Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product

Development Projects
Dušan Gošnik

The aim of this research was to study new product development (npd)
projects-related risks and the literature in this field, as well as to deve-
lop a specific extended model of managing risks in npd projects, which
will consider the nature of npd projects. Data were collected with the
help of the developed questionnaire, and project managers with seve-
ral years of experience in the field of npd projects were included. The
data and hypotheses were tested with the use of statistical methods. Re-
sults of the study show that for npd projects, it seems to be crucial to
plan risks in the early stages of the project, especially focused on the
definition of the technical requirements for the product and the related
clear project objectives. Poorly defined technical requirements for the
product present an important risk related with the design uncertainty
of the product. The more imprecise the technical requirements for the
product before the project starts, the higher is the design uncertainty
of the product after its development. Unclear project objectives have
a significant effect on the time-delay of npd projects. The more im-
precisely the project objectives are defined before the project starts, the
greater is the time-delay on the npd project.
Key Words: project management risk, factors, product development,
planning, model
jel Classification: m11

Introduction
New product development (npd) projects are often managed to achi-
eve a faster time-to-market objective through a shorter iterative process
(Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn 2007). Many different approaches, such
as concurrent engineering and team work are adopted to achieve that
objective (Salamone 1995). This leads to achievement of the right design
in the first attempt and helps attain clarity for the issues in the imple-
mentation phase of the project, resulting in overall lower development
costs and quicker response to the market as compared to a traditional
over-the-wall approach (Jo, Parasaei, and Sullivan 1993). The design pro-

Dušan Gošnik is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Management

Koper, University of Primorska, Slovenia.
Managing Global Transitions 9 (1): 15–37
16 Dušan Gošnik

cess determines the product geometry, materials, functional specificati-

ons, machining processes, assembly sequences, tools, and equipment ne-
cessary to manufacture a product (Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn 2007).
Production plans and control tools, such as inventory controls, resource
allocations and job scheduling, are other important outputs of the design
process.
It can be detected that design influences to a great extent the qua-
lity and the cost of the product (Salmone 1995; Jo, Parasaei, and Sullivan
1993). Shortcomings in the product design process result in extra costs
generated through project delays, penalties, an excess of materials used,
labor, additional operations, resource relocations, additional planning,
and re-scheduling. They are all related to different risks. Therefore, ma-
nagement of the risk has to be employed in all these stages of a project.
Several definitions of risk are available in the literature, as in the follo-
wing examples. Risk management presents one of the main areas of the
project management (Palčič et al. 2007). Risk management is a life-cycle
process which covers the project from its definition to customer service.
Risk focuses on the avoidance of loss from unexpected events (Williams
1995). Risk is usually referred to as an exposure to losses in a project
(Webb 1994; Chapman and Ward 1997) or as a probability of losses in a
project (Larson and Kusiak 1996; Remenyi and Heafield 1996; Taha 1997).
While uncertainty is not measurable, it can be estimated through subjec-
tive assessment techniques (Raftery 1994). The risk management process
refers to uncovering weaknesses in methods used in product develop-
ment through a structured approach, so that timely treatment actions
are initiated to avoid risk, transfer risk, reduce risk, or reduce risk im-
pact (Risk Management Standard as/nzs 4360 1999). It is an organized
proactive process of identification, measurement and developing, selec-
ting, and managing options for handling those risks (Kerzner 2004). The
risk management process blends itself to product design and develop-
ment, as changes and interactions in the design stage cost less than chan-
ges initiated in the implementation phase (Salamone 1995; Jo, Parasaei,
and Sullivan 1993). Early discovery of risk events leading to downstream
losses is much more preferable than treating losses when they cannot be
prevented (Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn 2007).
In the literature, different authors offer different approaches which
help us to manage risk on the projects. An overview of some of the mo-
dels is presented in table 1.
Tseng, Kyelleberg, and Lu (2003) have identified a four-stage risk ma-

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 17

table 1 Overview – risk management as a several stage process by different authors

Author Risk management process Stages
Mulcahy 5-step risk management Risk management planning, risk iden-
(2003) process tification, risk analysis, risk response
planning, risk monitoring and control.
Raz and Michael 4-step risk management Identification, assessment, treatment,
(2001) process monitoring.
Chapman 9-step risk management Definition, strategic approach, identifi-
(1998; 2001) process cation, information structuring, owner-
ship, uncertainty estimation, magnitude
of risks, response, monitoring and con-
trolling.
Klein and Cork 4-step risk management Identification, analysis, control, repor-
(1998) process ting.
Fairley (1994) 7-step risk management Identification, assessment, treatment,
process monitoring, contingency planning,
managing the crisis, recovery from crisis.

nagement process; risk identification, analysis, response development

and control (Tseng, Kyelleberg, and Lu 2003). Durofee uses a four-stage
process to manage risk; risk identification, quantification, response deve-
lopment and control (Durofee et al. 1996). Klein and Cork have described
risk management as a four-phase process: risk identification, analysis,
control and reporting (Klein and Cork 1998). Boehm (Boehm 2001) su-
ggested risk assessment (identification, analysis and prioritization) and
risk control (risk management planning, risk solution and risk moni-
toring planning, tracking and corrective action). Chapman (Chapman
1998) proposed seven phases: definition, strategic approach, uncertainty
estimation, magnitude of risks, response, monitoring and controlling.
Fairley (Fairley 1994) proposed seven steps: identification, assessment,
mitigation, monitoring, contingency planning, managing the crisis and
recovery from the crisis.
Thus, risk management models are generally composed of four sta-
ges (Conroy and Soltan 1998; Raz and Michael 2001): risk identification,
risk assessment, risk treatment and risk monitoring. Several risk types
are included in every npd project. These risks are also covered in project
management literature (Chapman 2001; Kayis et al. 2003; Kusumo et al.
2003; Zhou et al. 2002). Also Stare (2004) defines the risk management
process as a five-stage process: risk identification, evaluation and struc-
turing; risk evaluation; risk planning; risk control and corrective actions.

