Macro Risk Management vs Micro Risk Management Essay Example

hand is targeted to each individual project separately.

Each risk and exposure the current project faces is scrutinized and is compared to “standards and criteria that are used to minimize the possibility of large individual variances above the mean, and actions are taken to move the expected result. ” (Kendrick, 2009, p. 5) For the project leader there is only micro management; in the sense that the project can only have one end result. Each decision has a definitive impact on the outcome of the project and there is no balancing out or relying on averages. Therefore the level of risk involved is much higher and there is a smaller margin for error involved.

For a maintenance technician in the United States Air Force, micro risk based projects are the norm. A typical project involves the filming of a satellite launch at Vandenberg AFB. The framework and timeframe to deliver a product and its capabilities are pre-established with little room for deviation. The transmission method and equipment requirements that were needed to complete this project had to be determined. Once the necessary information is compiled, a plan drawn, the terrain scouted, the weather forecast checked, the execution phase is entered.

Every decision made during this project had a risk and time delay associated. From the method of transmission (microwaves instead of fiber optics) and the equipment required (cable reels, zip ties and adaptors etc. ) down to the type of connectors that were used. We conducted a practice run and then the live feed took place. During the show there were some technical glitches, but proper analyses of the risks allowed for

alternative routes for transmitting the feed. A cable reel malfunctioned just before show time and a switch to a different reel had to be made.

As one cable reel was laid a spare was ran next to it. A little more time consuming but the redundancy proved to be worth it that day as a simple patch allowed the feed to continue without disruption. These steps avoided severe impact which “is usually measured in time” (Kendrick, 2009, p. 7). So in determining the risks associated with that particular project it was found that weather often plays havoc on the microwaves which is why a fiber optic line active just in case the microwaves started misbehaving.

The reason the microwave selection was best is that while there are more variables that can affect the shot, they are infinitely easier to work with and provide more flexibility. The weather held and the only issue was the cable reel going bad. The result of risk micro management in this case was that the broadcast of the satellite launch was executed flawlessly and error free. The deliverables we met within the specified timeframe and the customers were satisfied. Every decision from method of transmission and where to set up the shots were critical to the outcome of this project.