Risk management - Areas to consider when reviewing risk
Other areas to consider when reviewing risk
In order to bring a little structure to the risk review for the project, people often find it easier to approach the problem in a more formal way.
These will usually be a series of prompts or triggers to get the project team thinking.
In the main a brain storm technique is very useful.
Broad areas of concern would be:
- Work package
- Resource
- Mechanism
- Timing
These could also be viewed as What, Who, How and When.
Work package
Is the scope or scale of the work package well defined?
Are all the assumptions you are using valid?
Are you happy where all of the accountability lies, particularly with respect to contracts?
Much of this information can be covered within the proposal, for example, deliverables, completion dates etc.
These areas are covered in more detail elsewhere [see ‘The Complete Project Management package’] and [see 'The Complete Project Management plus PRINCE2'] in this series.
Remember close liaison with the customer is vital. You both need to be on the same wavelength with regard to what is being delivered.
It won’t be very useful to deliver one level of quality when another is expected.
Is the project future proof?
Will technology move at such a pace to make some aspects of the work package difficult to achieve? Will some components no longer exist?
Resource
Is it available when needed?
Will you need to buy in expertise?
Are there any recruitment issues, for example, training delays?
Who will accrue any extra cost that are incurred… you or the contractors?
When more than one group is involved in the management of the project who is responsible?
Mechanism
Is everyone familiar with the methods and standards or protocols you will be adopting during the project?
Is the infrastructure in place to support the project?
Are all the contracts in place and are they satisfactory?
Timing
Will the project activities conflict with any other projects running at the same time?
What happens when facilities you are expecting do not turn up on time?
Cash flow may be an issue. Will the customers payments for work carried out be out of synchronisation with your expenditure?
These are just a few of the points you may wish to consider.
Some of these and other issues have been discussed in detail eleswhere.