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

18 Dušan Gošnik

Risks can also be of different categories, such as business-, project- or

product-related risks.

Risk Identification
Risk identification is studying a situation to realize what could go wrong
in the product design and development project at any given point of time
during the project. Sources of risk and potential consequences need to be
identified before they can be acted upon and mitigated. Experts in their
own domain have intuitive methods of recognizing a risk situation. As
such, the identification tools presented in this section are more general
in nature and need a collaborative approach so that all aspects of the
project are examined for risk situations (Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn
2007).
The description of the risk types is as follows (Kayis et al. 2007):
1. Schedule risk – is a plan of procedures for a specific project with
reference to a sequence of operations that encapsulates the milesto-
nes, task dependencies, lead times, production planning, etc.
2. Technical risk – is related to a professional trade involving mechani-
cal, industrial or applied sciences. It includes design specific issues
as well as manufacturing specific issues such as quality assurance,
product/process design, technological know-how, innovation and
technical support.
3. External risk – is related to any issues with regard to any parties out-
side of the organization (e. g. changes in customer requirements)
despite the ‘Design with’ customers as the core approach adopted.
Furthermore, legal, government, regulatory requirements, etc., are
considered as well.
4. Organizational risk – is related to the management or administra-
tion personnel of the business. More specifically it is defined by the
organizational structure, ownership, stakeholders, leadership and
the organization’s culture.
5. Communication risk – is the ability to effectively convey ideas and
information within the company and externally to suppliers and
customers. Communication encompasses language barriers, cultu-
ral differences and communication channels.
6. Location risk – is the physical distance/barrier between two respec-
tive parties, including their geographic location, proximity to each
other, number of project sites and their size.

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 19

7. Resource risk – is the available capabilities relating to supplies or

support, including material, labor, equipment and facility specific
issues.
8. Financial risk – is related to monetary receipts and expenditure.
More specifically, it includes currency exchange rates, inflation,
budget and costs.
Several tolls can be used for risk identification, such as:
• checklists,
• an influence diagram,
• failure mode and effect analysis (fmea),
• hazard and operability study (hazop),
• fault tree analysis,
• event tree analysis, and similar.
Risk Analysis
After risks are identified, their characteristics need to be assessed in order
to determine whether the risk event is worth further analysis. Once it is
decided that a risk event needs analysis then it needs to be determined
whether the risk event information can be acquired through quantita-
tive or qualitative means. Measurement metrics for risk also need to be
determined so that these metrics can be used for computation of risk
magnitude and risk analysis leading to risk mitigation plans (Amornsa-
wadwatana 2002).
Risk is measured using two parameters: risk probability and risk con-
sequence (Risk Management Standard as/nzs 4360 1999; Chapman and
Ward 1997; Conroy and Soltan 1998). Risk probability or likelihood indi-
cates a chance of a risk event occurring, while risk consequence, severity
or impact represents an outcome generated from the risk event. Risk ma-
gnitude is the product of risk probability and consequence. To measure
risk magnitude, the probability and consequence of a risk event need to
be determined, which constitutes the risk assessment function. In prac-
tice, the risk quantities are either quantitative or qualitative in nature.
The quantitative approach to determination of risk parameters requires
analysis of historical data through statistical analysis. In many instances,
quantitative data are hard to achieve and are restricted to a very small
domain of the problem where historical trends could be sustained. An
example of quantitative data for determining risk consequence is a hi-
storical record of money spent on correcting non-compliance of tooling

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

20 Dušan Gošnik

usually used in the fabrication of the type of product currently being

developed (Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn 2007).

Risk Evaluation
Risk evaluation is the function of risk management, where risk events
need to be prioritized so that risk mitigation plans are determined ei-
ther based on past experience, lessons learnt, best practices, organizatio-
nal knowledge, industry benchmarks or standard practices (Ahmed et al.
2003; Amornsawadwatana and Kayis 2003). In risk evaluation, different
aspects of the project – strategic, budget or schedule may be conside-
red in light of a risk event, in order to determine risk mitigation options
and incorporate the most suitable option into a mitigation plan. Several
evaluation techniques that can be applied for risk evaluation are:
• decision tree analysis,
• portfolio management,
• multiple criteria decision-making method.
The multiple criteria decision-making method considers different
project attributes including the negative and the positive factors of a
decision (Webb 1994; Remenyi and Haefield 1996). Project attributes are
weighted according to project predominance of the predefined criteria.
The product of the relative weight and the score for an attribute gives a
weighted score for that attribute. The project is then evaluated through
a difference from a standard project attribute. If the total weighted score
turns out to be positive, then the project should be selected; otherwise,
the project should be rejected. This technique can be applied to risk ana-
lysis if risk events are compared to standard events and weighted against
them (Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn 2007).

