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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF

PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 745–752
www.elsevier.com/locate/ijproman

In search of opportunity management: Is the risk management

process enough?
Rolf Olsson *

Department of Innovation, Design and Product Development, Mälardalen University, Box 325, 631 05 Eskilstuna, Sweden

Abstract

The concept of risk has always been present in the industrial environment. However, not until recent years has it been actively man-
aged for products, in projects, and, as a consequence, for the organization. Project risk management has been in focus within different
organizations, and has proven its value in reducing risks in projects. Risk, however, could be described as the negative outcome of an
uncertainty. The opposite of risk would then be opportunity. The aim of this paper is to find empirical evidence supporting a theory that
current methodologies for risk management focus mainly on risk. If the results of this study show that methodologies in practice actually
focus more on risk, the need to enhance opportunity management would be apparent. Based on interviews with people who actively work
with project management and who also seek continuous improvements by being active members of project management networks, this
study presents three major factors needed for managing opportunities: the ability of the project manager to develop a holistic view within
the project, the organizational support and interest, and the ability to understand how other organizations affect the project objectives.
Furthermore, this paper explores the perception of opportunity as it shifts between organizations and levels within the organization.
Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Project management; Risk management; Uncertainty management; Opportunity management

1. Introduction achieve project goals lies with the project manager. Within
the project, various degrees of application of risk manage-
Risk management today is an integral part of project ment exist by the functional risk management process
management. As the project management affect on organi- applied. The foremost, and historically most recognized,
zations is obvious, it can be seen that risk management application lies within engineering. Technical risk manage-
application has extended beyond the scope and responsibil- ment is well known within any industrial organization,
ity of the project. Depending on the risk management whether it depends on requirements from approval bodies
maturity of the organization, different approaches are or is derived from the technical product. Broadening the
applied. Starting with the project itself, the risks and scope of the project time-wise to before the beginning of
opportunities within the scope of the project are managed the project, sales and marketing activities form the initial
by project management, with the allocation of responsibil- risk management. That result will set the scene for the pro-
ity to functions forming the project team. Ultimately, the ject’s ability to achieve set goals. The risk management
responsibility of the effectiveness of risk management lies activities are usually described in a process applicable to
within project management, since the accountability to the respective function, e.g. sales and marketing plan, busi-
ness process, and technical process. The function should
then be linked to the project risk management process in
*
Present address: Bombardier Transportation, Sweden, Östra Ringvä- such a way that the information is interlinked, transparent
gen 2, 721 73 Västerås, Sweden. Tel.: +46 70 663 87 75; fax: +46 21 31 77
27.
and useful. Several risk management processes exist today
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected]. that differ to some extent. However, they still include the
bombardier.com. important focus of identifying, assessing and mitigating a

0263-7863/$30.00 Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.03.005
746 R. Olsson / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 745–752

