The human side of managing risks in high-tech product developments

A two-year field study into technology-based product developments examines risk management approaches. The findings show the critical importance of identifying and dealing with risks early in the development cycle. This requires sophisticated look-ahead simulation and rapid prototyping techniques, supported by modern information technology, as well as broad-scanning across all segments of the project organization. Managers must foster a work environment where people can deal with the uncertainties, ambiguities, and organizational imperfections. The critical importance of reducing complexity on all aspects of the product design and its organizational processes is discussed. To be effective as "risk managers", project team leaders must be capable of more than understanding the tools and techniques of enterprise risk management. They must also understand the infrastructure of their organization and deal with the complex social, technical and economic issues that determine the culture and value system of the enterprise.