Risk Mitigation
Risk management attempts to study in detail all aspects of project ma-
nagement, so that all controllable events have an action plan or a risk
mitigation plan. A reactive approach or a feed-back approach refers to
risk mitigation actions initiated after risk events eventuate and can be
seen as an initiation of contingency plans. On the other hand, a pro-
active approach or a feed-forward approach refers to actions initiated,
based on the chance of a risk event occurring, such as insurance (Kartam
and Kartam 2001; DeMaio, Verganti, and Corso 1994). A combination
of these two approaches is applied to risk management in order to avoid

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 21

risk, reduce the likelihood of risk, reduce the impact of risk, transfer risk,
or to retain risk (Risk Management Standard as/nzs 4360, 1999). A risk
query mechanism may then be formulated through techniques presen-
ted in the fourth section of this paper and imposed on the process model
through interactive or collaborative interfaces to collect quantitative and
qualitative data as described in the fifth section. Risk evaluation consi-
sts of decision support systems using techniques presented in the sixth
section. Risks worth investigating further due to their high chance of
occurring, or high potential impacts or leading to new opportunities are
then pursued, leading to being treated. This whole process of risk mana-
gement is collaborative and requires incremental contributions from all
participants within the organization and supplements a project manage-
ment approach, which is more proactive (Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn
2007).
In this paper we have focused on the product-related design risks
which affect design-related uncertainties of the product and prolonged
time-to-market of the project/product.
The risk management process blends itself to product design and de-
velopment, as changes and interactions in the design stage cost less than
changes initiated in the implementation phase (Salamone 1995; Jo, Para-
saei, and Sullivan 1993). Ammar, Kayis, and Sataporn (2007) also say that
early discovery of risk events leading to downstream losses is much more
preferable than treating losses when they cannot be prevented. Thus the
most crucial effect on the project and product success on the market can
cause changes in the latest stages of the npd process as well as corrective
actions if and when the project objectives in npd are not achieved, or if
customer-related expectations about the product which has been develo-
ped are not fulfilled. The research is primarily focused on the analysis of
the design risks which affect design-related uncertainties of the product
and causes of prolonged time-to-market of the project/product.
The new technologies, computing and communication have become
indispensable in every aspect of the design and manufacturing process,
leading to structural changes in social and economic dimensions also in
npd.
The full scale involvement of different stakeholders in npd at opera-
tional levels has not yet been achieved due to a lack of complete under-
standing of npd projects. According to Tseng, Kjellberg, and Lu (2003)
this is mainly because not every aspect of engineering design and/or ma-
nufacturing capabilities has been linked with customers and suppliers

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

22 Dušan Gošnik

proactively throughout the process of collaborating across boundaries.

The significant impacts in npd would be in three major areas (Kayis
et al. 2007):
1. Speed of decisions in npd (the exchange of information including
requirements, drawings, models, test results, etc., dramatically re-
duced time to market, cost of uncertainty and inventory in product
design and development).
2. Expansion of scope (web inter-connectivity integrated contribu-
tions to product design and development regardless of time, ge-
ographical distances, stakeholders, suppliers and customers any-
where around the world).
3. Degree of concurrency (people as well as machines can interact in
parallel inside and outside of organizations, anywhere around the
world).
Thus, to transform from designing products to designing the complete
npd process is rewarding but challenging, introducing several risks to
npd projects. This paper examines the new challenges in npd projects
in manufacturing industries which expose them to several risks.
The collaborative design process inherits several risks due to know-
ledge sharing, decision sharing, process sharing and resource sharing in
npd projects. In this section of the paper, product design, npd enviro-
nment and management of risks in such an environment will be discus-
sed.
Many risks can occur at the product and project definition phase,
which can affect the project results. Problems can occur in connection
with on-time information sharing, collaborative decision-making, com-
patibility of processes and resource sharing, all of which are important
for enhanced effectiveness and efficiency of the product design and de-
velopment on one hand, while introducing new risks on the other. A
methodology to analyze a collaborative design process and management
of product design conflicts was developed by Lu and Cai (2000) and Lut-
ters et al. (2001). Within the context of new npd, supported by new in-
formation technologies (it), the first stages in the npd process must be
changed from the ‘Design of’ of the past, through the ‘Design for’ at
present, to the ‘Design with’ in the future (Tseng, Kjellberg, and Lu
2003).
npd projects require multiple parties to work collaboratively. Parti-
cularly with new information technologies (it) in npd, the numbers of

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 23

participants have increased. For example, supplier collaboration early in

the design reduces a product’s lifecycle cost and extends a company’s abi-
lity beyond its traditional boundaries to intorduce improvements and to
improve the total cost of doing business together (Lutters et al., 2001).
Hence, to increase the chances of success for npd organizations, Lu and
Cai (2000) emphasized the importance of collaboration between project
partners during engineering design. This collaboration will eventually
lead to the competitiveness of organizations, due to better knowledge
utilization and sharing with every project partner and incorporating the
changing design style from the ‘Design of’ of the past, via the ‘Design
for’ at present, to ‘Design with’ in the future. In order to successfully
achieve ‘Design with’ in npd projects, knowledge management needs
to be incorporated into the risk management practices of manufacturing
organizations.
Two main hypotheses related to this research have been developed:
h1 Undefined technical requirements for the product present an impor-
tant risk related with the design uncertainty of the product. The more
imprecise the technical requirements for the product before the pro-
ject starts, the higher is the design uncertainty of the product after its
development.
h2 Unclear project objectives have a significant effect on the time-delay
of npd projects. The more imprecisely the project objectives are defi-
ned before the project starts, the greater is the time-delay on the npd
project.
The aim of the research was to determine impact factors related with
risks of new projects and products, as well as to establish their profile by:
Identification of the impact factors which most frequently affect de-
sign uncertainties on the npd projects; identification of the weight of
each impact factor; identification of the impact factors which most
frequently affect time-delays on the npd projects of development of
white goods; and identification of the weight of each impact factor.
In line with the findings, the study at the end focuses on developing
a specific extended model of managing risks in npd projects, which will
consider the detected risks of npd projects.

