Dealing with risk: A practical approach

Most software projects take place in a volatile environment in which many dangers exist that may affect the successful outcome of the project. After completion of the project an evaluation may show that many of the problems encountered during the project could have been foreseen before they actually occurred. Risk management is an approach that is aimed at predicting the occurrence of this type of problem and at taking counter measures to either prevent them from affecting the project or to soften their impact. In this paper the basic activities related to risk management are described. Furthermore a concrete method aimed at supporting risk management is presented. This method has been used successfully in practice. Some of the results obtained by using it are presented on the basis of five cases. Some conclusions are that: (1) the use of a short and structured checklist will ease identification of and discussions about risks, (2) a risk management method in which explicit use is made of a group related approach, involving all parties, will increase reliability and acceptance of the results, and (3) involvement of a neutral process risk advisor will further both the successful use of the method and the acceptance of the results.