risk. Regardless of the type of risk management process, ment of projects. In addition to seeking to find evidence
the application of risk management has a positive effect that risk management primarily focuses on risk, this paper
in finding and taking actions to avoid events that could will analyze how different projects handle and manage
cause negative consequences for the project and opportunities, how uncertainty and opportunity is defined
organization. and interlinked, how risk is perceived in different projects,
Traditionally, risk has been seen as an adverse factor or and, finally, which effect different factors have on the abil-
event, hindering a project to achieve set objectives to meet ity to realize opportunities within the project. The paper
budget and time requirements. However, some definitions will begin with a brief presentation of related literature.
incorporate risk as being a positive or negative outcome The case study will then be carefully examined. The discus-
of uncertainty (see e.g. [1–3]). Whether definitions of risk sion section then follows. Finally, some conclusions will be
include positive and negative outcomes or not, some made.
researchers argue the need to improve the risk management
process to incorporate opportunity (see e.g. [4–6]). Hillson 2. Related literature
[7] argues that the risk management process itself is suffi-
cient for handling and managing opportunities, but that This section presents some related literature. First, the
some tools and techniques are needed that are not usually risk management concept is presented. This is followed
part of existing risk management processes. The ratio by arguments on its effectiveness. Further, opportunities
seems to be in favour of risk compared to opportunity. as part of risk management is discussed, together with its
In other words, the negative outcome of an uncertainty relation to uncertainty. Finally, a non-technical view of
has the most attention compared to the positive outcome. risk management concludes this section.
There might be several reasons for this skew focus. None-
theless, all could agree that by exploiting opportunities the 2.1. The concept and implications of risk management
present project status is improved. The most interesting
question is then the following: where lie the major barriers Project management is a well-established approach for
to improving the management of opportunities? The result affecting a wide range of changes (see, e.g. PMBOK [3]).
could then assist in directing risk management research In parallel, the discipline of risk management has devel-
focus towards areas that, instead of arguing which process oped over the recent decades as an important part of pro-
or tools to use, would have the most beneficial effect in ject management. Carrying out a project successfully is the
turning risk management into risk and opportunity man- outcome of how well one can plan, execute and control the
agement. However, before attempting to answer such a tasks, and how well one can manage the relationships with
question, it is necessary to find the view on how projects all the stakeholders involved with the project [8]. Regard-
perceive uncertainty and opportunity and where they are ing project risk, there are different risks when viewing dif-
perceived to be found. ferent perspectives of different stakeholders. This
The aim of this study is to find empirical evidence on the widespread use of projects (in some cases becoming the
general opinion that risk management in practice mainly preferred or dominant business process) and their use in
focuses on risk, as opposed to opportunity. The opinion realizing strategic or complex change have also brought
that existing risk management processes are not fully able with it the need to marshal project-based activity in some
to handle opportunities is also part of this topic. If they coherent, beneficial way [9].
are, it should be visible that there is a link and adherence Several arguments for shortcomings are argued. They
to the company specific risk management process when include ineffective tools, not appropriate for industry, not
opportunities are managed or when an identified risk has reflecting opportunities management, and focusing solely
been turned into an opportunity. Therefore, it is important on single-project management. Several researchers (see
to find which factors, whether internal in a project or exter- e.g. [4,10–13]) argue that today’s methodologies of risk
nal in the organization or outside, affect the ability to han- management are not sufficient for industrial use. However,
dle or manage opportunities in a project. Equally challenges towards existing risk management processes
important is to find commonalities of viewpoints between have not been raised until recently (see e.g. [6,7,14,15]).
the different project managers and their ways of approach- Such challenges focus on the risk management process
ing uncertainty within a project. Stated another way, is it itself, the suitability within an organization, other aspects
possible to find a generic step approach? influencing the effectiveness of risk management, tools
To answer these questions, a case study with experi- and techniques for enhancing the management of uncer-
enced project managers from eight different companies tainties, and the acceptance and enhancement of opportu-
has been performed. The studied companies were active nity management. However, some researchers argue the
in different industries, different products and strategies risk management process being capable to manage both
and also different customers. Common for all these compa- risk and opportunity. Defining risk would make it easier
nies was that they are well known for being proactive in to understand the rationale behind the development of
project management and are members of project manage- such processes and would enhance the ability to verify its
ment professional networks, trying to improve the manage- applicability. As an example, Hillson [7] gives a general
 R. Olsson / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 745–752 747