Methodology
Because the research is oriented to the npd projects, we decided to carry
out the survey among project managers with several years of experience

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

24 Dušan Gošnik

in the field of npd projects (table 1). The methods used were both quan-
titative and qualitative and a survey of questions was employed.
Prior to that, interviews were also performed with the project mana-
gers included in the research. We expected that only with such a combi-
nation of methods could we achieve the research objectives. The inter-
views were selected because we wanted to collect as much experience as
possible from the different project managers in the field of different npd
projects, such as new products, design upgraded projects of npd, etc.
(see also table 1). Possible impact factors which affect the design risks
and prolonged time-to-market of npd projects were collected. The data
collected were used to create a questionnaire which considered realistic,
first-hand information from the actual environment of various projects
(table 1).
The questionnaire consisted of both closed and open types of questi-
ons, and comprised two contextual contents (Questionnaire A and B, see
also tables 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8). In the first stage, some impact factors which
cause design-related uncertainties on the market were evaluated and in
the second stage the frequency of impact factors was evaluated. Also for
the second questionnaire (b1 and b2), the impact factors which affect
time-to-market delay in the npd projects were evaluated and the weight
of the factors was evaluated. In the first stage the significance of the cla-
ims was marked using the extended Likert scale of measuring opinion (1,
2, 3, . . . 9, 10) (Toš 1976). In addition, participants marked the weight of
the top five (from 1 to 5) factors with the biggest focus of Questionnaire
A on design uncertainties, and Questionnaire B on time-to-market delay
of npd projects in the past.
The questionnaires were selected to collect individual data from the
different project managers and projects (table 1) which were finished
(1997-2007) and to study the following:
• Identification of the impact factors which most frequently affect de-
sign uncertainties on the npd projects (Questionnaire A).
• Identification of the weight of each impact factor (Questionnaire
A).
• Identification of the impact factors which most frequently affect
the time-delay of the npd projects of development of white goods
(Questionnaire B).
• Identification of the weight of each impact factor (Questionnaire
B).

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 25

table 2 Background of the projects included in this research

Up to today, how many times did you Number of projects for total eight
participate in npd projects? project managers
Totally new product for market 0 projects
New generation of existing products 25 projects
Existing product – technically improved 19 projects
Design upgrade of an existing product 36 projects
Total 80 projects

Results and Discussion

Based on the interviews with project managers, we have defined real po-
tential reasons for design-related risks of new products, as well as the
potential reasons for the time-to-market delay of npd projects.
As table 1 shows, many of the included project managers have already
participated in several npd projects. The most common practice of pro-
ject managers was in the field of managing design-upgraded new product
projects (36 projects), followed by new generations of existing products
(25 projects) and npd projects which were oriented to the development
of technically improved existing products (19 projects) (table 2).
In the study, eighty different npd projects in the field of domestic
appliances, managed by the eight project managers, were analyzed (ta-
ble 2).
The primary objective of the research was to analyze the key impact
factors which are related to the design uncertainties of the product after
the project is finished. Questionnaire A was used (see results in table 3).
The most frequently detected impact factor in this research was a lack
of time for testing technical solutions (average mark 9.375 on the Likert
1–10 scale) related to product design. The second most frequent cause
that was detected was the fact that the technical requirements for the
product had not been defined (average 9.125 on the Likert 1–10 scale).
That presents a very strong issue which has its foundations in the mar-
ket/customer definition of its needs at the beginning of the npd project,
which shows a lack of planning management in the npd projects. The
technical definition of the product is the final result as an output of the
definition of customer needs. The third most frequent cause detected
was the lack of knowledge in the field of managing npd projects (ave-
rage 8.50 on the Likert 1–10 scale), and the fourth was the lack of time
for developing solutions in the npd process (average 8.375 on the Likert

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

26 Dušan Gošnik

table 3 Results of the analysis of the impact factors related to the design-related risk
of the product
Which of the following impact factors, in your opinion, most frequently cause design-related
uncertainties of the product? For each statement use the Likert 1–10 scale (1 – factor does not
affect design uncertainty, 10 – factor extremely affects design uncertainty of the product).
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
1 Lack of time for testing solutions 9.375 8 10 0.92 14.26 5.64
2 Technical requirements for the product 9.125 6 10 1.36 13.88 5.04
are not defined
3 Lack of knowledge in the field of 8.50 4 10 2.00 12.93 4.33
management
4 Lack of time for development of 8.375 7 10 1.06 12.74 3.58
solutions
5 Insufficient control over research and 8.125 5 10 1.81 12.36 7.39
development (r&d) department
6 Lack of human resources 8.00 7 10 1.07 12.17 6.00
7 Lack of know-how for testing 7.50 5 10 1.85 11.41 9.16
8 Lack of know-how in r&d 6.75 5 9 1.83 10.27 9.57
notes Column headings are as follows: (1) rank, (2) impact factor on the design-
related risks of the product, (3) average mark (1–10), (4) min. mark, (5) max. mark,
(6) standard deviation, (7) % of all points, (8) t-value at α = 0.05 (95% certainty).

1–10 scale). These results very clearly show the lack of planning in npd
projects, which results in the occurrence of many risks which could alre-
ady have been managed in the early stages of the planning phase of the
project.
The aim of the detailed analysis of the impact factors which are related
to the design uncertainties of the product after the project is finished was
also to identify the weight of the factors (see table 4). The results show
that the strongest influence on the design uncertainty of the product was
undefined technical requirements of the product (average 3.125 on the
Likert 1–5 scale), followed by the lack of time to test solutions (average
2.375 on the Likert 1–5 scale).
By combining the data collected from Questionnaire A (table 3 and
table 4), the summary is that undefined technical requirements for the
product and the lack of time for testing present the most common ri-
sks in an npd project, which cause design-related uncertainties of the
product on the market. Thus, we can claim that Hypothesis h1 can be
confirmed.

