1. Documentation Reviews
A structured review may be performed of project documentation, including plans, assumptions, previous project files, contracts, and other information. The quality of the plans, as well as consistency between those plans and the project requirements and assumptions can be indicators of risk in projects.
2. Information Gathering Techniques
Examples of information gathering techniques used in identifying risk can include:
• Brainstorming – The goal of Brainstorming is to obtain a comprehensive list of project risks. The project team usually performs brainstorming, often with multidisciplinary set of experts who are not part of the team. Ideas about project risk are gathered under the leadership of the facilitator; either in a traditional free form brainstorming session with ideas contributed by participants or structured using mass interviewing techniques such as the nominal group technique. Categories of risk, such as risk breakdown structure, can be used as a framework. Risks are then identified and categorized by the type of risk and their definitions are sharpened.
• Delphi technique – The Delphi technique is a way to reach a consensus of experts. Project risk experts participate in this technique anonymously. A facilitator uses a questionnaire to solicit ideas about the important project risks. The responses are summarized and are then recalculated to the experts for further comment. Consensus may be reached in a few rounds of their process. The Delphi technique helps reduce bias in data and keep in a few rounds of their process. The Delphi technique helps reduce bias in data and keep any one person from having undue influence on outcome.
• Interviewing – Interviewing experienced project participants, stakeholders, and subject matter experts can identify risks.
• Root cause analysis – Root cause analysis is a specific technique to identify a problem, discover the underlying causes that lead to it and develop preventive action
3. Checklist Analysis
Risk identification checklists can be developed based on historical information and knowledge that has been accumulated from previous similar projects and from other sources of information. The lowest level of the RBS can also be used as a risk checklist. While a checklist can be quick and simple, it is impossible to build an exhaustive one. The team should make sure to explore items that do not appear on the checklist. The checklist should be reviewed during the project closure to incorporate new lessons learned and improve it for use on future projects.
4. Assumption Analysis
Every project and every identified project risk is conceived and developed based on a set of hypotheses, scenarios or assumptions. Assumption analysis explores the validity of assumptions as they apply to the project. It identifies risks to the project from accuracy, instability, inconsistency, or incompetence of assumptions
Risk diagramming techniques may include:
• Cause and effect diagrams – These are also known as Ishikawa or Fish bone diagrams, and are useful for causes of Risks.
• System process or flow charts – These show how various elements of a system interrelate, and the mechanism of causation.
• Influence diagrams – These are graphical representations of situations showing causal influences, time ordering of events, and other relationships among variables and outcomes.
6. SWOT Analysis
The technique examines the project from each of the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) perspective to increase the breadth of identified risk by including generated risks. The technique starts with identification of Strengths and Weaknesses of the organization, focusing on either the project organization or the wider business. These factors are often identified using Brainstorming. SWOT analysis then identifies any opportunities for the project that arises from organizational Strengths, and many threats arising from organizational weaknesses. SWOT analysis also examines the degree to which organizational strengths offset threats and opportunities that may serve to overcome weaknesses.
Risks can be identified directly by experts with relevant experience of similar projects of business. Such experts should be identified by the project manager and invited to consider all aspects of the project and suggest possible risks based on their previous experience and areas of expertise. The experts’ bias should be taken in to account in this process.
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