but quite useful definition on risk as any uncertainty that, if Table 1

it occurs, would affect one or more project objectives. Defin- Problem types adapted from Holt [14]
ing risk as an uncertainty, it would be equally the same case Problem type Complexity Solution strategy Managed in
for opportunity. In other words, this definition would today’s Risk
Management
apply to opportunity since it, as well, is derived from uncer- processes?
tainty. However, important here is the fact that the lack of
Tame Dynamic Analytical or Yes in systems
certainty is what matters when related to specific project and algorithmic functioning of
objectives. structural solution multiple
complexity viewpoints
2.2. Uncertainty Messes High Commitment to Often fail in
dynamic understanding how contemplating
complexity things interact influence of people
Then, what is uncertainty? It is not an easy question to in and between
answer. However, it is apparent that uncertainty exists in systems
everyday life, in organizations and in projects. There have Wicked High Emphasis on No
been several attempts to classify uncertainty. Frank [16] problems behavioural resolution between
describes uncertainties as either aleatory or epistemic. Ale- complexity different solution
and the dissolution
atory uncertainty is uncertainty that cannot be foreseen in of confusions
advance (from the Latin alea, meaning die (pl. dice), i.e. Wicked messes High The No
having to do with chance). Epistemic uncertainty is dynamic acknowledgement
described as uncertainty deriving from the lack of knowl- and that problems
edge (could have been foreseen given more knowledge). behavioural cannot be solved
complexity
Pender [4] argues that uncertainty applies when there is
no prior knowledge of replicability and future occurrences
defy categorization (i.e. aleatory uncertainty). In decision
modelling, uncertainty is defined as the amount of lacking parts that when broken down attract fixed, linear, optimal
information (which can become knowledge) i.e. epistemic solutions. By describing ‘‘messes’’ and ‘‘wicked problems’’,
uncertainty. From this it is not possible to see the link Holt argues that the ability to manage problems extended
between uncertainty, risk and opportunity. Instead, Hillson beyond those defined as ‘‘tame’’. ‘‘Messes’’ is described as
[7] attempts to link risk with uncertainty based on the dis- arising from system interdependency. ‘‘Wicked problems’’
tinction between aleatory and epistemic uncertainty in the result from the dynamic complexity of interdependent sys-
following couplet: tems and from human cognition and behaviour. ‘‘Wicked
messes’’ are a combination of the two. The description of
Risk is measurable uncertainty;
classes of problems and its relation to complexity is sum-
Uncertainty is unmeasurable risk.
marized in Table 1.
This implies that, when measurable, an uncertainty is to This view is interesting to understand when considering
be considered a risk. However, Hillson considers risk as the effectiveness of existing risk management processes. It
having both positive and negative consequences on project gives some suggestions on the rationale behind the reason-
objectives. This also follows Lefley [17], who argues that ing regarding why opportunities are less regarded than
although risk results from uncertainty, risk and uncertainty risks. Problems in this case imply that not only risk but also
are not theoretically synonymous. Risk involves situations opportunities could be managed the same way. However, it
where the probability of outcomes is known, while uncer- could be argued that the scope of risk management pro-
tainty is the opposite (i.e. when the probability of outcomes cesses should not encompass behavioural aspects of project
is not known). It is obvious that different opinions exist management. Such aspects could as well be part of organi-
regarding what to consider as uncertainty, risk and oppor- zation theory of behavioural science. The findings of this
tunity. Regardless of opinions concerning how to define study will be compared with the arguments of Holt.
risk and opportunity in relation to uncertainty, the aim
of this paper is to focus on opportunities, which most 3. Case study
researchers agree is the positive effect uncertainty has on
project objectives. 3.1. Method
Holt [14] argues that, because risk has been seen largely
in terms of technical, means-end reasoning (and the solu- It is difficult to gather quantitative data on risk manage-
tions offered under a condition of reflexive modernity ment and, especially, the effectiveness of risk management.
remain oriented to a rational calculus), many aspects of This is because the mere presence of risk management will
risk remain unacknowledged. Thus, the need for a wider have the effect of reducing some units of analysis. In this
view on risk management when describing the risk manage- study, practical experience and insight in projects about
ment process to adopt only ‘‘tame’’ problems. ‘‘Tame prob- the possibilities and problems is needed in qualitative
lems’’ are those that are seen as mechanical, consisting of terms. It is believed that one must have an objective view.
748 R. Olsson / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 745–752

