Empowering Risk Communication: Use of Visualizations to Describe Project Risks
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148, Issue 5
Abstract
Risk information that is used during project risk identification and assessment should be communicated well to enable risk-informed decision making. This study aimed to use risk descriptors for risk contextualization and explore how visualization can improve the communication of project risk information. Risk descriptors (e.g., assumptions and controllability) were identified, and two workshops were held to verify the selected descriptors and explore the effectiveness of visualizations for risk communication. The first workshop was designed to assess the perceptions of different risk experts, and the second workshop was a case study application to evaluate the usability of risk visualization. Qualitative analysis of the first workshop revealed four themes, specifically standardization, representation, customization, and practicality, to be considered during risk visualization. The second workshop confirmed the value-added through the use of visualizations and the usefulness of risk descriptors. Although this study did not focus on the best way of delivering the most useful data, it contributes to the existing body of knowledge by characterizing risk descriptors and introducing new insights regarding the use of visualization for communicating and describing risks in projects.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The presented work is part of a research project (Project No. 217M471) funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK). TUBITAK’s support is gratefully acknowledged.
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Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 148 • Issue 5 • May 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Jul 8, 2021
Accepted: Jan 9, 2022
Published online: Mar 10, 2022
Published in print: May 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Aug 10, 2022
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