Programmatic Risk Management:

A “not so simple” introduction to the

complex but critical process of building a

“credible” schedule

Program Planning and Controls Workshop, Denver, Colorado

October 6th and October 14th 2008

Programmatic Risk Management Work (Handbook)

Agenda

Duration Topic

20 Minutes Risk Management in Five Easy Pieces

15 Minutes Basic Statistics for programmatic risk management

15 Minutes Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) theory

20 Minutes Mechanics of MSFT Project and Risk+

15 Minutes Programmatic Risk Ranking

15 Minutes Building a Credible schedule

20 Minutes Conclusion

120 Minutes

When we say “Risk Management”

What do we really mean?

Five Easy Pieces†:

The Essentials of

Managing

Programmatic Risk

Managing the risk to cost, schedule, and technical performance is the

basis of a successful project management method. † With apologies to Carole Eastman and Bob Rafelson for their 1970 film staring Jack Nicholson

Risk in Five Easy Pieces

Hope is Not a Strategy

A Strategy is the plan to successfully complete the project

If the project’s success factors, the processes that deliver them, the alternatives when they fail, and the measurement of this success are not defined in meaningful ways for both the customer and managers of the project – Hope is the only strategy left.

When General Custer was completely surrounded, his chief scout asked, “General what's our strategy?” Custer replied, “The first thing we need to do is make a note to ourselves – never get in this situation again.”

Hope is not a strategy!

Risk in Five Easy Pieces

No Single Point Estimate can be correct without

knowing the variance

Single Point Estimates use sample data to

calculate a single value (a statistic) that serves as

a "best guess" for an unknown (fixed or random)

population parameter

Bayesian Inference is a statistical inference

where evidence or observations are used to infer

the probability that a hypothesis may be true

Identifying underlying statistical behavior of the

cost and schedule parameters of the project is the

first step in forecasting future behavior

Without this information and the model in which it

is used any statements about cost, schedule and

completion dates are a 50/50 guesses

When estimating

cost and duration

for planning

purposes using

Point Estimates

results in the

least likely result.

A result with a

50/50 chance of

being true.

Risk in Five Easy Pieces

Without Integrating $, Time, and TPM

you’re driving in the rearview mirror

Addressing customer satisfaction means incorporating

product requirements and planned quality into the

Performance Measurement Baseline to assure the true

performance of the project is made visible.

Technical Performance (TPM)

Risk in Five Easy Pieces

Without a model for risk management, you’re driving in the dark with the headlights turn off

Risk Management means using a proven risk management process, adapting this to the project environment, and using this process for everyday decision making.

The Risk

Management

process to the

right is used by

the US DOD and

differs from the

PMI approach in

how the

processes areas

are arranged.

The key is to

understand the

relationships

between these

areas.

Risk in Five Easy Pieces

Risk Communication is …

An interactive process of exchange of information and opinion among individuals, groups, and institutions; often involving multiple messages about the nature of risk or expressing concerns, opinions, or reactions to risk messages or to legal or institutional arrangements for risk management.

Bad news is not wine. It does not improve with age — Colin Powell

Risk in Five Easy Pieces

Basic Statistics for Programmatic

Risk Management

Since all point estimates are wrong, statistical estimates will be needed

to construct a credible cost and schedule model

Basic Statistics

Uncertainty and Risk are not the same

thing – don’t confuse them

Uncertainty stems from

unknown probability

distributions

– Requirements change impacts

– Budget Perturbations

– Re–work, and re–test phenomena

– Contractual arrangements

(contract type, prime/sub

relationships, etc)

– Potential for disaster (labor

troubles, shuttle loss, satellite

“falls over”, war, hurricanes, etc.)