It is also believed that one need go beyond causal relations owners for project management processes. During the
and study the relations and their effect on the system stud- interviews, a picture of the work in the projects and on risk
ied. In general, case studies are the preferred strategy when management and its applicability to opportunities gradu-
‘‘how’’ and ‘‘why’’ questions are being posed, when the ally evolved. Eight persons were interviewed in total.
investigator has little control over events, or when the focus Three main questions were asked and discussed during
is on a contemporary phenomenon within some real-life the interviews in the case study:
context, which is relevant for this work [18].
This study focuses upon the intervening conditions and 1. How is project specific risk management process applied
their effect on the ability to manage opportunities in the when handling and managing an uncertainty?
context of industrial projects. As the objective was to 2. How do projects define uncertainty and opportunity?
develop an understanding of how these conditions arose, 3. Which factors affect the project’s ability to handle and
an exploratory research approach using semi-structured manage opportunities?
interviews was adopted. In addition, an iterative approach
was used proposing and checking for patterns, both during The duration of the interviews was between 1 and 2 h.
the interviews and in the analysis. Finally, insights into The researcher’s role in the interview was what is usually
behaviours and approaches adopted by project managers called direct observation. Interactions with the respondents
were developed. are part of the methodology. During analysis, the approach
was to seek and evaluate similarities and differences
3.2. Case study companies between the different case projects. This involves selecting
categories, categorizing each case project, and looking for
The case study involves companies within the mechani- similarities and differences within projects and between
cal and mechatronic industry (1), offshore industry (1), projects. The interviews were recorded and later tran-
power generation industry (1), medical technology industry scribed and analyzed. The qualitative data were analyzed
(3), transportation industry (1) and a design house with by coding the data into clusters of contextual areas in order
customers primarily in the telecom industry (1). Three of to bring out relationships that are not otherwise apparent.
the companies are Swedish companies with 20–160 persons Finally, the analysis was further peer reviewed in order to
employed. The other five companies are international com- reduce bias of the results.
panies with a worldwide presence, and with the Swedish
part ranging from 350 to 1000 persons. It is acknowledged 4. Case study results
that additional external factors influence the management
of risk and opportunity in multi-company projects. How- 4.1. General observations and background
ever, such factors are excluded in this study. The projects
included all involve marketing/sales, design, and produc- All respondents consider risk management a very impor-
tion. For most projects after-sales activities were part of tant part of project management. However, the under-
the project scope in the form of support, validation or ver- standing and application of the concept of risk
ification. The projects’ durations were between 6 months management is widely dispersed. This study shows that
and 3.5 years with average project duration of 20 months. there is a difference between strategies and intentions of
The size of the projects range from 7 to 70 persons, and managing risk and opportunity and the way they work in
the projects had budgets of between 340 000 US dollars projects. With the exception of those respondents from
to 5 million US dollars. The extreme project had a budget the medical technology projects, respondents include
of 900 million US dollars. Four of the projects were prod- opportunities in the way they understand the risk manage-
uct development projects with software development (1), ment concept applied in their companies. Risk and oppor-
hardware development (2) or a combination (1). The other tunity go hand in hand to a certain degree from the project
four projects were design and build projects for software managers’ point of view. However, the result of this study
(1) or both software and hardware (3). indicates that ‘‘talk is cheap’’: it is easier to talk about risk
The selection of case study projects was made from com- and opportunities, especially opportunities, than to man-
panies that are well known for being proactive in project age them. In this study, three common areas were visible
management. They are also members of project manage- when managing risk and opportunity. They exist in the fol-
ment professional networks, trying to improve the manage- lowing situations:
ment of projects.
 In the tendering/bid proposal phase, where risk and
3.3. Case study interviews opportunity identification is mostly originated from
the company itself, e.g. from type of customer, technol-
The case study was based on interviews involving pro- ogy, the ability to successfully achieve the customer
ject management professionals. The respondents included expectations, and customer solidity. These are examples
project directors, project managers, a managing director of traditional business risk. Some projects estimate the
with responsibility for project management, and process risks and opportunities in terms of cost by functions
 R. Olsson / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 745–752 749

