Irizar, Jose and Wynn, Martin G (2014). Centricity in Project Risk Management: Towards a Conceptual Framework for Improved Practice. CENTRIC 2014 : The Seventh International Conference on Advances in Human-oriented

Most organisations engage in major projects during their life cycle, and effective project management is increasingly accepted as a necessary competence in larger companies. Nevertheless, a considerable proportion of projects continue to fail to meet their due dates, exceed budget, do not deliver to specification, miss quality standards, or fall short on customer expectations. The effective management of project risk is a major component of this problem, and central to its resolution, and yet the theory of risk management remains relatively undeveloped and its practice is often poorly executed. This paper examines how the concept of centricity can be applied to some key elements of risk management to develop a conceptual framework that highlights some of the shortcomings of current practice and suggests alternative ways forward. This model will be tested and evolved through primary case studies of risk management in major projects in the automotive industry.