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Framework for Project Risk Identification |
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Neville Turbit - Project Perfect
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Overview
There
are many ways to approach a risk assessment. The approach can range
from a random brain storming of risks to a highly structured list
of risk areas. This white paper looks at something in between. How
to use a series of prompts to find risks. How have I used such an
approach in risk workshops? I usually adopt this approach as a 'tick
the box' list at the end of the risk assessment to see if we have
missed any areas of risk.

The Conceptual Level
It helps if we think about the source of risks in any project. To
do this we need to set a risk context. We need to think about the
context within which a business operates. We need to think about
the risks that can come from each part of the business environment.
To draw an analogy, a SWOT analysis looks at:
- Strengths and Weaknesses of the organisation
- Opportunities and Threats outside the organisation
This is not a bad context to think of risks.
If we were to try and build a framework for risk identification,
one way is to look at the risks within, and the risks without. The
risks within are those risks that originate due to the way we operate
and who we are. The risks without are the risks the environment within
which we operate pose to us.

Looking Within
We can further split the risks within into:
- Those risks that originate because the project exists
- Those risks that originate regardless of whether the project
exists or not. They are risks originating from the nature of the
corporation.
Let me give some examples. A risk that falls into the former category
may be related to the budget allocate to the project. It may be related
to the accessibility of key staff who will contribute to the project.
External risks may relate to lack of capitol to invest in the project.
It may be related to cumbersome approval processes within the organisation.
It could be related to lack of internal expertise in the area.

Project Related Risks
We can split this again into two groups.
- Risks related to the management of the project. We can use PMBOK
as a basis for further splitting these risks.
- Scope related risks
- Time related risks
- Resource related risks
- Communication related risks
- Cost related risks
- Quality related risks
- Risk management related risks. Risks related to how you identify
and manage risks.
- Procurement related risks
- Integration related risks
- Risks related to the production of the project deliverables.
These can be further split into:
- Concept related risks. Is the underlying concept flawed? What
will we do if it is?
- Design related risks. What if the design is flawed or not optimal?
- Construction/procurement related risks. Risks related to building
the concept.
- Delivery related risks. Risks in delivering the output of the
project.
- Benefit realisation related risks. Risks around the delivery
of benefits or the measurement of benefits.
- Ongoing support risks. Supporting the deliverables into the
future.

Corporate Risks
An organisation can be looked at as:
- A group of people
- Utilising money
- To build assets including intellectual property, physical assets,
products, services and relationships
- And adopting business processes to achieve an outcome (usually
a profit for shareholders)
Each of these is potentially a source of risks

People
People risks can be related to:
- Personality traits. Issues with difficult or conflicting personalities.
- Organisational structures. Lack of authority or accountability
to address project decision making.
- Availability of resources
- Knowledge and skill of resources. Having the right resources
to work on the project. Can also cover the lack of suitable competence
within the organisation.

Money
- Availability of funding
- Cash flow. Fluctuations in spending across the project.
- Cost blow out. Managing variations.
- Demands on corporate funding from other areas. What would happen
if your organisation was involved in a takeover? What if there
is a profit slump?

Assets
- Facilities and equipment required by the project
- Capability of the organisation to run the project. Many organisations
have taken on projects they were ill equipped to run.
- Availability of external expertise. Sometimes the risk is the
lack of realisation that you need external expertise to make the
project successful.
- Impact on existing products and services
- Development of new products and services

Business Processes
- Bureaucracy. Becoming bogged down in internal decision making
policies and procedures and resulting delays.
- Governance (or lack of it). This covers project governance as
well as governance at the corporate level.
- Flexibility of processes. Sometimes the business has to adopt
new processes as the result of a project. Is the organisation flexible?

Looking Without
Most organisations deal with four groups of people.
- Suppliers
- Customers
- Regulators
- The General Public

Suppliers
The risks associates with suppliers are usually around:
- Capability to deliver. Are you sure your suppliers are able to
deliver the desired quality on time and within budget?
- Timeliness. Can they meet deadlines?
- Cost. Are you confident of your cost estimates?
- Quality. Will the quality of deliverables meet your expectations?