and summarize and add an overall risk, and sometimes ing opportunities. Instead, respondents stated opportuni-
opportunity, contingency. Respondents found the ten- ties as being identified by other reasons. Examples
dering/bid proposal phase the most common for identi- included by superior knowledge, by chance, by having a
fying opportunities. holistic view, and by determined work and dedication.
 In the project, where risk and opportunity owners are However, respondents recognized the identification of
identified and assigned. Actions conducted according opportunities as part of the organizational result, especially
to the contingency available to minimize the risk and in the bid/tender phase.
realize the opportunity. Several tools and techniques
were used, but respondents usually have well defined 4.3. Perception on uncertainty and opportunity
procedures for forming a judgment.
 For the product, where the product was scrutinized to Respondents consider risk to be a negative outcome of
identify potential design or application risks. The adher- uncertainty. All but one respondent sees uncertainty as
ence to the risk management process was apparent. the somewhat pragmatic view of being ‘‘something that
Here, a clear distinction was found for projects for you cannot foresee’’ ‘‘. . . when you do not know what will
which the product is a medical device or is used medi- happen . . .’’. Respondents felt that uncertainty usually
cally. For such products, patient risk is a key factor stems from the combination of different variables. Exam-
for the whole project, superseding other aspects of risk. ples include the surrounding environment and the attention
Also, opportunities were not clearly a part of the con- of the surrounding world, the internal environment and the
cept of risk management in these projects. people the project consists of, and the design and use of the
product to fulfill customer expectation. One of the respon-
dents has a different view regarding uncertainty; namely,
4.2. Approach to manage uncertainty that uncertainty is something that you need to act on, thus
implying there is always a possibility to manage uncertain-
Respondents make use of the risk management process ties and that a certain control over uncertainty can be
in the case of the bid/tender phase. Some companies obtained.
include this risk management activity into the business pro- Also, all respondents see opportunity as positive in sev-
cesses. It is then excluded as a separate risk management eral senses. Results indicate that opportunity stems from
process. The study shows it is, not surprisingly, quite easy uncertainty, and opportunity is considered the positive per-
to find opportunities in this phase of the project. However, ception of uncertainty. Opportunity also seems to be
the respondents did not necessarily participate in the risk restricted to the lifecycle of the project. In other words,
and opportunity sessions. Instead, sales departments and opportunity is a positive effect of uncertainty that can be
senior management mostly did this activity. In projects, managed during the life cycle of the project.
respondents all felt that risk management is a part of pro- One respondent argued that ‘‘. . . as soon as you talk
ject management. Most projects have a formalized project about risk, it is the negative effect [of uncertainty] you
management process, which is used to different degrees. are talking about and then you always miss out on oppor-
Firstly, the risk and follow-up meetings were, according tunities. Instead we talk about uncertainties and probabil-
to existing process or to the overall project management, ities. . .’’. All respondents stated that the more holistic view
follow-up meetings adopted by the company. Secondly, project members have on scope, constraints, project goals,
the results of project risk management varied between the customer expectations, etc., the easier it is to reflect on
projects. Some projects were ordered to present and discuss opportunities. Results indicate that one major difference
the present risk status, whereas other projects found no one between uncertainty and opportunity is the fact that when
interested in the actual status as long as the ‘‘iron triangle’’ considering uncertainty, a lack of holistic view was appar-
(i.e. time, cost, and quality) was kept. However, the distinc- ent. Thus, the contrary can be said when considering
tion between risk and opportunity was not unanimous. For opportunity. Stated another way, project managers con-
projects where dominant governmental or other approval sider uncertainties a lack of an overall, holistic view of
bodies dictate procedures, opportunities were not part of events affecting the project and the project’s efficiency in
the normal project management vocabulary. The respon- organizational execution and effectiveness and towards
dents state that planning risk responses and making them the customer. Either the project manager him/herself or
happen was up to the project manager, in conjunction with the project team suffers from this lack.
the functional representatives within the project.
Finally, the management of opportunities in the project 4.4. Factors influencing opportunity management
execution phase did not follow any formal risk manage-
ment process in any of the projects. If opportunities were Although not prioritised in terms of importance, this
identified, and later managed, it was not due to the risk study finds several factors influencing a project’s ability
management process used in the project. Although few to manage opportunities. It was, early in the analysis, pos-
projects include opportunities as part of risk management sible to categorize influencing factors into project internal
scope, respondents did not make use of that when manag- and project external factors. In general, respondents view
750 R. Olsson / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 745–752

