PM Network

Are you managing an automation project? Better get ready to up your risk management game. Whether it is robotic manufacturing or analysis of large amounts of data, project managers must be extra careful about errors that might be magnified in deployment.

One of the severest consequences of an automation problem happened in Britain when an algorithm failure in an automated health service system prevented women from receiving a digital reminder to schedule their mammograms. Some 450,000 patients in England missed breast-cancer screenings.

The cover story in October PM Network^® will tell you how to anticipate the worst in automation projects. It also goes into what happens when you don’t take care to thoroughly plan, test and execute. Project managers quoted in the article recommend sitting with workers who perform tasks that will be automated to check whether their actions align with what was previously documented.

Leaving something out is a big, big risk. A telecom project team failed to fully integrate the operations and business support systems, resulting in customers receiving services but not getting billed for them. Uh-oh. A 20 percent budget increase was needed to fix the problem.

Testing is key to identifying unknown risks and ensuring effective deployments. The testing phase must be well-planned and comprehensive. But project teams need to balance the testing need with the reality of potential post-deployment problems. Having good data and documentation will help mitigate those risks and ensure the automation project delivers long-term benefits.

Finally, do not ignore the human risk. That refers to team members and other workers losing their jobs as a result of automation.

What is your experience with automation projects and the associated risks?

One of the most enjoyable and interesting benefits of reading PM Network is learning about industries that weren’t even imaginable just a short time ago. One such project sector is grid-scale electric battery storage plants.

As part of efforts to make renewable energy sources more reliable, companies are building battery capacity to store electricity to use when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. The market for power storage is predicted to grow at a 60 percent compound annual growth rate through 2020. In the U.S., this market is estimated to increase tenfold between 2016 and 2022, reaching US$3.2 billion.

Because this type of project is so new, project managers face risks connected with lack of regulation and codes. Teams must have expert knowledge of battery storage systems so plans can be approved through existing power-sector regulations. A related challenge is transitioning the building project to operations staff, who may have never before managed such facilities.

Teams are overcoming these challenges and getting the battery plants online quickly, providing benefits to sponsoring companies and dependable renewable power. One of the more dramatic moves was made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who promised the government of South Australia, home to the world’s largest lithium-ion battery facility, an operational plant in 100 days after an agreement was signed—or else it was free.

Read all about this and other new and exciting project sectors each month in PM Network—this month more than usual, “the power of project management. Exclusively for PMI members. Every month.”

Now here’s a project for you to propose to your executives. How about developing a plan for when things do go wrong—a risk management approach. In a “Getting It Done” column in August PM Network, Alexander Strazmesterov, PMP, takes readers through seven steps to help you develop a risk management blueprint and implement it successfully—as a project.

1. Form a knowledgeable team, develop a charter and agree on roles and responsibilities, including how to involve decision makers.
2. Establish a phased approach, allowing upper management to give feedback at specific times.
3. Analyze the current situation. Be honest and thorough when examining your organization’s risk management, risk attitude and behaviors.
4. Tailor your approach according to the size of projects.
5. Take a test drive via pilot projects on which elements of the new risk management approach can be tested.
6. Develop a training program that’s practical and suited to various stakeholder groups.
7. Ensure a facilitated implementation, once the approach has been verified through pilot applications.

A thorough update of organization-wide risk management processes, says the author, can benefit every project executed by your employer now and into the future.

There are many parts of the world right now where stability is not a given and the only sure bet is uncertainty. One of those places is the United Kingdom. The U.K. government’s March triggering of the formal process to leave the European Union within two years has led to fears of major impacts on projects both locally and across Europe.

Many U.K. organizations have experienced delays in decision making. They are wondering how Brexit will reshape regulations, labor markets and currency rates. These delays sometimes have brought projects to a halt. Talent-shortage worries are a concern as well.

Some are predicting that transformation specialists and compliance specialists will be in high demand as multinational organizations deal with Brexit.

Read all about this important topic in August PM Network. Are your projects affected by this uncertainty? Please let us know in the comments.