Customers
Customer risks relate to:
- Product acceptance. Will your customers (internally and externally)
accept the output of the project?
- Value perception. Will your customers see they are getting value
for money? Many projects have delivered to specification but were
considered a failure because it was seen as too expensive for what
was delivered.
- Competitor activity. If a project takes months or even years,
your competitors are not necessarily standing still. What are they
likely to do when they hear about your project? Will they neutralise
your work by completing the same activity themselves?
- After sales service. Are there risks around the team disbanding
and leaving no mechanism to support the project deliverables?
- Product performance. Will what you deliver do what it is intended
to do?

Regulators
Regulators have a separate set of risks. These include:
- Compliance with existing regulations
- Development of new regulation. Many projects require regulatory
structures be changed. This can be a long process if a regulatory
body decides it is difficult or controversial.
- Time to adapt/meet regulatory requirements. The time it takes
to meet regulatory requirements can be extensive. Sometimes to
get a sign off for a new project can take months or even years.
- Diligence of the regulatory authority. Some regulatory bodies
seem to operate on the basis that if they can't find something
wrong, they are not doing their job.
- Change of regulatory regime (e.g. Change of Government). Many
companies have been burnt by changes in a regulatory environment.
It may be a change in government or a change in public perception.
Imagine a financial project that started just before the GFC. If
it was still running after the GFC it would be subject to all sorts
of new regulatory restrictions.

The General Public
These are some of the most unpredictable risks. Who ever built the
GFC into their project risk assessment? Who in the US government
anticipated Wikileaks? Here are a few starting points:
- Lack of acceptance by the public. Good products fail if the public
does not see the value in the product. Sony learnt that with Betamax
versus VHS.
- Adverse publicity. Competitors can use adverse publicity as a
competitive weapon. FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) is not restricted
to big software companies.
- Changing public values. What happens if the public changes it's
values? One example was a cross city tunnel in Sydney. It had wide
support until people realised that part of the private/public deal
was that the government closed or restricted roads around the tunnel
to force people to use the tunnel. The public did a 180 degree
shift in their perception of the value of the development.
- Lobby group activity. Like it or not, most western countries
live in a "banana" environment. "Banana" stands for "Build Absolutely
Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone". In some projects it is almost inevitable
that people will oppose any change. That can pose a risk.
- Economic changes. If there is a change in the economy - boom
or bust - what will happen?
- Political changes. A change of government can be a major risk
in some cases.

Conclusion
There is no "one size fits all" template for evaluating risks. I
use the framework above as a generic checklist to make sure I have
not missed any risks. In most cases, after I have put together a
risk assessment, I can find some risks I missed by using the template.
Some areas actually overlap in some projects.
One thing you might want to do is to start a list of generic risks
for each category above. Use them as a checklist against your current
project and see if they apply. If you have developed a mitigation
strategy for the risk, perhaps it can be applied to your current
project and save you time and effort. Below is the full checklist:
Risk Checklist
Looking Within |
Project Related |
- Scope
- Time
- Resource
- Communication
- Cost
- Quality
- Risk Management
- Procurement
- Integration
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Production of Deliverables |
- Concept
- Design
- Construction/Procurement
- Delivery
- Benefit Realisation
- Ongoing Support
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Corporate |
- People
- Money
- Assets
- Business Processes
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Looking Without |
Suppliers |
- Capability
- Timeliness
- Cost
- Quality
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Customers |
- Product Acceptance
- Value Perception
- Competitor Activity
- After Sales Service
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Regulators |
- Compliance
- New Regulation
- Time to comply
- Diligence
- Regulatory Change
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General Public |
- Acceptance
- Adverse Publicity
- Changing Values
- Lobby Groups
- Economic Change
- Political Change
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The
Author
Neville Turbit has had over 20 years experience as a Project Management
and IT consultant and almost an equal time working in Business. He
is the principal of Project Perfect. Neville can be contacted at turbit@projectperfect.com.au

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