Introduction
Risk management is the systematic process of identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risks. It includes maximizing the probability and consequences of events adverse to project objectives.
Introduction
You are the Project Manager of a multi-billion dollar comglamorate and it is your duty to protect the assests of this corporate behemoth. One day in the office, you're having a great day and one hour away from taking off for that dream vacation to the Far East. Suddenly, the phone rings and to your dimay, you learn that your largest client has just went bankrupt. What do you do?! Not to fear! Just simply review the Risk Managment Plan and this minor setback will be eradicated. You do have a Risk Management Plan in place?
The scenario above plays out all across corporate America and stresses the importance of having a safety net in place in the event something catastrophic occurs within your organization.
This assignment is geared to teach students the basics of creating an effective Risk Management Plan.
Task
Task
At the conclusion of this lesson, the student will have created a comprehensive Risk Management Plan.
Process
Process
You have been assigned a new project to assess and evaluate problems and uncertainties regarding a protential partnership with a software development company located in Bangkok, Thailand. This partnership is being considered as a means of saving $20,000,000 and 16 months on a new product rollout. Your organizations Project Management Office (PMO) has determined that, if done in-house, this project will take 36 months (750,000 billable hours) at a cost of $65,000,000. This partnership is being explored in order to cut the projects development cost and time. The Project Management Office (PMO) of your organization has estimated that this partnership will reduce the project delivery time from 36 months to 20 months. Additionally, the PMO has estimated that this partnership will cut the overall project cost from $65,000,000 to $45,000,000. It is your job to validate the PMO's estimates by working in groups of four to develop a Risk Management plan. This plan will include the following components:
- Objectives and Goals
- Business Case
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Qualitative Risk Analysis
- Risk Maps
- Risk Response Plan
- Real-Life Examples of Company Losses
Brainstorming
Most problems are not solved automatically by the first idea that comes to mind. To get to the best solution it is important to consider many possible solutions. One of the best ways to do this is called brainstorming. Brainstorming is the act of defining a problem or idea and coming up anything related to the topic - no matter how remote a suggestion may sound. All of these ideas are recorded and evaluated only after the brainstorming is completed.
Procedure
- In a small or large group select a leader and a recorder (they may be the same person).
- Define the problem or idea to be brainstormed. Make sure everyone is clear on the topic being explored.
- Set up the rules for the session. They should include
- letting the leader have control.
- allowing everyone to contribute.
- ensuring that no one will insult, demean, or evaluate another participant or his/her response.
- stating that no answer is wrong.
- recording each answer unless it is a repeat.
- setting a time limit and stopping when that time is up.
- Start the brainstorming. Have the leader select members of the group to share their answers. The recorder should write down all responses, if possible so everyone can see them. Make sure not to evaluate or criticize any answers until done brainstorming.
- Once you have finished brainstorming, go through the results and begin evaluating the responses. Some initial qualities to look for when examining the responses include
- looking for any answers that are repeated or similar.
- grouping like concepts together.
- eliminating responses that definitely do not fit.
- Now that you have narrowed your list down some, discuss the remaining responses as a group.
