Corwin asked me, “How do I actually identify risks?” after a lecture.
I was shocked and couldn’t understand the question: “I have just described tools and techniques that I use to identify risk, haven’t you?”
“Yeah! Documentation Reviews, brainstorming and diagramming are all part of the design process. But how do you do this?
It’s interesting because I get these kinds of questions from time-to-time:
How can you identify risks in project management?
I usually discuss some of the most important tools and techniques. As in this article:
6 Practical and Effective Methods to Identify Risks
Project managers don’t understand that risk identification processes can be simple by design. They are however difficult to master in order to make them efficient, timely, and effective.
However, I don’t use anything unique.
So, I’d like to take the time to explain how to identify and mitigate risks in practice.
Risk Management Plan Template
(For Software Projects).
Software project managers are often unaware of the contents of a Risk Management Plan. They simply don’t know how to write it. This can lead to many problems. Get my template and use it for a starting point. You also have access to all my risk management resources. This template will take the guesswork out of your project. You can easily make minor adjustments and present your risk management plan to the stakeholders and team.
Take the TemplateTest Yourself in risk management
Are you confident that you have enough knowledge about Project Risk Management?
Take this quiz to identify gaps in your knowledge.
I will provide explanations and correct answers at the end.
Project Risk Management Overview
Documentation Reviews
What documents should be reviewed to identify risks?
Answer: Every document that you have on a project is the answer.
Are all the documents in my projects really mine?
No, I don’t.
Some of these are very similar to those I used for previous projects. So I make sure that the plans, templates, workflows, and other elements are the same for the current situation.
So where should you concentrate?
Documentation of Requirements
You need to examine it from every angle, whether it is a specification or a user story.
Here’s how it usually works:
We receive a high-level draft from the customer (product owner, product teams). The project team is informed by me or a business analyst.
You decide whether you require the entire team. I recommend that at least one person be from each function or department.
We write down our concerns, questions, as well as assumptions at a high-level. We then send them back to our customer.
It saves time and effort. We indicate the areas that we want them to concentrate on. Usually, we have an idea of whether the piece of information will require our attention.
With many details, the next time requirements have already been drafted. All of our initial concerns and questions have been addressed.
What’s next?
I ask my team to read and consider the requirements. They must be able to understand the requirements and have a discussion with their colleagues.
The grooming session is next.
One of us explains a need to the rest of our team. Our goal is to be on the same page. We all need a common vision of what we must deliver.
Usually, there are many questions by this point. It was understood in another way. Someone pointed out a dependency on other requirements. Or difficulties in implementing, testing, or designing it.
In any event, I ask a few more questions at the end:
What impact could this have?
This requirement is quite complex. What do you think?
Who is the best candidate for the job?
How do we test it?
Are there any potential risks? (Team should be trained in risk management.
I then organize all feedback into questions, assumptions, or concerns. I then send it back to customers to clarify.
If all of our concerns can be resolved, that’s great. If they are not solved, we log them as risks.
The same process should be used for scope, schedule, estimates.
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