– Probability that if a discrete event

occurs it will invoke a project

delay

Risk stems from known

probability distributions

– Cost estimating methodology risk

resulting from improper models of

cost

– Cost factors such as inflation,

labor rates, labor rate burdens,

etc

– Configuration risk (variation in the

technical inputs)

– Schedule and technical risk

coupling

– Correlation between risk

distributions

Basic Statistics

There are 2 types of Uncertainty

encountered in cost and schedule

Static uncertainty is natural variation and foreseen risks

– Uncertainty about the value of a parameter

Dynamic uncertainty is unforeseen uncertainty and “chaos”

– Stochastic changes in the underlying environment

– System time delays, interactions between the network elements, positive and negative feedback loops

– Internal dependencies

Basic Statistics

The Multiple Sources of Schedule Uncertainty

and Sorting Them Out is the Role of Planning

Unknown interactions drive

uncertainty

Dynamic uncertainty can be

addressed by flexibility in the

schedule – On ramps

– Off ramps

– Alternative paths

– Schedule “crashing” opportunities

Modeling of this dynamic

uncertainty requires simulation

rather than static PERT based path

assessment – Changes in critical path are

dependent on time and state of the

network

– The result is a stochastic network

Basic Statistics

Statistics at a Glance

Probability distribution – A

function that describes the

probabilities of possible outcomes

in a "sample space.”

Random variable – variable a

function of the result of a

statistical experiment in which

each outcome has a definite

probability of occurrence.

Determinism – a theory that

phenomena are causally

determined by preceding events or

natural laws.

Standard deviation (sigma value) –

An index that characterizes the

dispersion among the values in a

population.

Bias –The expected deviation of the

expected value of a statistical

estimate from the quantity it

estimates.

Correlation – A measure of the joint

impact of two variables upon each

other that reflects the simultaneous

variation of quantities.

Percentile – A value on a scale of

100 indicating the percent of a

distribution that is equal to or

below it.

Monte Carlo sampling – A modeling

technique that employs random

sampling to simulate a population

being studied.

Basic Statistics

Statistics Versus Probability

In building a risk tolerant

schedule, we’re interested in the

probability of a successful

outcome – “What is the probability of making a

desired completion date?”

But the underlying statistics of the

tasks influence this probability

The statistics of the tasks, their

arrangement in a network of tasks

and correlation define how this

probability based estimated

developed.

Basic Statistics

Each path and each task along that path has a

probability distribution

Any path could be critical depending on the convolution of the

underlying task completion time probability distribution functions

The independence or

dependency of each task

with others in the network,

greatly influences the

outcome of the total project

duration

Understanding this

dependence is critical to

assessing the credibility of

the plan as well as the total

completion time of that plan

Basic Statistics

Probability Distribution Functions are the Life

Blood of good planning

Probability of

occurrence as a

function of the

number of

samples

“The number of

times a task

duration appears

in a Monte Carlo

simulation”

Basic Statistics

Statistics of a Triangle Distribution

Triangle

distributions are

useful when there

is limited

information about

the characteristics

of the random

variables are all

that is available.

This is common in

project cost and

schedule estimates.

Mode = 2000 hrs

Median = 3415 hrs

Mean = 3879 hrs

Minimum

1000 hrs

Maximum

6830 hrs

50% of all possible values are under

this area of the curve. This is the

definition of the median

Basic Statistics

Basics of Monte Carlo Simulation

Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often

vague, than an exact answer to the wrong question, which can always

be made precise. — John W. Tukey, 1962 Basics of Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo Simulation

Yes Monte Carlo is named after the

country full of casinos located on

the French Rivera

Advantages of Monte Carlo over

PERT is that Monte Carlo…

– Examines all paths, not just the critical

path

– Provides an accurate (true) estimate of

completion

• Overall duration distribution

• Confidence interval (accuracy range)

– Sensitivity analysis of interacting tasks

– Varied activity distribution types – not restricted to Beta

– Schedule logic can include branching – both probabilistic and conditional

– When resource loaded schedules are used – provides integrated cost and schedule

probabilistic model

Basics of Monte Carlo

First let’s be convinced that PERT has

limited usefulness

The original paper (Malcolm 1959) states

– The method is “the best that could be done in a real

situation within tight time constraints.”

