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Risk - The Complete Tool Set
The Risk Assessment Process
Risk Factor Weights
Not all risks are created equal. Some risks such as fixed deadlines, unstable requirements, lack of sponsor buy-in and so on are extremely significant.
Some approaches to risk assessment involve weighting each risk factor as to its impact on the project. For example, lack of sponsor buy-in would be given an Impact Factor of "4", while team size may be given an Impact Factor of "1". This process is purely subjective.
The key here is the open discussion involved in using the Risk Assessment questionnaires.
The process of risk assessment involves a participative process where the project manager, team members and key project stakeholders complete a standard Risk Assessment tool and through a series of open discussions achieve an overall series of Risk Assessments for the project.
What is important is the discussion undertaken during the risk assessment process between team members and stakeholders. It is a powerful process for bringing into the open assumptions and different views on the project.
In our experience, it is unlikely that a team will agree on the risk ranking of all factors. Depending on previous experience, different team members will see the project differently. If after discussion, there is still no agreement, then a voting technique where the majority wins is the best approach. If the votes are tied, then Rob's Rule for Risk Assessment should be applied:
When planning projects, it pays to be paranoid
and, the worst case is used for the risk assessment.
Ideally within each organisation, there should be a formal Risk Assessment Questionnaire for each class of project e.g. in-house software, package, communications and operations.