the internal factors as most influential in terms of enhanc- 4.4.2. Project external factors
ing the management of opportunities. However, it is not Respondents considered two major external factors
possible to weigh the internal factors’ individual effect on important: the ability to communicate with the customer
the overall influence on opportunity management and other functional disciplines and the understanding of
effectiveness. the customer view on project results. Once more communi-
cation is mentioned. External communication also implies
4.4.1. Project internal factors the other factor, customer view on project objectives. These
Three factors stand out as major internal factors: com- two factors have in common the creation of a holistic view,
petence, team spirit and internal communication. Compe- a view of seeing the project from above and in so doing
tence relates both to the project team members and the being able to oversee customer expectations, as well as
project manager him/herself. For the team, what is meant being able to communicate project related information
is first of all the competence and experience in its own area (e.g. problems, expectations and assumptions) with the
of expertise. However, the ability to work as a team player customer.
is also part of this competence, encouraging an open dis- Respondents also stated the importance of external
cussion. The respondents see the project manager’s compe- information within the organization, with other functional
tence as the most important competence, where areas such disciplines as well as with stakeholders and steering groups.
as the ability to handle a group of people and the under- This communication would enhance the project manager’s
standing and communication of not only project objectives understanding of other internal requirements, expressed
but also customer and organizational requirements are and unexpressed.
considered important. Team spirit is seen as the ability of
both team and project manager to be committed and to 5. Discussion
create an environment where thoughts can be ventilated
and discussions enabled. Internal communication relies As previously stated, three common areas were visible
mostly on the project manager and her/his ability to enable when managing risk and opportunity. They existed in the
and promote communication within the team in conjunc- Bid/sales phase, in project execution and for the product.
tion with the two previous factors, in meetings and other- These distinctions are compared below in Table 2 with
wise. Respondents also expressed another factor as what Holt [14] describes as ‘‘tame’’, ‘‘messes’’, and ‘‘wicked
important: the possibility for reflection. This implies time problems’’. In Table 2, organization problems are also
for reflection and the understanding of the team and the included. This is because the findings of this study reflect
project manager. Also, the conscious action of the project organization problems as an influential factor which is inte-
manager is included here. One such action could be not grated with the other factors.
only allowing time for reflection but also proactively pro- ‘‘Tame’’ problems are convergent by definition; a solu-
moting and initiating reflection in the form of e.g. focus tion is always assumed. ‘‘Messes’’ are convergent if we
groups. The common denominator for these factors is the agree on what overlaps, on appropriate strategies and on
project manager. This is because it is within her/his man- the kind of ‘‘climate’’ we wish to maintain. ‘‘Wicked prob-
date and responsibility to enable good communication lems’’, in turn, are divergent if no ethic or overriding social
and to create team spirit. He/she does this by understand- theory exists [14]. Based on this reasoning, the findings in
ing the project objectives, as well as the requirements from this study will be compared. Although respondents consid-
the organization and the customer. ered risk management as a very important part of project

Table 2
Problem types compared to findings, adapted from Holt [14]
Organization Bid/sales phase Project execution Product
Type of Messes and wicked Tame (although customer Messes and wicked Tame (although messes if human/
problem problems interaction would be messes) problems customer interface)
Characterized It cannot be solved by States of affairs are broken down It cannot be solved by States of affairs are broken down
by component solving in into parts, the components are component solving in into parts, the components are
isolation. Different understood, and the probability of isolation. Different understood, and the probability of
assumptions, values, beliefs known sequences of components assumptions, values, beliefs known sequences of components
in opposition to one in conjunction is analyzed in terms in opposition to one in conjunction is analyzed in terms
another of possibility of failure and/or another of possibility of failure and/or
accidents accidents
Complexity Dynamic/structural and Structural Dynamic/structural and Structural and dynamic
high behavioural high behavioural complexity
complexity complexity
Solved by Communication and Analytical and algorithmic Communication and Analytical and algorithmic
conversation conversation
 R. Olsson / International Journal of Project Management 25 (2007) 745–752 751