– The time constraint was One Month

The PERT time made the assumption that the

standard deviation was about 1/6 of the range (b–

a), resulting in the PERT formula.

It has been shown that the PERT mean and

standard deviation formulas are poor

approximations for most Beta distributions (Keefer

1983 and Keefer 1993).

– Errors up to 40% are possible for the PERT mean

– Errors up to 550% are possible for the PERT standard

deviation

Basics of Monte Carlo

Critical Path and Mostly Likelies

Critical Path’s are Deterministic – At least one path exists through

the network

– The critical path is identified by

adding the “single point” estimates

– The critical predicts the completion

date only if everything goes

according to plan (we all know this

of course)

Schedule execution is Probabilistic

– There is a likelihood that some durations will comprise a path that is off the critical path

– The single number for the estimate – the “single point estimate” is in fact a most likely estimate

– The completion date is not the most likely date, but is a confidence interval in the probability distribution function resulting from the convolution of all the distributions along all the paths to the completion of the project

Basics of Monte Carlo

Deterministic PERT Uses Three Point

Estimates In A Static Manner

Durations are defined as three point estimates

– These estimates are very subjective if captured individually by asking…

– “What is the Minimum, Maximum, and Most Likely”

Critical path is defined from these

estimates is the algebraic addition of

three point estimates

Project duration is based on the

algebraic addition of the times along

the critical path

This approach has some serious

problems from the outset

– Durations must be independent

– Most likely is not the same as the

average

Basics of Monte Carlo

Foundation of Monte Carlo Theory

George Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon,

asked what was the probability that the needle

would fall across one of the lines, marked in

green.

That outcome occurs only if: sinA l

Basics of Monte Carlo

Mechanics of Risk+ integrated with

Microsoft Project

Any credible schedule is a credible model of its dynamic behavior. This

starts with a Monte Carlo model of the schedule’s network of tasks

Mechanics of Risk+

The Simplest Risk+ elements

Task to “watch”

(Number3)

Most Likely

(Duration3)

Pessimistic

(Duration2)

Optimistic

(Duration1)

Distribution

(Number1)

Mechanics of Risk+

The output of Risk+

The height of each box indicates how often the project complete in a given interval during the run

The S–Curve shows the cumulative probability of completing on or before a given date.

The standard deviation of the completion date and the 95% confidence interval of the expected completion date are in the same units as the “most likely remaining duration” field in the schedule

Date: 9/26/2005 2:14:02 PMSamples: 500Unique ID: 10Name: Task 10

Completion Std Deviation: 4.83 days95% Confidence Interval: 0.42 daysEach bar represents 2 days

Completion Date

Fre

qu

en

cy

Cu

mu

lative

Pro

ba

bili

ty

3/1/062/10/06 3/17/06

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.8

0.9

1.0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

0.12

0.14

0.16 Completion Probability Table

Prob ProbDate Date0.05 2/17/060.10 2/21/060.15 2/22/060.20 2/22/060.25 2/23/060.30 2/24/060.35 2/27/060.40 2/27/060.45 2/28/060.50 3/1/06

0.55 3/1/060.60 3/2/060.65 3/3/060.70 3/3/060.75 3/6/060.80 3/7/060.85 3/8/060.90 3/9/060.95 3/13/061.00 3/17/06

Task to “watch”

80% confidence

that task will

complete by

3/7/06

Mechanics of Risk+

A Well Formed Risk+ Schedule

For Risk+ to provide useful information, the underlying schedule must

be well formed on some simple way.

