Project risks
Identifying a project's risks, assessing them by probability and severity, ranking them by criticality, choosing a response (avoid, reduce, transfer, accept) and keeping the risk register.
- 22 cards
- 4 topics
- Free
The outline, topic by topic
Each topic is weighted the way the exam weighs it.
- Concepts
- Questions
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- Scenarios
A few cards from the deck
Project risk: what is it?
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An uncertain event that, if it occurs, affects time, cost or quality; it has not happened yet.
As long as it has not happened, it can be prevented. Once it has, it is a problem, which has to be dealt with: the difference decides what action to take.
A risk has a probability of 3 and a severity of 4 on scales from 1 to 4. What is its criticality?
127163.5
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123 × 4 = 12: criticality is the product of the two ratings, neither their sum (7) nor their average (3.5). 16, that is 4 × 4, is the highest criticality on the scale.
A risk's criticality equals its … multiplied by its ….
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A risk's criticality equals its probability multiplied by its severity.
A very probable but harmless risk and an extremely rare but catastrophic one may have the same criticality: the product makes them comparable.
Criticality: what is it?
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A risk's priority level for the project, obtained by multiplying its probability by its severity, each rated on a defined scale.
A probability of 4 and a severity of 3 give 12; a probability of 1 and a severity of 4 give 4. The product ranks the risks and says which to deal with first.
The expert leaving was in the register from kick-off, rated probability 2 and severity 4. In month 6 the expert leaves and the project stops for three weeks: no action had been taken. What is the probable cause?
- The rating was too low: a severity above 4 was needed to act
- A departure is an external hazard a register can never prevent
- Nobody followed this risk: with no owner and no review, no response was carried out
- The register listed too few risks for this one to stand out
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Nobody followed this risk: with no owner and no review, no response was carried out
Identifying a risk is not enough: without an owner and a review at each progress meeting, no response gets carried out. The register must live throughout the project.