms
of impacts, probability and hazard level.
Stakeholders involved in the Risk Process
The risk identification involves all the stakeholders of the
project. In this case study, stakeholders of the Sydney opera
house include: the engineers in the design and system analysts
in gathering the facts from the owners, the New South Wales
Government. The stakeholders are the active members in the
designing of the project (National Research Council, 2005). The
architecture planning and designing was the sole responsibility
of architect Utzon. They are able to identify the risks and
develop the root cause analysis in the gathering of facts and
designing of the opera house. The incomplete designs was due
to the change in the scope of the project. The owner, the New
South Wales Government considered the process of choosing
the right to change the scope of the project. This impacted the
responsibility of the architect and how to fully develop the
project without completion of its designs. The financing of the
house such the New South Wales Government also faced
challenges in financial budgeting and allocations of resources to
the construction of the opera house.

4. Qualitative and Quantitative Risk Ranking
Risk
Probability
Impact
Hazard Level
1. Poor Cost Estimates and budgeting
3
3
Critical
2. Incomplete designs
1
4
High
3. Failure to keep within the cost estimate.
3
4
Critical
4. Inability to meet the completion timeline
4
3
Critical
5. Changes in project scope and requirements.
1
3
High
6. Project scope and design changes.
2
2
Low
7. Pressure to deliver project on an accelerated schedule.
2
2
Low
8. Inaccurate contract time estimate.
3

5. 4
Critical
9. Lack of communication between project participants.
3
4
Critical
10. Inadequately defined roles and responsibilities.
1
4
High
11. Insufficient skilled staff.
1
2
Low
12. Political risks.
4
2
Medium
13. Lack of stakeholders involvement in the project
development and progress
3
4
Critical
14. Inexperienced project managers
2
4
High
15. Poor and lack of task and role assigning amongst the
stakeholders of the project.
3
4
High
16. Lack of project change and scope control of the project
4
5
Critical

6. 17. Lack of project progress reports and this hampered the
performance appraisals.
2
4
High
18. Poor stakeholder involvement in the due process and project
planning
2
5
Critical
19. Poor project manager leadership
2
4
High
20. Poor project design planning in meeting the structural
planning and delivery of the project.
3
5
Critical
Project Sponsor’s Risk Tolerance Level
With the objectives of the architect and the client clashing, the
time and cost of the project was ignored, which in turn proved
to be very problematic. In the long run of the project, the New
South Wales government decided to change the architect, which
did not do the project any good either in cost or time
management. As the project manager and sponsor for the Opera
House development, it did not meet the expectations, process
and planning to improve and help in the support and operational
performance (McNeil, Frey, & Embrechts, 2015). The sponsor
needed clarification on the project, which accelerated the
project from the initial 3 phases to 4 phases of the construction
design. The sponsor also had a low level risk assessment and
management or consideration. The initial financial budgeting
for the project was as AUD 7million and a timeline of 4 year to
the completion of the project. Eventually, the project cost more

7. than AUD102 million covering 14 years of development. This
indicates poor planning and resource management from the
project sponsor.
References
Bent, F. (2014). What You Should Know About Megaprojects
And Why: An Overview. Project Management Journal, 45.2, 6-
19.
Edwards, L. (1995). Practical Risk Management In The
Construction Industry. Thomas Telford.
McNeil, A. J., Frey, R., & Embrechts, P. (2015). Quantitative
risk management: Concepts, techniques and tools. Princeton
university press.
National Research Council. (2005). The Owner's Role in Project
Risk Management. National Academies Press.
NSW, G.O.V (2018). About Sydney Opera House. Retrieved Feb
17, 2018, from: http://www.eoi.es/blogs/cristinagarcia-
ochoa/2012/01/14/the-sidney-opera-house-construction-a-case-
of-project-management-failure/
Phil, N., Harrington, M., &Parker. D. (2012). Leadership
Performance Is Significant To Project Success Or Failure: A
Critical Analysis. International Journal Of Productivity And
Performance Management, 61.2 ,204-216.
Shenhar, Aaron, & Dvir, D. (2007). Project Management
Research-The Challenge And Opportunity. Project Management
Journal, 38.2, 93.
Smith, N. J., Merna, T., & Jobling, P. (2009). Managing Risk:
In Construction Projects. John Wiley & Sons.
Utzon, J. (2002). ‘Design Principles: Sydney Opera House.
Utzon Design Principles. Sydney: Sydney Opera House.