Mechanics of Risk+

A Well formed Risk+ Schedule

A good critical path network

– No constraint dates

– Lowest level tasks have predecessors and

successors

– 80% of relationships are finish to start

Identify risk tasks

– These are “reporting tasks”

– Identify the preview task to watch during

simulation runs

Defining the probability distribution profile for each task

– Bulk assignment is an easy way to start

– A – F ranking is another approach

– Individual risk profile assignments is best but tedious

Mechanics of Risk+

Analyzing the Risk+ Simulation

Risk+ generates one or more of the following outputs:

– Earliest, expected, and latest completion date for each reporting task

– Graphical and tabular displays of the completion date distribution for each reporting task

– The standard deviation and confidence interval for the completion date distribution for each reporting task

– The criticality index (percentage of time on the critical path) for each task

– The duration mean and standard deviation for each task

– Minimum, expected, and maximum cost for the total project

– Graphical and tabular displays of cost distribution for the total project

– The standard deviation and confidence interval for cost at the total project level

Mechanics of Risk+

Programmatic Risk Ranking

The variance in task duration must be defined in some systematic way.

Capturing three point values is the least desirable.

Programmatic Risk Ranking

Thinking about risk ranking

These classifications can be used to avoid asking the “3

point” question for each task

This information will be maintained in the IMS

When updates are made the percentage change can be

applied across all tasks

Classification Uncertainty Overrun

A Routine, been done before Low 0% to 2%

B Routine, but possible difficulties Medium to Low 2% to 5%

C Development, with little technical difficulty Medium 5% to 10%

D Development, but some technical difficulty Medium High 10% to 15%

E Significant effort, technical challenge High 15% to 25%

F No experience in this area Very High 25% to 50%

Programmatic Risk Ranking

Steps in characterizing uncertainty

Use an “envelope” method to characterize the minimum,

maximum and “most likely”

Fit this data to a statistical distribution

Use conservative assumptions

Apply greater uncertainty to less mature technologies

Confirm analysis matches intuition

Remember Sir Francis Bacon’s quote

about beginning with uncertainty and

ending with certainty.

If we start with a what we think is a

valid number we will tend to continue

with that valid number.

When in fact we should speak only in

terms of confidence intervals and

probabilities of success.

Programmatic Risk Ranking

Sobering observations about 3 point

estimates when asking engineers

In 1979, Tversky and Kahneman proposed an alternative to Utility theory. Prospect theory asserts that people make predictably irrational decisions.

The way that a choice of decisions is presented can sway a person to choose the less rational decision from a set of options.

Once a problem is clearly and reasonably presented, rarely does a person think outside the bounds of the frame.

Source: – “The Causes of Risk Taking By Project Managers,”

Proceedings of the Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium November 1–10, 2001 • Nashville, Tennessee

– Tversky, Amos, and Daniel Kahneman. 1981. The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice. Science 211 (January 30): 453–458

Programmatic Risk Ranking

Building a Credible Schedule

A credible schedule contains a well formed network, explicit risk

mitigations, proper margin for these risks, and a clear and concise

critical path(s). All of this is prologue to analyzing the schedule. Building a Credible Schedule

Good schedules have a contingency plans

The schedule contingency

needed to make the plan credible

can be derived from the Risk+

analysis

The schedule contingency is the

amount of time added (or

subtracted) from the baseline

schedule necessary to achieve

the desired probability of an under

run or over run.

The schedule contingency can be determined through

– Monte Carlo simulations (Risk+)

– Best judgment from previous experience

– Percentage factors based on historical experience

– Correlation analysis for dependency impacts

Is This Our

Contingency

Plan ?

Building a Credible Schedule

Schedule quality and accuracy

Accuracy range

– Similar for each estimate class

Consistent with estimate

– Level of project definition

– Purpose

– Preparation effort

Monte Carlo simulation

– Analysis of results shows quality attained versus the quality sought

(expected accuracy ranges)

Achieving specified accuracy requirements

– Select value at end points of confidence interval

– Calculate percentages from base schedule completion date, including

the contingency

Building a Credible Schedule

Technical Performance Measures

Technical Performance Measures are one method of showing risk by

done

– Specific actions taken in the IMS to move the compliance forward toward the

goal

Activities that

assessing the

increasing compliance

to the technical

performance measure

can be show in the

IMS

– These can be

Accomplishment

Criteria

Building a Credible Schedule

The Monte Carlo Process starts with the 3 point

estimates

Estimates of the task duration are still needed, just

like they are in PERT

– Three point estimates could be used

– But risk ranking and algorithmic generation of the

“spreads” is a better approach

Duration estimates must be parametric rather than

numeric values

– A geometric scale of parametric risk is one approach

Branching probabilities need to be defined

– Conditional paths through the schedule can be evaluated

using Monte Carlo tools

– This also demonstrate explicit risk mitigation planning to

answer the question “what if this happens?”

