PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT: DEVELOPING A RISK FRAMEWORK FOR TRANSLATION PROJECTS A dissertation submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Elena S. Dunne August, 2013 © Copyright by Elena S. Dunne 2013 All Rights Reserved ii Dissertation written by Elena S. Dunne B.A., Voronezh State University – Voronezh, Russia, 2000 M.A., Kent State University – Kent, OH, USA, 2003 Ph.D., Kent State University – Kent, OH, USA, 2013 Approved by ______________________________, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Gregory M. Shreve ______________________________, Members, Doctoral Dissertation Committee Françoise Massardier-Kenney ______________________________, Sue Ellen Wright ______________________________, Jayaram Muthuswamy ______________________________, Graduate Faculty Representative Frederick W. Schroath Accepted by ______________________________, Chair, Department of Modern and Classical Keiran J. Dunne Language Studies ______________________________, Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Raymond A. Craig iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ IX LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... X DEDICATION............................................................................................................... XII ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................... XIII INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 1. PROJECT BACKGROUND, QUESTIONS AND CONCEPTS ......... 7 1.1 Project Background ................................................................................................... 7 1.1.1 Language Industry .............................................................................................. 8 1.1.2 Risk Management in the Language Industry .................................................... 11 1.1.3 Risk Management and Translation Studies ...................................................... 19 1.2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................ 23 1.2.1 Implementing Risk Management in the Language Industry ............................. 23 1.3 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................ 24 1.4 Concepts ...................................................................................................................... 27 1.4.1 Project ............................................................................................................... 27 1.4.2 Project Management ......................................................................................... 28 1.4.3 Maturity Model ................................................................................................. 30 iv 1.4.4 Risk and Uncertainty ........................................................................................ 33 1.4.5 Risk Management ............................................................................................. 44 1.4.6 Risk Management Processes ............................................................................. 45 CHAPTER 2. REVIEW OF EXISTING PROJECT RISK MANAGEMENT MODELS ............................................................................................................. 48 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 48 2.2 The PMI Risk Management Framework..................................................................... 48 2.2.1 PMBOK® Guide ............................................................................................... 51 2.2.2 Practice Standard for Project Risk Management .............................................. 60 2.2.3 Risk Management Processes ............................................................................. 61 2.2.4 Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) ..................................................................... 64 2.3 ISO Standards ............................................................................................................. 66 2.3.1 Overview ........................................................................................................... 66 2.3.2 ISO 31000 ......................................................................................................... 67 2.3.3 Comparison of ISO 31000 Processes with the PMI Risk Management Processes 69 2.4 PRINCE2 and M_o_R ................................................................................................ 75 2.5 Selection of Risk Management Framework ................................................................ 81 CHAPTER 3. DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANSLATION-SPECIFIC MODEL ...... 82 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 82 v 3.2 RBS for Translation Projects ...................................................................................... 83 3.2.1 Activity-related Sources of Risk ....................................................................... 85 3.2.2 Project Management-Level Sources of Risk .................................................. 101 3.2.3 Organizational Sources of Risk ...................................................................... 103 3.2.4 External Sources of Risk ................................................................................ 105 3.2.5 Technical Sources of Risk .............................................................................. 118 3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 121 CHAPTER 4. METHODOLOGY ............................................................................... 123 4.1 The Case for a Case Study ........................................................................................ 123 4.2 Background Setting ................................................................................................... 125 4.3 Participants ................................................................................................................ 126 4.4 Design ....................................................................................................................... 127 4.4.1 Objectives ....................................................................................................... 128 4.4.2 Implementation Timeline ................................................................................ 129 4.4.3 Responsibilities ............................................................................................... 129 4.4.4 Preparation of Training Documents ................................................................ 130 4.4.5 Pre-implementation Procedures and Measurements ....................................... 132 4.4.6 Training ........................................................................................................... 135 4.4.7 Risk Management Program Implementation .................................................. 135 4.4.8 Post-implementation Procedures and Measurements ..................................... 136 vi 4.5 Materials ................................................................................................................... 138 4.6 Conducting Case Study ............................................................................................. 139 CHAPTER 5. RESULTS .............................................................................................. 144 5.1 Qualitative Findings .................................................................................................. 145 5.1.1 Case Descriptions ........................................................................................... 145 5.1.2 Risk Management Training Feedback ............................................................ 175 5.1.3 Feedback on Risk Management Process and Templates ................................ 178 5.2 Quantitative Findings ................................................................................................ 179 5.2.1 Profit Margins ................................................................................................. 179 5.2.2 Number of Risk Events in Reviewed Projects ................................................ 179 5.2.3 Risk Management Maturity Level Assessment .............................................. 180 CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS .................................................................................. 191 6.1 Discussion of Findings .............................................................................................. 191 6.1.1 Verification of Risk Sources Model ............................................................... 192 6.1.2 Impact of Risk Management Program Implementation .................................. 202 6.1.3 Discussion of Risk Management Training and Templates ............................. 224 6.2 Summary of the Findings .......................................................................................... 228 6.2.1 Implementation of a Generic Project Risk Management Framework ...........