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 27

table 4 Results of the analysis of the impact factors related to the design-related risk
of the product
Which of the following impact factors, in your opinion, has the strongest effect on the design-
related uncertainties of the product? For each statement use the Likert 1–10 scale (1 – factor
has a very small effect on the design-related uncertainty; 10 – factor has a very big/significant
effect on the design-related uncertainty of the product).
(1) (2) (3) (4)
1 Technical requirements for the product are not defined 3.125 22.32
2 Lack of time for testing solutions 2.375 16.96
3 Lack of human resources 2.25 16.07
4 Lack of time for development of solutions 2.125 15.18
5 Insufficient control over research and development (r&d) 1.625 11.61
department
6 Lack of knowledge in the field of management 1.25 8.93
7 Lack of know-how in r&d 0.75 5.36
8 Lack of know-how for testing 0.625 4.42
notes Column headings are as follows: (1) rank, (2) impact factor on the design-
related risks of the product, (3) average mark (1–5), (4) % of all points.

table 5 Combined results of tables 3 and 4 together (impact factors are multiplied
with weight from table 4)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
1 Technical requirements for the product are not defined 9.125 3.125 28.5
2 Lack of time for testing solutions 9.375 2.375 22.2
3 Lack of human resources 8.00 2.25 18.0
4 Lack of time for development of solutions 8.375 2.125 17.8
5 Insufficient control over research and development 8.125 1.625 13.2
(r&d) department
6 Lack of knowledge in the field of management 8.50 1.25 10.6
7 Lack of know-how in r&d 6.75 0.75 5.0
8 Lack of know-how for testing 7.50 0.625 4.6
notes Column headings are as follows: (1) rank, (2) impact factor, (3) average value
from table 4, (4) average value of the impact from table 3, (5) column 3 × column 4. α =
0.05 (95% certainty), factor is significant at t > t min = 2.14.

The second objective of the research was to identify the impact factors
which most frequently affect the time-delay on the npd projects of de-
velopment and determine the weight of each impact factor. The research
was performed using Questionnaire B (see results in tables 6 and 7). The

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

28 Dušan Gošnik

table 6 Results of the analysis of the biggest impact factors related with the
time-delay of the npd project
Which of the following impact factors, in your opinion, most frequently affect the time-delay
of the npd project? For each statement use the Likert 1–10 scale (1 – factor has a very small
effect on the design-related uncertainty, 10 – factor has a very big/significant effect on the
design-related uncertainty of the product).
(1) (2) (3) (4)
1 After a major change to the product no adaptation of the 9.50 5.2
project plan follows
2 Unrealistic time plan 8.75 5.2
3 The role of the project manager is not clear (limited authority) 8.75 8.3
4 Waiting for a decision 8.50 7.1
5 Unrealistic objectives 8.38 6.8
6 Frequent changes during the project 8.25 7.0
7 Sources for the project are not available on time 8.13 7.3
8 Project objectives are not clear 8.00 4.23
9 Lack of human resources on the project 8.00 6.8
10 Responses of the suppliers 7.88 7.7
11 Not proper project management/leadership 7.88 16.2
12 Lack of control over the project 7.63 7.02
13 Relations with the environment are not clear (organizational) 7.38 9.4
14 Responses of other support functions 7.25 4.5
15 Inadequate human resources for support 7.25 6.23
16 Lack of competences of the project team 7.25 9.7
17 Decisions are not based on an expert basis 7.00 6.9
18 Frequent wrong decisions 6.88 2.6
19 We are not using the prescribed product development process 6.63 16.9
20 The phases of the project are not clear 6.38 6.6
21 Unclear role of the team members 6.25 16.0
22 npd process is not adequate 6.25 14.0
23 Working environment is not adequate 6.00 11.16
notes Column headings are as follows: (1) rank, (2) impact factor on the design-
related risks of the product, (3) average mark (1–10), (4) t-value at α = 0.05 (95% certa-
inty). α = 0.05 (95% certainty), factor is significant at t > t min = 2.14.

most frequent impact factor for time-to-market delay on npd projects

was that after a major change to the product during the npd project,
no adoption of the project plan follows (average 9.500 on the Likert 1–10

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 29

table 7 Results of the analysis of the biggest impact factors related to the time-delay
of the npd project
Which of the following impact factors, in your opinion, has the strongest effect on the time-
delay of npd projects? For each statement use the Likert 1–10 scale (1 – factor has a very
small effect on the design-related uncertainty; 10 – factor has a very big/significant effect on
the design-related uncertainty of the product).
(1) (2) (3) (4)
1 Project objectives are not clear 2.375 15.32
2 Unrealistic time plan 2.125 13.71
3 The role of the project manager is not clear (limited authority) 2 12.90
4 After a major change to the product no adaptation of the 1.5 9.68
project plan follows
5 Unrealistic objectives 1.375 8.87
6 Waiting for a decision 0.875 5.65
7 Not proper project management/leadership 0.875 5.65
8 Lack of human resources on the project 0.625 4.03
9 Frequent changes during the project 0.625 4.03
10 Lack of control over the project 0.625 4.03
11 Responses of other support functions 0.5 3.23
12 Sources for the project are not available on time 0.5 3.23
13 npd process is not adequate 0.375 2.42
14 Responses of the suppliers 0.375 2.42
15 Inadequate human resources for support 0.25 1.61
16 We are not using the prescribed product development process 0.25 1.61
17 Relations with the environment are not clear (organizational) 0.125 0.81
18 The phases of the project are not clear 0.125 0.81
notes Column headings are as follows: (1) rank, (2) impact factor on the design-
related risks of the product, (3) average mark (1–5), (4) points (%).

