Assessing the impact of risk factors in public projects.

Abstract

The aim of this “Master’s dissertation” is to assess the impact of risk factors in a highway project. A short reference to the definition of project, project types, as well as to the history of public projects in Greece, will be done. The principles, the international standards, and the organizations of project management will be mentioned as the risk assessment is part of project management (PM). The Greek approach to PM through the years will be discussed. An extended literature research, the experts’ opinions, and writers experience used to classify and identify the risk factors that affect a highway project. The classification was done relevant to the stages of the project (design, construction, operational stage), and based on crucial factors that affect the viability of it (time, cost, environment, quality, and safety). The assessment based on a questionnaire survey. A five-point Likert scale used for the answers. The questionnaire consisted of two parts. The first one refers to the demographic facts of the respondents (education, working experience, etc.), while the second part included the proposed risk factors based on the probabilities, they will occur during the life cycle of the project. A First Approach (FA) through graphs and tables was performed. The second step was the evaluation and analysis of the survey with the use of Relative Importance Index (RII). The last step of the analysis was the investigation about the perception of risks regarding the working experience, with the use of Analysis of Variance. Finally, conclusions were stated according to the RII analysis and the performed ANOVA tests, regarding the risk factors that may occur during the life-time circle of a highway project, and a comparison between the FA analysis and the results of the RII analysis is performed.