management, its applicability differed depending on when Furthermore, opportunities, as well as risk, if considered
it was used. negative, most certainly require a systems view of activities.
There are primarily two reasons for this. First, in order to
5.1. ‘‘Tame’’ type of risks and opportunities identify an opportunity, one must be able to have a holistic
view concerning objectives. Second, the secondary effects of
In the bid/sales phase and for the product, the risk man- realizing the opportunity must be visible (i.e. what are the
agement process was used to the greatest extent. The risk effects on objectives if the opportunity is realized)?
management focus in bid/sales was e.g. type of customer,
available versus required technology, degree of innovation, 5.3. ‘‘Wicked problem’’ types of risks and opportunities
the company’s ability to satisfy customer expectation, and
more traditional business risks, such as customer solidity, ‘‘Wicked problems’’ cannot be solved. They can only be
knowledge of product and type of project. For the product, contained. This requires full acknowledgement that they
the use of the risk management process was more obvious are conditioning influences of fortune and necessity [14].
when the requirements from regulatory and approval Following this statement, existing risk management pro-
bodies were apparent. There, the risk management focus cesses, with their logical and convergent way of dealing
was on product compliance, safety aspects of the product with uncertainty, cannot fully manage ‘‘wicked problems’’.
and production, and the end user perspective. Opportuni- Instead, another approach needs to be adopted. Holt
ties were identified in the bid/sale phase by using the risk argues the emphasis should be as much on resolution
management and/or the business process, e.g. sales process. between alternative solutions and the dissolution of confu-
This phase was considered the major area for identifying sions as upon the pursuit of optimal solutions. This relates
opportunities. Product opportunities were not identified both internally within as well as outside of the organiza-
systematically according to a risk management process, tion. The results of this study show that the understanding
and the frequency of opportunities was considered low. of the customer view of project result is an important factor
These areas are suggested to be considered ‘‘tame’’, for enhanced opportunity management. This can be classi-
where the risk management process is able to identify, fied as a ‘‘wicked problem’’, in that it is an uncertainty that
assess and manage uncertainties. The bid/sales phase is might not be solved. It requires interaction and communi-
considered an area with structural complexity, where ana- cation with the customer. Further, it is by no means certain
lytical and algorithmic reasoning could manage uncertain- that the solution is achieved, since it involves behavioural
ties. However, the bid/sales interaction with customer and/ complexity. As one respondent said: ‘‘. . . if business goes
or other external stakeholders could imply a ‘‘messes’’ type well for the customer, we will get more work . . .’’: Here,
of problem. Here, the risk management process is sug- the customer expectations on the projects are unknown,
gested as not being able to manage uncertainties. This is based on the projects influence on the customer’s success.
because the nature of the problems is more dynamic and This reasoning also is suggested by Kutch and Hall [19],
behaviourally complex. Product-related uncertainty can who argue that it would appear that ignorance of risk
also be dynamic and behaviourally complex, since a prod- arises for two reasons. First, project teams are unable to
uct might contain human interaction by the customer or its predict risk because of contextual conditions such as com-
systems. plexity and dynamics. Second, the teams are unwilling to
look for risks outside their defined scope of project man-
5.2. ‘‘Messes’’ type of risks and opportunities agement skills.

‘‘Messes’’ type of risks and opportunities are character- 6. Conclusions

ized by high complexity and cannot be solved by compo-
nent solving in isolation. Such problems are suggested to In conclusion, this paper has analyzed active project
be present in an organization and in the project environ- managers’ application to existing risk management pro-
ment. The existing risk management process can cover cesses and tried to identify factors that affect the ability
dynamic and structural complexity problems to a degree. to manage opportunities. The aim of this paper was to find
However, that would not be the case with behavioural empirical evidence on the general opinion that risk man-
complexity. Organizations and projects have different agement in practice focuses mainly on risk, as opposed to
stakeholders and different requirements and objectives. opportunity. The result shows that formal risk manage-
Thus, they demand a commitment to understanding how ment processes are used. Opportunities are mostly identi-
things going on ‘‘here and now’’ interact with other things fied in the bids/sales phase, and the adherence to risk
going on ‘‘there and later’’. The result of this study finds management process and/or appropriate business process
communication as an important factor in managing oppor- is obvious. In project execution, risk management adher-
tunity. However, managing opportunity for the ‘‘messes’’ ence is dependant on the project manager and the follow-
type of uncertainty cannot easily be done: it requires a up requirements. For projects in which products are under
holistic view of both organisational and customer expecta- strict regulatory and/or approval body requirements, the
tions. Such expectations are not necessarily unanimous. risk management process is extensively used. However,
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