These three

point estimates

are not the PERT

ones.

They are derived

from the ordinal

risk ranking

process.

This allows them

to be “calibrated”

for the domain,

correlated with

the technical risk

model.

Building a Credible Schedule

Expert Judgment is required to build a Risk

Management approach

Expert judgment is typically the basis of cost and schedule

estimates

– Expert judgment is usually the weakest area of process and

quantification

– Translating from English (SOW) to mathematics (probabilistic

risk model) is usually inconsistent at best and erroneous at

worst

One approach

– Plan for the “best case” and preclude a self–fulfilling

prophesy

– Budget for the “most likely” and recognize risks and

uncertainties

– Protect for the “worst case” and acknowledge the conceivable

in the risk mitigation plan

The credibility of the “best case” estimates if crucial to the

success of this approach

Building the

variance

values for the

ordinal risk

rank is a

technical

process,

requiring

engineering

judgment.

Building a Credible Schedule

Guiding the Risk Factor Process requires

careful weighting of each level of risk

For tasks marked “Low” a reasonable

approach is to score the maximum 10%

greater than the minimum.

The “Most Likely” is then scored as a

geometric progression for the remaining

categories with a common ratio of 1.5

Tasks marked “Very High” are bound at

200% of minimum.

– No viable project manager would like a task

grow to three times the planned duration

without intervention

The geometric progress is somewhat

arbitrary but it should be used instead of

a linear progression

Min Most

Likely

Max

Low 1.0 1.04 1.10

Low+ 1.0 1.06 1.15

Moderate 1.0 1.09 1.24

Moderate+ 1.0 1.14 1.36

High 1.0 1.20 1.55

High+ 1.0 1.30 1.85

Very High 1.0 1.46 2.30

Very High+ 1.0 1.68 3.00

Building a Credible Schedule

Assume now we have a well formed schedule – now

what?

With all the “bone head” elements

removed, we can say we have a

well formed schedule

But the real role of Planning is to

forecast the future, provide

alternative Plan’s for this forecast

and actively engage all the

participants in the projects in the

Planning Process

For the role of

PP&C is to

move “reporting

past

performance” to

“forecasting

future

performance” it

must break the

mold of using

static models of

cost and

schedule

Building a Credible Schedule

We’re really after the management of schedule

margin as part of planning

Plan the risk alternatives that

“might” be needed

– Each mitigation has a Plan B

branch

– Keep alternatives as simple as

possible (maybe one task)

Assess probability of the alternative

occurring

Assign duration and resource

estimates to both branches

Turn off for alternative for a

“success” path assessment

Turn off primary for a “failure” path

assessment

30% Probability

of failure

70% Probability

of success

Plan B

Plan A Current Margin Future Margin

80% Confidence for completion

with current margin

Duration of Plan B Plan A + Margin

Building a Credible Schedule

Successful margin management requires the

reuse of unused durations

Programmatic Margin is added between

Development, Production and Integration

& Test phases

Risk Margin is added to the IMS where

risk alternatives are identified

Margin that is not used in the IMS for risk

mitigation will be moved to the next

sequence of risk alternatives

– This enables us to buy back schedule margin

for activities further downstream

– This enables us to control the ripple effect of

schedule shifts on Margin activities

5 Days Margin

5 Days Margin

Plan B

Plan A

Plan B

Plan AFirst Identified Risk Alternative in IMS

Second Identified Risk

Alternative in IMS

3 Days Margin Used

Downstream

Activities shifted to

left 2 daysDuration of Plan B < Plan A + Margin

2 days will be added

to this margin task

to bring schedule

back on track

Building a Credible Schedule

Simulation Considerations

Schedule logic and constraints – Simplify logic – model only paths which, by

inspection, may have a significant bearing on the final result

– Correlate similar activities

– No open ends

– Use only finish–to–start relationships with no lags

– Model relationships other than finish–to–start as activities with base durations equal to the lag value

