Network Diagram

• A network diagram is a dependency-sequenced organization of the project’s activities.

To evaluate risks, look at the network diagram for:• Estimates• Path convergence• The allocation of resources and their skills• Parallel activities• The critical path• The number of near-critical paths• Dependencies

Estimate for Time and Cost

• In order to minimize risk to the project and to improve accuracy, estimates are created by people doing the work, whenever feasible, and are based on the work packages identified in the work breakdown structure or the activities within those work packages.

• The following are question about time and cost estimates to consider when identifying risks:• Who created the estimate?• What is the estimator’s knowledge of what they estimated?• What is the estimator’s confidence level regarding the estimate?• Is the estimate based on detailed activities or eork packages?• What method was used for estimating?

Human Resource Plan

• The human resource plan is a formal plan identifying when and how the team and other stakeholders will be involved in the project, and what roles they will perform.• The following are question about the human resource plan to

consider when identifying risks:• Does such plan exist?• Are there any troublesome stakeholders involved?• What is the knowledge level and skill set of the stakeholder? Will they need

additional training?

• Communication is a critical part of succesful risk management.• It informs stakeholders how and in what form communications will be

handled on the project.• The plan may include the following information:• What information needs to be collected and when• Who will receive the information • The method that will be used to gather and store information

Communications Management Plan

• Specific communication checkpoints include:• When the charter is finalized• When creating monthly report• When creating team meeting agendas and meeting minutes

• The following are question about the communications management plan to consider when identifying risks:• Do you have people on your team who are poor communicators?• What areas need specific and careful management of communicators?• Where are you most likely to have communication problems?• How do you know your methods of communication are most effective for the

stakeholder and the situation?

Procurement Management Plan

• Is a formal or informal plan for a project that describes what part(s) of the project will be purchased under contract or purchase order.• The following are question about the procurements management

plan to consider when identifying risks:• Where are you involved in creating the contract before it was signed?• Was risk management done before the contract was signed?• What is your level of expertise in managing contracts?• Have you worked with the sellers before?• What are the particular terms and condition of the contract?• What are the deliverables and performance periods?

Organizational Process Assets

• A company should already have in place company policies, procedures, and templates for risk management.• Common templates and procedures include:• Reporting forms for risk• Standard probability and impact scales• Procedures for the involvement of stakeholders in risk management• Policies identifying who needs to approve risk response plans• Risk ranking standards for go/no-go decisions• Procedures for risk audits

• People are constantly looking for templates, as if the right template will make a great project manager

Historical Records from Previous Projects• How helpful would it be to have of risks from all the recent projects

your company or department has completed or is in the midst of? This is the value of historical period• Historical records may include the following information from previous,

similiar projects:• Historical context of past projects and project phases(e.g., economic conditions,

organizational issues such as reorganizations, merger and company goals)• Output from project planning• Outputs from risk management• Benchmark found• Metrics created

Lesson Learned from Previous Projects• Historical records also include lesson learned, which document what

whent right, what went wrong, or what would have been done differently by past projects teams if they could execute their projects again.• The following are questions about organizational process assets to

consider when identifuing risk:• Has a project similiar to yours been succesfully completed in your

organization?• What risks did past, similiar project experience?• What policies and procedures are to be used that no one follows, or that

could be misunderstood?

Risk Tolerance Areas

• It is important to determine in what areas the company and key stakeholders are willing to accept risk.

Risk Thresholds

• Risk thresholds are a companion to the concept of tolerance areas.

Collect Risk Tolerance and Threshold Information During the Identify Risks Process• Stakeholders, project constraints, and project requirements are

identified earlier in the project managemnt process. This information will be used to help determine the impact of risks and the risk response.