An approach to rapid prototyping for a web-based risk management system
Y. B. Khoo, Mingming Zhou, Berman Kayis · 2009
One of the most significant complexities of managing concurrent engineering (CE) projects is the identification and mitigation of project risks. The challenges that project managers encounter are compounded by constantly evolving business requirements and the large volumes of data involved in such projects. In this research, rapid prototyping techniques were used to accelerate the process of developing prototypes of a web-based risk management system to address such challenges. Based on the concept of Model-Driven Architecture (MDA), InfoMAP (Information Modeling and Application Prototyping) was developed as an Eclipse Modeling Framework (EMF)-based Rich Client Platform (RCP) application to encapsulate relationships between information and system components. In particular, relationships and properties of risk types were parameterized to facilitate quantitative and qualitative refinements. InfoMAP models are made up of maps, which consist of alternating actions and entities (Zhou, 1996). The risk management system used these models to generate data structures and template-based user interfaces at run-time. There are four main models in the system: context establishment, risk identification, risk analysis, and risk monitoring. The context establishment model helps users to identify systemic problems and adopt consistent mitigation strategies through the use of shared risk profiles and management priorities. Based on this contextual information, the risk identification model provides a structured process that guides users in responding to questions that are used to determine the level of risks in projects. Using the inputs to the previous two models, the risk analysis model is used to generate suggested risk likelihood and consequence values based on historical data from previous projects. The system uses the risk monitor model to extract significant risks for users to monitor and implement mitigation strategies. The significance of risks is customized according to each project and is set by users in the context establishment model. The availability of early prototypes of the system allowed users to receive regular updates to the software and provide timely feedback. This iterative user engagement process was identified as one of the key factors that contributed to the success of the risk management system. The final production system was optimized by transforming the models into platform-specific software modules. The analysis results of the risk management system were evaluated and used to revise its accuracy in the derivation of risk levels using actual costing data from past projects.