Evaluation
Evaluation
|
|
Unsatisfactory 1 |
Satisfactory 2 |
Good 3 |
Excellent 4 |
Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Stated Goals and Objectives
|
Did not adequately and clearly state the Goals and Objectives of the Risk Management Plan. | Adequately stated the Goals and Objectives of the Risk Managment Plan on a very high level. | Clearly and accurately stated the Goals and Objectives of the Risk Management Plan. | Clearly and thoroughly stated the Goals and Objectives of the Risk Management Plan on a granular level. | |
|
Stated Business Case
|
Did not adequately and clearly state the Business Case of the Risk Management Plan. |
Adequately stated the Business Case of the Risk Managment Plan on a very high level. |
Clearly and accurately stated the Business Case of the Risk Management Plan. | Clearly and thoroughly stated the Business Case of the Risk Management Plan on a granular level. | |
|
Stated WBS Risk Items
|
Did not adequately and clearly state the WBS Risk Items of the Risk Management Plan. |
Adequately stated the WBS Risk Items of the Risk Managment Plan on a very high level. |
Clearly and accurately stated the WBS Risk Items of the Risk Management Plan. | Clearly and thoroughly stated the WBS Risk Items of the Risk Management Plan on a granular level. | |
|
Performed Qualitative Risk Analysis
|
Did not adequately and clearly perform the Qualitative Risk Analysis in the Risk Management Plan. |
Adequately performed the Qualitative Risk Analysis in the Risk Managment Plan. |
Clearly and accurately performed the Qualitative Risk Analysis in the Risk Management Plan. |
Clearly and thoroughly performed the Qualitative Risk Analysis in the Risk Management Plan. |
|
|
Developed Risk Maps
|
Did not adequately and clearly develop the Risk Maps in the Risk Management Plan. |
Adequately developed the Risk Maps in the Risk Managment Plan. |
Clearly and accurately developed the Risk Maps in the Risk Management Plan. |
Clearly and thoroughly developed the Risk Maps in the Risk Management Plan. |
|
|
Developed Risk Response Plan
|
Did not adequately and clearly develop the Risk Response Plan in the Risk Management Plan. |
Adequately developed the Risk Response Plan in the Risk Managment Plan. |
Clearly and accurately developed the Risk Response Plan in the Risk Management Plan. |
Clearly and thoroughly developed the Risk Response Plan in the Risk Management Plan. |
|
|
Stated Examples of Real-Life Company Losses
|
Did not adequately and clearly state Examples of Real-Life Company Losses in the Risk Management Plan. |
Adequately stated Examples of Real-Life Company Losses in the Risk Managment Plan. |
Clearly and accurately stated Examples of Real-Life Company Losses in the Risk Management Plan. |
Clearly and thoroughly stated Examples of Real-Life Company Losses in the Risk Management Plan. |
Conclusion
Conclusion
I hope that you all enjoyed this assignment. That's all the time we have for this topic, but if you'd like to pursue it more on your own check these resources out:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_management
- http://www.managementhelp.org/risk_mng/risk_mng.htm
- http://www.ogc.gov.uk/sdtoolkit/reference/documentation/p25_riskmanstrat.html
- http://colab.cim3.net/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?Risk_Management_Plan
- http://www.opfro.org/index.html?Components/WorkUnits/Tasks/RiskManagement/RiskManagementPlanning.html~Contents
Credits
Credits
References:
Richman, L. (2002). Project Management Step-By-Step. Chicago:
Amacom. Lewis, J. (2000). The Project Manager's Desk Reference (2nd ed.).
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Permissions
We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is granted for others to use and modify this WebQuest for educational, non-commercial purposes as long as the original authorship is credited. The modified WebQuest may be shared only under the same conditions. See the Creative Commons Attribution • Non-Commercial • Share-Alike license for details.
Teacher Page
by Craig Wilson, Illinois State University
Risk management is the systematic process of identifying, analyzing, and responding to project risks. It includes maximizing the probability and consequences of events adverse to project objectives.
Teacher Introduction
You are the CEO of a multi-billion dollar comglamorate and it is your duty to protect the assests of this corporate behemoth. One day in the office, you're having a great day and one hour away from taking off for that dream vacation to the Far East. Suddenly, the phone rings and to your dimay, you learn that your largest client has just went bankrupt. What do you do?! Not to fear! Just simply review the Risk Managment Plan and this minor setback will be eradicated. You do have a Risk Management Plan in place?
The scenario above plays out all across corporate America and stresses the importance of having a safety net in place in the event something catastrophic occurs within your organization.
This assignment is geared to teach students the basics of creating an effective Risk Management Plan.
Learners
This WebQuest is geared towards first year graduate students in the Department of Technology at Illinois State University. This WebQuest is part of the Risk Management 401 course.
Standards
- Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.
- Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.
Teacher Process
The purpose of this assignment is for students to learn how to develop a Risk Management plan and all of its interrelated parts. These include:
- Objectives and Goals
- Business Case
- Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)
- Qualitative Risk Analysis
- Risk Maps
- Risk Response Plan
- Real-Life Examples of Company Losses
In addition to the WebQuest format, this assignment is capable of being completed in the traditional classroom setting. I also believe that this course would work well as an online course.
Teacher Resources
If you'd like to learn more about this topic check these resources out: