The success or failure) of any project is measured in terms of its ability or inability) to provide the project deliverables at acceptable quality levels within the cost and schedule constraints of the project. While qualitative measures of project cost and schedule performance namely the Cost Performance Index CPI), and the Schedule Performance Index SPI)) are widely accepted and used, no similar measure currently exists for measuring project quality. This research developed an easy-to-use methodology enabling practitioners to develop and use a Quality Performance Index QPI) that is suited to the unique circumstances of their project. The QPI enables practitioners to measure and monitor project quality throughout the project life cycle. It can be tracked and compared to the more traditional CPI, and SPI to compare performance against expectations, identify trends, and determine when and where corrective action is needed.

Nowadays ports play a critic role in the supply chains of contemporary companies and global commerce. Since the ports operational effectiveness is critical on the development of competitive supply chains, their contribution to regional economies is essential. With the globalization of markets, the traffic of containers flowing through the different ports has increased significantly in the last decades. In order to attract additional container traffic and improve their comparative advantages over the competition, ports serving same hinterlands explore ways to improve their operations to become more attractive to shippers. This research explores the hypothesis that lowering the variability of the service time observed in the handling of containers, a port reduces the total logistics costs of their customers, increase its competiveness and that of their customers. This thesis proposes a methodology that allows the quantification of the variability existing in the services of a port derived from factors like inefficient internal operations, vessel congestion or external disruptions scenarios. It focuses on assessing the impact of this variability on the users logistic costs. The methodology also allows a port to define competitive strategies that take into account its variability and that of competing ports. These competitive strategies are also translated into specific parameters that can be used to design and adjust internal operations. The methodology includes 1) a definition of a proper economic model to measure the logistic impact of ports variability, 2) a network analysis approach to the defined problem and 3) a systematic procedure to determine competitive service time parameters for a port. After the methodology is developed, a case study is presented where it is applied to the Port of Guaymas. This is done by finding service time parameters for this port that yield lower logistic costs than the observed in other competing ports.

Risk management plays an important role in managing a portfolio of projects. The reason for having a portfolio of projects is the maximization of the portfolio value following a selection of projects under an accepted level of risk. The concepts of value maximization and risk-benefit balancing are fundamental concepts in the theory of portfolio management. This is the importance of risk management which maintains an acceptable level of risk and maximizes the portfolio value searching and increasing opportunities. The research conducted has had as result the development of three elements of a risk management methodology which is specifically designed for the management of project portfolios. The three developed elements consider decisions taken during the processes of portfolio management； they also consider portfolio characteristics from a strategic standpoint. They highlight the research of opportunities as well as their maximization. Specifically, the developed elements are: a structure for identifying risks and opportunities, a set of key strategic performance indicators, and a framework for building and using a matrix to monitor risks and opportunities. These elements can be easily integrated within generic methodologies or accepted standards of risk management. The elements do not invalidate existing concepts in the literature. In opposite, they complement existing theory of risk management adding concepts found in the literature and considered as a need by other researchers. Research has revealed the existing relationships between portfolio objectives and projects which form a network of interdependences. These interdependences are built from objectives, benefits and projects； once these components are extended on a time scale, they form flows of “projects-profit- objectives.” This way of exhibiting those concepts is very useful because it allows for searching the impact on the achievement of objectives. At the same time, they allow for setting the manoeuvre margin to react and minimizing or maximizing consequences. Action plans are put in place since the first detection of materialized risks or opportunities. It provides an anticipatory characteristic which helps adapt the portfolio to changing conditions in which the portfolio progresses. The research has explored several concepts, such as benefits management, key performance indicators, critical success factors, and the complexity of a project portfolio. It has also explored current guides and methodologies in order to establish a framework within which the developed elements would be integrated. In addition, a theoretical framework was set for each component in order to provide a solid theoretical basis on which further development of the element could be established. There are still areas of opportunity for continuing the development of a risk management methodology specifically designed for the management of a portfolio. The processes of identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and controlling risks need techniques and tools that consider the characteristics of this area. It will facilitate the achievement of portfolio strategic objectives or even exceeding them. By this means, it supports the role of risk management by helping maximize the strategic value of the portfolio.