– Eliminate all date constraints

– Consider using branching for known alternatives

Building a Credible Schedule

The contents of the schedule

Constraints

Lead/Lag

Task relationships

Durations

Network topology

Building a Credible Schedule

Simulation Considerations

Selection of Probability Distributions

– Develop schedule simulation inputs concurrently

with the cost estimate

• Early in process – use same subject matter experts

• Convert confidence intervals into probability duration

distributions

– Number of distributions vary depending on

software

– Difficult to develop inputs required for

distributions

– Beta and Lognormal better than triangular; avoid

exclusive use of Normal distribution

Building a Credible Schedule

Sensitivity Analysis describes which

tasks drive the completion times

Concentrates on inputs most likely to

improve quality (accuracy)

Identifies most promising opportunities

where additional work will help to

narrow input ranges

Methods

– Run multiple simulations

– Use criticality index

– “Tornado” or Pareto graph

Building a Credible Schedule

What we get in the end is a Credible

Model of the schedule

Concept generator from Ramon

Lull’s Ars Magna (C. 1300)

All models are wrong. Some

models are useful.

– George Box (1919 – )

Building a Credible Schedule

Conclusion

At this point there is too much information. Processing this information

will take time, patience, and most of all practice with the tools and the

results they produce. Conclusion

Conclusions

Project schedule status must be

assessed in terms of a critical path

through the schedule network

Because the actual durations of each

task in the network are uncertain (they

are random variables following a

probability distribution function), the

project schedule duration must be

modeled statistically

Conclusion

Conclusions

Quality (accuracy) is measured at the end points of achieved confidence interval (suggest 80% level)

Simulation results depend on: – Accuracy and care taken with base schedule

logic

– Use of subject matter experts to establish inputs

– Selection of appropriate distribution types

– Through analysis of multiple critical paths

– Understanding which activities and paths have the greatest potential impact

Conclusion

Conclusions

Cost and schedule estimates are made up of many independent elements. – When each element is planned as best case – e.g. a

probability of achievement of 10%

– The probability of achieving best case for a two–element estimate is 1%

– For three elements, 0.01%

– For many elements, infinitesimal

– In effect, it is zero.

In the beginning no attempt should be made to distinguish between risk and uncertainty – Risk involves uncertainty but it is indeed more

– For initial purposes it is unimportant

– The effect is combined into one statistical factor called “risk,” which can be described by a single probability distribution function

Conclusion

What are we really after in the end?

As the program

proceeds so

does:

– Increasing

accuracy

– Reduced

schedule risk

– Increasing

visual

confirmation

that success

can be reached

Current Estimate Accuracy

Conclusion

Points to remember

Good project management is good risk

management

Risk management is how adults manage projects

The only thing we manage is project risk

Risks impact objectives

Risks come from the decisions we make while

trying to achieve the objectives

Risks require a factual condition and have potential

negative consequences that must be mitigated in

the schedule

Conclusion

Usage is needed before understanding is

acquired

Here and elsewhere, we shall not

obtain the best insights into things

until we actually see them growing

from the beginning.

— Aristotle

Conclusion

The End

This is actually the beginning, since building a risk tolerant, credible,

robust schedule requires constant “execution” of the plan.