scale). The second most frequent impact factor is an unrealistic time plan
of the npd project (average 8.750 on the Likert 1–10 scale), followed by
limited authority of the project manger (average 8.750 on the Likert 1–10
scale). That can be related to the planning phase of the project, where
also risk management must be considered. In the second stage of Que-
stionnaire B (table 7) also the weights of the impact factors from table 6
were defined (table 7).
With Questionnaire B, we analyzed which of the impact factors have
the biggest influence on the time-delay of the product after the project

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

30 Dušan Gošnik

table 8 Combined results from tables 6 and 7

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)
1 Project objectives are not clear 8.00 2.375 19.00
2 Unrealistic time plan 8.75 2.125 18.59
3 The role of the project manager is not clear (limited 8.75 2 17.50
authority)
4 After a major change to the product no adaptation of 9.50 1.5 14.25
the project plan follows
5 Unrealistic objectives 8.38 1.375 11.52
6 Waiting for a decision 8.50 0.875 7.44
7 Not proper project management/leadership 7.88 0.875 6.90
8 Frequent changes during the project 8.25 0.625 5.16
9 Lack of human resources on the project 8.00 0.625 5.00
10 Lack of control over the project 7.63 0.625 4.77
11 Sources for the project are not available on time 8.13 0.5 4.07
12 Responses of other support functions 7.25 0.5 3.63
13 Responses of the suppliers 7.88 0.375 2.96
14 We are not using the prescribed product development 6.63 0.375 2.49
process
15 npd process is not adequate 6.25 0.25 1.56
16 Relations with the environment are not clear 7.38 0.25 1.85
(organizational)
17 The phases of the project are not clear 6.38 0.125 0.80
18 Inadequate human resources for support 7.25 0.125 0.91
notes Column headings are as follows: (1) rank, (2) impact factor on the design-
related risks of the product, (3) average mark (1–10) from table 6, (4) average mark (1–5)
from table 7, (5) column 3 × column 4.

is finished. For data collection, we used a closed questionnaire in which

participants, according to their opinion, marked from 1–5 the top five
impact factors. Results are shown in tables 7 and 8.
Unclear project objectives, an unrealistic time plan, and limited auth-
ority of the project manager were detected as the impact factors which
have the biggest effect on the time delay of npd projects, also by conside-
ring the weights of each factor (table 7). Hypothesis h2 can be confirmed.
As presented in this article, today’s known risk management models
are mostly general and define a risk management process that is divided
into several stages, such as: risk management planning, risk identifica-

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 31

tion, risk analysis, risk response planning, and risk monitoring and con-
trol. General models of risk management do not offer us a precise solu-
tion for managing risks in npd projects. The solution would be to study
impact factors and to develop an extended model for project risk ma-
nagement in the planning phase, which would systematically study this
problem for npd projects. Many models exist which consider project risk
management as a multiple stage process. They are mainly general, but for
specific projects, such as npd projects, we need to develop an extended
model which will consider special requirements for certain npd projects.
We have therefore decided to examine the characteristics of npd projects
to develop a more specific model of managing risks in npd projects.
Different authors observe project risk management as a multi-stage
process (table 2). Regarding the results of the analysis and past practical
experiences an extension of the basic risk management model (Picture 1)
has been developed. Including some additional key areas which are based
on this research and which are crucial for the success of npd projects, an
extension of the basic model has been developed:
Key sub-areas in npd projects for the risk planning phase are:
• project objectives;
• organization of the project;
• project human resources;
• npd process.
Regarding the research in this paper, all significant influence factors
are included in the risk planning activities in npd.

Extended Model of Project Risk Management in NPD Projects

Further on, some sub-criteria for each key area are presented as questions
for project managers in the npd project planning phase.

Key Area 1: Project Objectives

1. Are the project objectives clear and defined?
2. Are the project objectives defined by agreement or defined by auth-
oritative command?
3. Are the project objectives smart? (Specific, measurable, ambitious,
realistic, time achievable)
4. Does the project team know all the objectives of the project before
the start?

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

32 Dušan Gošnik

5. Do the project team members agree with the objectives?

6. Have the project objectives been defined with the cooperation of
middle and operational management?
7. Has the project been planned regarding objectives and available re-
sources?
8. Is the time plan of the project defined authoritatively by top mana-
gement?
9. Is the project time plan dynamically adopted in accordance with
resources?

Key Area 2: Organization of the Project

10. Do we have the project management of the project defined? (Mem-
bers, roles, responsibilities, relations)
11. Does the project have a decision-making organ?
12. Is our project divided into some sub-phases?
13. Are the contents of the sub-phases of the project clear?
14. Did we plan a testing phase of the product inside the time-plan of
our project?
15. Are the conditions of progressing from one to another phase of the
project clearly defined?
16. Did we plan decision points in the project for all sub-phases of the
project?
17. Are the roles of the project management organs and members clear?
18. Did we plan expert-based decision-making at the decision points?
19. Did we plan for decision-making time in the time plan?
20. Did we plan support of other functions in the company? Have all
needs been detected and planned?
21. Do we have all support activities for regular team work in place?
(Premises, computers, rooms, communication tools, etc.)

Key Area 3: Project Human Resources

22. Have human resources been planned as will be required by our ne-
eds on the project?
23. Do we have clear criteria for team members’ selection?
24. Did we define a role of each team member on the project?
25. Did we plan for team members’ full-and part-time work on the pro-
ject?

Managing Global Transitions

 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 33

26. Do we have a system of evaluation and motivation of individuals on

the project?
27. Did we consider cooperation of all major activities and necessary
outsourcing with cost estimation?

