The Risk Table Risk Management

J.E.D.I

7.9.1 The Risk Table

The Risk Table is a tool that allows software engineer to identify and manage risks within the software development project. Table 41 shows an example of a risk table. Risks Identified Category Probability Impact RMMM Project Size Estimates may be too low. PS 60 2 A large number of group of end-users are not identified. PS 30 3 No components are reused. PS 70 2 Members of the steering committee are not interested in the project. BU 40 3 Project deadline is not negotiable. BU 50 2 Staff turnover will be high ST 60 1 … … … … … Table 41: Sample Risk Table First column lists down all possible risk including those that are most likely not to happen. Each risk are then categorized. Categorization identifies the type of risks, and they are briefly enumerated below. 1. Product Size. These are risks that are related to the overall size of the software that needs to be developed. 2. Business Impact. These are risks that are related to the constraints imposed by management or market. 3. Customer Characteristics. These are risks that are related to end-user’s requirements and the ability of the development team to understand and communicate with them. 4. Process Definition. These are risks that are related to the software process and how the people involved in the development effort are organized. 5. Development Environment. These are risks that are related to the availability and quality of the tools that are used to develop the software. 6. Technology. These are risks that are related to the complexity of the system and the degree of newness that is part of the software. 7. Staff Size and Experience. These are risk that are related to the overall technical and project experience of the software engineers. The probability value of the risk is identified as a percentage value of it occurring. Next, the impact of the risk when it occurs is identified. It is assessed using the following values. 1- Catastrophic. It would result in failure to meet the requirements and non- acceptance of the software. 2- Critical. It would result in failure to meet the requirements with system Software Engineering 328 J.E.D.I performance degration to the point of mission success is questionable. 3- Marginal. It would result in failure to meet the requirements would result in degration of secondary mission. 4- Negligible. It would result in inconvenience or usage problems. The last column contains the RMMM Risk Mitigation, Monitoring and Management plan for each risk. It contains the following components: 1. Risk ID. It is a unique identification number that is assigned to the risk. 2. Description. It is a brief description of the risk. 3. Risk Context. It defines the condition by which the risk may be realized. 4. Risk Mitigation and Monitoring. It defines the steps that need to be done in order to mitigate and monitor the risk. 5. Contingency Plan. It defines the steps that need to be done when the risk is realized.

7.9.2 Risk Identification Checklist