A planning algorithm from

Aristotle’s De Motu Animalium

c. 400 BC

Conclusion

Resources

1. “The Parameters of the Classical PERT: An Assessment of its Success,” Rafael Herrerias Pleguezuelo, http://www.cyta.com.ar/biblioteca/bddoc/bdlibros/pert_van/PARAMETROS.PDF

2. “Advanced Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis,” David T. Hulett, Hulett & Associates, http://www.projectrisk.com/index.html

3. “Schedule Risk Analysis Simplified,” David T. Hulett, Hulett & Associates, http://www.projectrisk.com/index.html

4. “Project Risk Management: A Combined Analytical Hierarchy Process and Decision Tree Approach,” Prasanta Kumar Dey, Cost Engineering, Vol. 44, No. 3, March 2002.

5. “Adding Probability to Your ‘Swiss Army Knife’,” John C. Goodpasture, Proceedings of the 30th Annual Project Management Institute 1999 Seminars and Symposium, October, 1999.

6. “Modeling Uncertainty in Project Scheduling,” Patrick Leach, Proceedings of the 2005 Crystal Ball User Conference

7. “Near Critical Paths Create Violations in the PERT Assumptions of Normality,” Frank Pokladnik and Robert Hill, University of Houston, Clear Lake, http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/dsi/2003/procs/237–4203.pdf

Resources

Resources

8. “Teaching SuPERT,” Kenneth R. MacLeod and Paul F. Petersen, Proceedings of the Decision Sciences 2003 Annual Meeting, Washington DC, http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/research/dsi/2003/by_track_paper.html

9. “The Beginning of the Monte Carlo Method,” N. Metropolis, Los Alamos Science, Special Issue, 1987. http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00326866.pdf

10. “Defining a Beta Distribution Function for Construction Simulation,” Javier Fente, Kraig Knutson, Cliff Schexnayder, Proceedings of the 1999 Winter Simulation Conference.

11. “The Basics of Monte Carlo Simulation: A Tutorial,” S. Kandaswamy, Proceedings of the Project Management Institute Annual Seminars & Symposium, November, 2001.

12. “The Mother of All Guesses: A User Friendly Guide to Statistical Estimation,” Francois Melese and David Rose, Armed Forces Comptroller, 1998, http://www.nps.navy.mil/drmi/graphics/StatGuide–web.pdf

13. “Inverse Statistical Estimation via Order Statistics: A Resolution of the Ill–Posed Inverse problem of PERT Scheduling,” William F. Pickard, Inverse Problems 20, pp. 1565–1581, 2004

Resources

Resources

14. “Schedule Risk Analysis: Why It Is Important and How to Do It, “Stephen A.

Book, Proceedings of the Ground Systems Architecture Workshop (GSAW

2002), Aerospace Corporation, March 2002,

http://sunset.usc.edu/GSAW/gsaw2002/s11a/book.pdf

15. “Evaluation of the Risk Analysis and Cost Management (RACM) Model,”

Matthew S. Goldberg, Institute for Defense Analysis, 1998.

http://www.thedacs.com/topics/earnedvalue/racm.pdf

16. “PERT Completion Times Revisited,” Fred E. Williams, School of

Management, University of Michigan–Flint, July 2005,

http://som.umflint.edu/yener/PERT%20Completion%20Revisited.htm

17. “Overcoming Project Risk: Lessons from the PERIL Database,” Tom Hendrick

, Program Manager, Hewlett Packard, 2003,

http://www.failureproofprojects.com/Risky.pdf

18. “The Heart of Risk Management: Teaching Project Teams to Combat Risk,”

Bruce Chadbourne, 30th Annual Project Management Institute 1999 Seminara

and Symposium, October 1999,

http://www.risksig.com/Articles/pmi1999/rkalt01.pdf

Resources

Resources

20. Project Risk Management Resource List, NASA Headquarters Library,

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/hqlibrary/ppm/ppm22.htm#art

21. “Quantify Risk to Manage Cost and Schedule,” Fred Raymond, Acquisition

Quarterly, Spring 1999, http://www.dau.mil/pubs/arq/99arq/raymond.pdf

22. “Continuous Risk Management,” Cost Analysis Symposium, April 2005,

http://www1.jsc.nasa.gov/bu2/conferences/NCAS2005/papers/5C_–

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