Key Area 4: npd Process

28. Do we have a clear marketing and technical definition of the pro-
duct before the start of the development phase?
29. Are we planning interdisciplinary support in the npd process?
30. Do we have an information system for efficient data and informa-
tion exchange and communication?
31. Did we plan prototype testing and confirmation of the solutions
before regular tool orders?
32. Do we plan to find suppliers of the components based on the fini-
shed and tested solutions and final drawings?
33. Do we have a system for tracking the changes in the design of the
product and components?
34. Do we have the support of contract management with suppliers?
35. Do we have clear traceability from marketing requirements to tech-
nical requirements for the components of the product?
36. Are we planning a validation of the product, testing and certifica-
tion of the solution from real tools and materials before the market
launch?
37. Do we have a clear product quality/production/service plan and
clear criteria for the product launch?
38. Do we have a detailed technology, market and product development
plan synchronized?

Conclusion
The business environment and challenges of npd projects have always
been interchangeable. Consequently, also some models which study pro-
ject risk management are changing. None of the models of project risk
management available in the literature is detailed and related to the npd
projects, especially white goods. Authors mainly study a general appro-
ach, but rarely specific products and projects. Different authors mention
several step processes with no detailed insight into each step, and none
of them relate risks of design uncertainty and factors which affect a late

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

34 Dušan Gošnik

project finishing time. General models are usually too general to be ef-
fective, but precise ones are usually very difficult to manage. A balanced
attitude must be used to achieve the goals of npd projects.
For special types of npd projects, a detailed view into some factors
which cause the risks must be considered. Undefined technical require-
ments for the product present an important risk related to the design
uncertainty of the product. The more imprecise the technical require-
ments for the product before the project starts, the higher is the design
uncertainty of the product after its development. Based on our results,
an extended model of risk management in the planning phase in new
product development projects has been developed and presented.
According to the new approaches in project management and changes
and new challenges in today’s environment, we may expect that also new
models will be additionally developed .
All the mentioned authors study risk management on the projects
from a general perspective. Managing an npd project from a risk ma-
nagement perspective requires detailed information about the specific
product in development; therefore, further investigation and research is
oriented in npd to white goods products. A general model of the npd
process which would suit any company and project does not exist. An
adopted model of the npd process for specific projects is needed. The ba-
sic element of this model includes risk management, which must also be
developed regarding specific requirements for npd projects in the white
goods industry. For the successful achievement of npd project objecti-
ves, we need to consider risks related to the special type of the projects.
This requires that we know the key risk factors which cause risk in spe-
cific npd projects. Project management practice and theory consists of
several key areas which enable sophisticated managing of the projects.
One of them is project risk management.
Research shows that undefined technical requirements for the product
present an important risk related to the design uncertainty of the pro-
duct. The more imprecise the technical requirements for the product be-
fore the project starts, the higher is the design uncertainty of the product
after its development. Unclear project objectives have a significant ef-
fect on the time-delay of npd projects. The more imprecisely the project
objectives are defined before the project starts, the greater is the time-
delay on the npd project.
Both conclusions reflect a lack of planning in the early phases of npd
projects. These phases consist also of project risk management study. By
studying risks in the early stages of npd projects, we can systematically
Managing Global Transitions
 Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 35

reduce the effect of risk on the project. Consequently, the success of the
project and product which has been developed can be increased.
Based on the research findings, an extended model of risk planning in
npd has been developed. It consists of many sub-areas where results of
this research show us opportunities for improvements, such as risk plan-
ning for the npd project objectives, project organization, project human
resources and npd process.
This research presents a basis for future studies. One might be on the
influence of virtual teams on the efficiency and success of the projects
which include also the study of risk management of virtual projects.

Limitations
The research is limited to npd projects. Analysis is oriented to the speci-
fic environment of npd projects in the domestic appliances industry. A
limitation is presented by data collected with this type of questionnaire.

Implications
The developed model of risk management can be applied to any r&d
project which deals with npd. The model can be used and applied in
practice because it is based on the latest literature findings, and because
of the results of the research and the strong background of the author in
this field in practice. The findings can be useful for consultants, project
managers and project teams and managers in companies which perform
npd projects, as well as for further studies in this field.

References
Ahmed, A., S. Amornsawadwatana, and B. Kayis. 2003. ‘Application of
arena Simulation to Risk Assessment in Concurrent Engineering
Project.’ Paper presented at the 9th International Conference on Ma-
nufacturing Excellence – icme, Melbourne, 13–15 October.
Ahmed, A., S. Amornsawadwatana, B. Kayis, and C. Reidsema. 2003. ‘A
Conceptual Framework for Risk Analysis in Concurrent Engineering.’
Paper presented at the 17th International Conference on Production
Research, Blacksburg, vi, 4–7 August.
Ammar, A., B. Kayis, and A. Sataporn. 2007. ‘A Review of Techniques for
Risk Management in Projects.’ Benchmarking 14 (1): 22–36.
Amornsawadwatana, S. 2002. ‘Risk Mitigation Investment in Concurrent
Design Process.’ Paper presented at the International Conference on
Manufacturing Automation – icma, Hong Kong, 10–12 December.
Boehm, B. W. 2001. ‘Software Risk Management: Principles and Practices.’
ieee Software 8 (1): 32–41.

