Project Risk Management Practices And Success Of Capital Projects In Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to establish the extent of application of project risk management practices such as risk identification, risk analysis and ranking, risk response and monitoring and use of risk management tools on Kenya Airports Authority capital projects and the influence of these practices on the success of these projects. This study adopted the case study of the Kenya Airports Authority which has implemented 44 projects which constituted this study’s targeted population. The projects had been implemented over the 3 years period from July 2009 to June 2012. Primary data was collected for the purpose of this study. It was collected using interviews and self administered structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data by way percentages, means, variance, standard deviation, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Findings from the study revealed that, risk management practices have been widely applied in projects which were considered to be complex as these projects attracted a lot of public attention because of substantial impacts on communities, economy, environment, and budgets. While there are plenty of risk management practices, tools and techniques available, many projects implementation teams did not often use them. From the analysis of the data collected, it was proved that risk management has a positive correlation with project success. When used consistently, risk management practices increased the chances of project success. Due to the low application of risk management practices on low uncertainty projects the study concluded that, there’s need to create more awareness on project risk management practices. Additional tools and risk management practices need to be developed and tested to determine which tools works best in the different scenarios and environments. This will ensure that risk management improves project performance and success.