Incorrect Identifying the Risk

People refuse to discuss the risk management might they face during project , this fear due to natural of human being that we do not want to hear a bad news ,and discuss about things may/may not happen in future “if we have time we have to spend it in project implementation” . The executive of organization will make risk management a search for opportunities as well as threats . There are a number of reasons behind the failure in risk management, one of them is Incorrectly Identifying the Risk .

Identifying the risk is an essential part of project management ,due to the fact that any risk may happen that will cause you to miss one of the following: product, schedule or resource target .

The fact that organization haven’t undertaken project similar to present project is a risk ,you can start with a default risk associated to the project (life cycle)stages; down some of them .

Stage 1: Starting the project ; possible risk are no formal feasibility study has been done ,no formal benefit-cost analysis has been done .

Stage 2: Organizing and preparing ;possible risk are some plan not approval ,part of plan are missing .

Stage 3: Carrying out the work :risk might face are ; no team procedures to resolve conflicts ,incorrect information regarding schedule performance ,one of key project worker reassigned .

Stage 4: Closing project ; Risk associated with this stage  are ,project team members are assigned to new project before the current project is completed ,and project result not approved by one of project drivers .

5 thoughts on “Incorrect Identifying the Risk

  1. I completely agree with you that identifying risk is an essential part of any project. Like you said you already start with a risk by taking a project that you have not work with before. Identifying risk and using effective risk management will help you in the success of the project. It will help you anticipate any problems that might occur and have a solution ready due to the extensive discussions of how to remedy it. You can’t know or think of all the risks in a project due to the unpredictable nature of risk but you could minimize the number of unknown risks and impact by using effective risk management.

  2. Risk management is unpleasant (and even a nuisance) for most people, especially once we are in the middle of a project and busy executing the work. Team members often don’t like to stop the work and communicate or document the risks they know are looming around the corner. Failing to communicate those risks can be detrimental to a project – potential issues can’t be avoided or impact lessened if they aren’t known and actively managed.

    In my experience, I’ve found that team members who are subject matter experts and/or closest to the execution of deliverables are in the best position to identify risks that can derail the project. Often, these project team members don’t have any project management training, and are not proficient in articulating the risk, potential impact, and mitigation plan we need to implement. In addition, as mentioned above, these team members are often busy completing the work.

    The best way I have found to enable risk identification is for the project manager to ask questions and probe during team status meetings. Asking questions like “does this concern you? why?” or “what is your biggest concern right now?” can help draw out the risks and issues, and allow you, as the project manager, to document and manage those risks proactively.

  3. I can relate to this. There is an expression we have in the United States, “don’t kill the messenger.” Basically no one wants to be the bearer or voice of bad news. However these people are critical to the success of a project, and the best contributions of these people are in the planning stage, Stage 1, of the project. These people can help identify the opportunities for success and navigate your project around failure. Project management is usually thought of implementing an idea or process, and once the idea or process is actualized the project is completed. This in today’s process is not the case. The intricate web of process dependency in today’s environment requires a follow up period, an effectiveness evaluation period such that project can be reflected on for true success based on what it was formed to accomplish. In all stages of the project, Stage 1, 2, 3 and 4 risk identification and elimination must be examined and documented to prevent rehashing the same conversations and risks. This risk identification should focus on being succinct and to the point, otherwise your risk identification and mitigation strategies will suffer from analysis paralysis. A great statement by Milena is that a project manager must always be proactively managing these risks as they are identified.

  4. I agree with that an aspect that is often overlooked in risk management is a reflection and documentation of what had transpired throughout the life of the project. Hours and hours of planning and preparation can only prepare you so much but once execution time arises, there will be unanticipated events that cause a deviation from the schedule. How quickly and effectively you can analyze what the root cause is and allocate resources/corrective actions to mitigate it will ultimately determine how well your project will perform. This is where is might be critical to have a well thought out budget, schedule (with all assumptions clearly articulate) and scope for each task. With this information, you solicit the opinion from the functional leaders who will ultimately be responsible for completing the work in regards to the risk and opportunities that might come up. Without it, any variances and lessons learned become less effective because there is no comparison point and the original estimates might have been unfeasible and set the project up fro failure from the beginning. Upon completion, it would be useful to performa a reconciliation that clearly describes why risks were or were not realized why opportunities were or were not realized as well. This information should be available across the organization and shared with all team members so they can take a proactive approach to these risks in the future.

  5. Risk is a difficult item because it takes so many forms and all risks cannot possibly be anticipated and some of them cannot be avoided (may be lessened). For a fundraiser, risk exists in people not showing up, not hitting financial targets, people being injured, vendors failing, weather not cooperating(for outdoor events), and many other items. Within each of these categories are other potential risk areas. At my company, we had a VP – Risk Management. During his tenure, we had several large claims. In one of these instances, one of our vendors provided a dye for one of our products (the total annual cost of this dye was less than $1,000). Unfortunately, this dye was causing cracks in the spouts it was used on, so we had customers with leaking product and large claims. Well, the vendor was not carrying liabiliy insurance. So, we were out for those claim amounts, but could that have been avoided? I can certainly say the policy surrounding vendor liability insurance has become more strict. The idea is to identify all possible material risks (requires creativity) and hedge those with insurance, procedures, or backup plans.

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