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011

36 Dušan Gošnik

Conroy, G., and H. Soltan. 1998. ‘Conserv, a Project Specific Risk Mana-
gement Concept.’ International Journal of Project Management 16 (6):
353–66.
Chapman, C. B., and S. C. Ward.1997. Project Risk Management: Processess,
Techniques and Insights. Chichester: Wiley.
Chapman, R. J. 1998. ‘The Effectiveness of Working Group Risk Identifi-
cation and Assessment Technique.’ International Journal of Project Ma-
nagement 16 (6): 333–43.
———. 2001. ‘The Controlling Influences on Effective Risk Identification
and Assessment for Construction Design Management.’ International
Journal of Project Management 19 (2): 147–60.
DeMaio, A., R. Verganti, and M. Corso. 1994. ‘A multi-project manage-
ment framework for new product development.’ European Journal of
Operational Research 78 (2): 178–91.
Durofee, A. J., J. A. Walker, C. J. Alberts, R. P. Higuera, R. L. Murphy, and
R. J. Williams. 1996. Continuous Risk Management Guidebook. Pits-
burg, pa: Carnegie Mellon University.
Fairley, R. 1994. ‘Risk Management for Software Projects.’ ieee Software 11
(3): 57–64.
Jo, H. H., H. R. Parasaei, and W. G. Sullivan. 1993. Principles of Concurrent
Engineering and Modern Design Tools. London: Chapman and Hall.
Kartam, N. A., and S. A. Kartam. 2001. ‘Risk and its Management in the
Kuwaiti Construction Industry: Contractors’ Perspective.’ Internatio-
nal Journal of Project Management 19 (6): 325–35.
Kayis, B., A. Ahmed, C. Reidsema, and O. Webster. 2003. ‘Knowledge Ma-
nagement: An Essential Ingredient for Learning Organizations.’ Paper
presented at the Human Computer Interaction Conference, Crete, 22–
27 June.
Kayis B., M. Zhou, S. Savci, Y. B. Khoo, A. Ahmed, R. Kusumo, and A. Ri-
spler. 2007. ‘irmas – Development of a Risk Management Tool for
Collaborative Multi-Site, Multi-Partner New Product Development
Projects.’ Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management 18 (4):
387–414.
Kusumo, R., M. Zhou, Y. B. Khoo, C. Reidsema, A. Ahmed, P. Couchman,
O. Webster, D. McPherson, and A. Rispler. 2003. ‘System Framework
for an Intelligent Risk Mapping and Assessment System irmas.’ Pa-
per presented at the 9th International Conference on Manufacturing
Excellence – icme, Melbourne, 13–15 October.
Kerzner, H. 2004. ‘Advanced Project Management, Best Practices on Im-
plementation.’ 2nd ed. Hoboken, ny: Wiley.
Klein, J. H., and R. B. Cork. 1998. ‘An Approach to Technical Risk Asses-
sment.’ International Journal of Project Management 16 (6): 345–351.

Managing Global Transitions

Extended Model of Managing Risk in New Product Development Projects 37

Larson, N., and A. Kusiak. 1996. ‘Managing Design Processes: A Risk As-
sessment Approach. ieee Transactions on System, Man and Cyberne-
tics; Part A.’ Systems and Humans 26 (6): 749–759.
Lu, S. C. Y., and J. Cai. 2000. ‘stars: A Socio-Technical Framework For
Design/Knowledge Over the Internet.’ ieee Computing 4 (5): 54–62.
Lutters, D., R. J. Mentink, F. Van Houten, and J. H. H. Kals. 2001. ‘Wor-
kflow Management on Information Management.’ Annals of cirp 50
(1): 309–312.
Mulcahy, R. 2003. Risk Management: Tricks of the Trade for Project Mana-
gers. New York: rmc.
Palčič I., B. Božič, A. Kerin, M. Madžarac, A. Stare, A. Škarabot, and
I. Vrečko. 2007. skpm: Struktura kompetenc projektnega managerja.
Ljubljana: Slovensko združenje za projektni management.
Raftery, J. 1994. Risk Analysis in Project Management. London: Chapman
and Hall.
Raz, T., and E. Michael. 2001. ‘Use and Benefits of Tools for Project Risk
Management.’ International Journal of Project Management 19 (1): 9–17.
Remenyi, D., and A. Heafield. 1996. ‘Business Process Re-Engineering:
sme Aspects of How to Evaluate and Manage Risk Exposure.’ Inter-
national Journal of Project Management 14 (6): 349–57.
Risk Management Standard as/nzs 4360. 1999. Sydney: Standards Associ-
ation of Australia.
Salamone, T. A. 1995. What Every Engineer Should Know About Concurrent
Engineering. New York: Marcel Dekker.
Stare, A. 2004. ‘Koristi obvladovanja tveganj pri projektih.’ Projektna
mreža Slovenije 7 (2): 10–14.
Taha, H. A. 1997. Operations Research: An Introduction. Upper Saddle River,
nj: Prentice Hall.
Toš, N. 1976. Metode družbolsovnega raziskovanja. Ljubljana: Fakulteta za
sociologijo, politične vede in novinarstvo / Partizanska knjiga.
Tseng, M. M., T. Kyellberg, and S. C. Y. Lu. 2003. ‘Design in the New E-
Manufacturing Era.’ Annals of the cirp 52 (2): 51–60.
Webb, A. 1994. Managing Innovative Projects. London: Chapman and Hall.
Williams, T. M. 1995. ‘A Classified Biography of Recent Research Relating
to Project Risk Management.’ European Journal of Operational Rese-
arch 85 (1): 18–38.
Zhou, M., L. Nemes, C. Reidsema, A. Ahmed, and B. Kayis. 2002. ‘Tools
and Methods for Risk Management in Multi-Engineering Projects.’
Paper presented at the Fifth International Working Conference of
Information Infrastructure Systems for Manufacturing International
(diidm), Osaka, 18–20 November.

Volume 9 · Number 1 · Spring 2011