متدولوژی مدیریت ریسک پروژه برای شرکت های کوچک

• We present a methodology designed for internal project management in small firms.• The proposed management model focuses on project risks.• The methodology influences project strategic alignment and results management.• It includes simple tools, formats and risk checklists with recommended actions.• It was tested in 5 projects with different characteristics (sector and firm size).We present a project management methodology designed for small businesses (SMEs), who need to run projects beyond their normal operations. These projects are critical to the survival of these organisations, such as the development of new products to adapt to the market or new legislation, management system implementations, etc. Very frequently, the managers of these projects are not project management professionals, so they need guidance to have autonomy, using minimal time and documentation resources. The risk management method outlined in this paper is based on extensive research with a large number (72) of Spanish companies. This new methodology considers the factors that are usually neglected by SMEs; i.e., project alignment with the company's strategy and results management. The methodology, based on project risk management, includes simple tools, templates and risk checklists with recommended actions and indicators. For validation it was tested in five different types of real projects (innovation, management systems and ICT implementation) of industrial and service companies with different characteristics.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs)1 represent a very important part of the European economy, as they are the major source of jobs, create entrepreneurial spirit and innovation and, therefore, are essential to promote competitiveness and employment (European Commission, 2008). SMEs generate 66.7% of employment in the European Union, employing over 90 million people (Eurostat, 2011). SMEs are companies with limited resources due to their size; therefore they must overcome great difficulties to cope with new projects. Besides, the need to open foreign markets, market evolution, legislation changes, management modernisation, etc. make it necessary for many small organisations to undertake projects. Projects are the main tool for change in these companies, and are often undertaken beyond their usual activities. They also tend to be internal and managed by unskilled staff. Small businesses do not generally use the most recognised standards in project management (i.e., PMBoK, PRINCE2R, ICB); in some cases due to ignorance, and in others due to their relative complexity it compared to the normally reduced size of SME's projects.

The main contribution of this research is a project risk management methodology, specific to SMEs, which helps with the strategic project formulation, and is validated through the successful implementation of each of the proposed tools and activities. A field study was carried out in collaboration with several industrial and service companies of a wide range of business activities, who managed projects, often traumatic, from which we obtained very valuable information to confirm the data obtained in the literature research and define their specific needs. This methodology is applicable to all project phases and is adaptable to different types of projects and companies. In addition, it uses few resources, does not require specific training, provides information for decision making and integrates knowledge and results management.