An Analytical Network Process model for risks prioritisation in megaprojects

Megaprojects are complex and expensive projects that often involve social, technical, economic, environmental and political (STEEP) challenges to project management. Despite these challenges, project owners and financiers continue to invest large sums of money in megaprojects that run high risks of being over schedule and over budget. While some degree of cost and schedule risks are considered during project planning, the challenge of modelling risks interactions and impacts on project performance still remains. To tackle this technical problem, this research adopted the Analytical Network Process and combined it with a new Risk Priority Index as an innovative approach to model risks analytically based on data collected from the Edinburgh Tram Network project at the construction phase. The approach provides an interactive way for developers to prioritise risks across the project supply network and to initiate timely mitigation strategies against significant cost and time consequences of STEEP risks on megaproject performance.