Nowadays outsourcing is a prevailing trend in industry, which allows brand name companies to wholly concentrate on their core competences, as well as introducing some risks when outsourcing its production and procurement activities. In this thesis, we study two issues on outsourcing management with information asymmetries. We begin with the procurement outsourcing decisions. A brand name company may outsource the procurement activities along with production to a contract manufacturer in pursuit of a low cost, while such an approach may incur uncertainty on the quality of the materials and the final products. We consider a supply chain consisting of one brand name company, one contract manufacturer and a pool of material suppliers with distinct quality levels. The prices obtained from the suppliers depend on the bargaining power of the buyer, which is private information. We derive the optimal contracts under various scenarios to address whether the brand name company should outsource the procurement function and evaluate the value of procurement outsourcing strategy in offsetting supply chain risks. We also propose a quality management scheme as a means of fraud prevention in procurement outsourcing. In the second problem, we study dynamic outsourcing mechanism design. We examine a multi-period game in which a brand name company outsources the production to a contract manufacturer. The unit production cost in each period consists of two parts: a random shock that is only observed by the contract manufacturer, and a deterministic cost representing the learning effect, which decreases in the accumulated production volume. Our analysis reveals that the order quantity in each period is not only determined by the cost in the current period, but also by the past orders. Thus we derive the optimal quantity-based contracts in each period, and compare the decisions in different scenarios and analyzed the impact of the learning rate in dynamic mechanism design.

This thesis develops a low-investment marketing strategy that allows low-to-mid level farmers extend their commercialization reach by strategically sending containers of fresh produce items to secondary markets that present temporary arbitrage opportunities. The methodology aims at identifying time windows of opportunity in which the price differential between two markets create an arbitrage opportunity for a transaction； a transaction involves buying a fresh produce item at a base market, and then shipping and selling it at secondary market price. A decision-making tool is developed that gauges the individual arbitrage opportunities and determines the specific price differential or threshold level) that is most beneficial to the farmer under particular market conditions. For this purpose, two approaches are developed； a pragmatic approach that uses historic price information of the products in order to find the optimal price differential that maximizes earnings, and a theoretical one, which optimizes an expected profit model of the shipments to identify this optimal threshold. This thesis also develops risk management strategies that further reduce profit variability during a particular two-market transaction. In this case, financial engineering concepts are used to determine a shipment configuration strategy that minimizes the overall variability of the profits. For this, a Markowitz model is developed to determine the weight assignation of each component for a particular shipment. Based on the results of the analysis, it is deemed possible to formulate a shipment policy that not only increases the farmers commercialization reach, but also produces profitable operations. In general, the observed rates of return under a pragmatic and theoretical approach hovered between 0.072 and 0.616 within important two-market structures. Secondly, it is demonstrated that the level of return and risk can be manipulated by varying the strictness of the shipping policy to meet the overall objectives of the decision-maker. Finally, it was found that one can minimize the risk of a particular two-market transaction by strategically grouping the product shipments.

This dissertation contributes to insights regarding the implications of using Project Risk Management PRM) and Life Cycle Assessment LCA) in managing projects for a complex system. The PRM approach apprehends many forms of risk both internal and external within a given project and assists the manager in determining the level of importance of each individual project phase and component to optimize project success. The life cycle approach to project management is used with short-term limitations with respect to a products life cycle over several years. The literature discusses many tools and techniques that assist project managers in implementing optimal solutions, but published statistics indicate failures to meet schedules and/or budgets are still common. This dissertation combines PRM and LCA for ship repair and maintenance projects for a ships 35-year service life. A framework highlighting the fundamentals of PRM and LCA was developed for the purpose of improving a ships service life and operability. The results of the analysis of survey data from subject matter experts indicate that a PRM and LCA of complex systems is a viable methodology. The framework was validated by subject matter experts and produced viable evidence that the proposed framework, if implemented, may have a 34% success rate of accomplishing its stated purpose of: reducing ship systems, equipment, or component failure rates； reducing a ships life-time costs； and improve ship reliability towards meeting its 35 year operational service life. Furthermore, this dissertation contributes to the body of knowledge in the fields of project-risk management and life cycle applications by providing a framework of a complex system of systems of ship repair and maintenance that can be used for any complex system of organizational entities.