How to measure the effectiveness of risk management in engineering design projects? Presentation of RMPASS: a new method for assessing risk management performance and the impact of knowledge management—including a few results

摘要

This paper addresses the issue of assessing the performance of project risk management (RM) and knowledge management (KM) in engineering design projects. RMPASS, a new analysis method, which is easily applicable by practitioners, is presented. It uses not only subjective assessments but also objective project data in a description and an evaluation model. New RM and KM performance indicators are introduced. In a feasibility study, RMPASS was applied to three aerospace design projects. The results show that once a risk was identified, the RM ‘machinery’ worked well. Risk identification was the greatest challenge in the RM process, which can be supported by KM. Irrespective of avoidable problems (β-problems), a limit for risk identification appeared: 20% of the encountered problems could not have been anticipated in advance in the state-of-the-art aerospace new design projects examined (α-problems). This could be the uncharted ground that the company reclaims in new design projects.