ITP-5 – Project Risk Assessment (Individual project)
(PMBOK 11)
Addresses Course Outcomes #4c and 6e
Please be sure to read the Team Contribution Assessment and Grading of Team Assignments and the Project Documentation Requirements sections of this ITP Master Document.
Assignment for the ITP-5 Project Deliverable
This assignment is an INDIVIDUAL assignment. Review your previous deliverable assignments and the assignments that other teams have posted in the Shared Learning Environment Discussions.
This assignment has two parts.
Risk Register in Excel – Part 1
Using your team’s ITP WBS, develop and submit a project risk register in MS Excel:
A project risk register, from the textbook, from the classroom material, from www.pmi.org, or from other valid research, that meets the following requirements.
In MS Excel, the risk register should be populated with the risks for at least 3 tasks of different types and categories at EACH level of the decomposition in the WBS (no fewer than 12 tasks must have risks identified — 3 major tasks, 3 sub-tasks, 3 lowest level leaf node tasks or sub-sub tasks, and also at least 3 risks at the overall project level (Level 0)). (Note that this is minimum required, along with the other things below, to earn a satisfactory score. To earn a better score, you would want to include more risks at each level, and some of the additional things mentioned below.)
Risks may include, for example, technical IT risks, external risks that impact the project but which are outside the PM’s control, project management risks, risks of project changes, and so forth.
Please note that a task could have more than one risk! The risk register must include MITIGATION strategies to avoid/eliminate or minimize the risk and contingency plans (what you will do if the risk happens). If the format you are using does not include these columns, please add them, then be clear on the difference between mitigation and contingency. Address what aspect of the project will be affected by each mitigation action – cost, schedule, or scope. Provide a recommendation for whether or not the mitigation action should be implemented, remembering that EACH mitigation will impact the project’s scope, cost or schedule.
The risk register should also include:
Title or description of item or TASK at risk. (This is the WBS task in which the risk occurs, not the risk itself.)
Also include the WBS ID and a designation of which WBS level the task is at. Each risk in the Risk Register should show the WBS level of the task that it refers to. I urge you to let the computer do this for you, since doing it by hand seems error prone for some reason. Either import the field from MS Project or use an Excel formula to calculate the level for you.
Description of the RISK (What is the risk? What is at risk of happening?) (This identifies the nature of the risk itself, not the task.)
Risk category or type (e.g., technical risks, quality risks, financial risks, external risks, organization risks, project risks, quality risks, other risks, etc.)
Consequences, impact, or cost at risk (adjectival or numeric)
Likelihood or probability (adjectival or numeric)
Initial risk score (or “risk product”, consequence times likelihood)
Risk handling category (avoidance, mitigation, transfer, acceptance, etc.)
The mitigation action that, if taken, would avoid the risk or the impact of the risk.
Cost and time required for the mitigation action.
Contingency plan – what the team will do if the risk actually happens
Designation of risk “owner” or risk manager (best designated by title or role rather than by individual’s name)
For additional points, you may include such things as:
Additional risks
Risks for additional tasks
Results of handling each risk after controls are implemented:
Consequences or cost at risk
Likelihood or probability
Final risk score or product (consequence times likelihood)
Quantitative numerical consequences, probabilities, and risk scores (rather than subjective, qualitative, or adjectival assessments)
Additional narrative discussion of each risk, handling method, etc.
Total of all the risk scores (risk products) for the entire project after risk controls are implemented, in dollars.
Also include some risks associated with the general ability to complete the project successfully. (You might consider these risks at Level 0, the root level, of the WBS, affecting the entire project.)
Finally, if you quantitatively calculated the risk product in those terms, then what is the total of all the initial risk scores (risk products) for the entire project, in dollars.
Text Document – Part 2
Please include the Executive Summary with appropriate changes
Questions: In an accompanying Word doc or text submission, answer the following questions:
- Which risks (and associated tasks) would be the most threatening to the success of the project and why? This discussion should be very specific to tasks and their associated risks.
- Which top THREE mitigations (and associated tasks) and risk handling plans should be implemented, and why? Remember that mitigation actions will affect cost, schedule and/or scope – so discuss what can you AFFORD to do based on the likelihood and impact of the risk?
- What are the TOTAL impacts on cost, schedule and scope for the project if the recommended risk controls and mitigation actions are taken? If you use costs, how did you calculate the cost? Will the risk handling improve things or make them worse? That is, will the project cost more and/or be less successful because of risk handling, or will it cost less and/or be more successful because of risk handling? How so? Explain.
- How did you determine those costs and impacts? Please describe. What is the benefit of mitigating risks that are identified for mitigation?
- If your project could only afford $20,000 for mitigation actions, which risks (identify associated tasks) would be implemented?
- If your project could only tolerate a 5 day delay related to mitigation actions, which risks and mitigations (identify associated tasks) would be implemented?
- What would be the most expensive (time and or schedule) contingency action/plan? Identify the associated task and explain why this contingency would be the most expensive in terms of time or schedule.
- How did you determine those costs and impacts? Please describe.
Submit the Excel and the Word document(s) to the Assignment Area.
Approximate breakdown by areas include:
o General: Structure, Format, Mechanics, Style (~5%)
o Risk register (~84%)
o Questions (~10%)
Rubrics and Grading for the ITP-5 Project Deliverable
To earn 90-100% of the points available for this assignment –
The risk register meets the basic requirements. Identify at least 10 risks at each level of the WBS, including risks that affect the general ability to complete the project successfully, major tasks of different types and categories, sub-tasks of different types and categories, risks of several different risk types and categories, including external risks, financial risks, organization risks, PM risks, quality risks, technical risks, and other risk categories. In addition, include such things as:
• Multiple risks for single tasks
• Quantitative numerical consequences, probabilities, and risk scores (rather than subjective, qualitative, or adjectival assessments)
• Show risk assessment (probability, impact, and score) numerically (e.g., percentages, dollars, etc.) rather than qualitatively.
• Additional narrative discussion of each risk, handling method, etc.
• Designation of risk “owner” or risk manager and why that person or functional position is the “owner”
• Total of all the risk scores (risk products) for the entire project after risk controls are implemented, in dollars.
• Also include some risks associated with the general ability to complete the project successfully. (You might consider these risks at Level 0, the root level, of the WBS, affecting the entire project.)
• Answer all the initial risk scores (risk products) for the entire project, in dollars.
Include the following risk info for ea. risk: Title or description of item or TASK at risk; Description of the RISK; Risk category or type; Initial assessment of Consequences, impact, or cost at risk; initial likelihood or probability; Initial risk score (consequence x likelihood); Risk handling CATEGORY; Risk handling / control / mitigation / action PLAN; Designation of risk “owner”; Risk results with/after controls / handling plans implemented (Consequences or cost with controls; Likelihood or probability with controls; Final risk score (consequence x likelihood)). Answer all questions, and include reference sources are used in the text and included in a Reference page. Show risk assessment (probability, impact, and score) numerically (e.g., percentages, dollars, etc.) rather than qualitatively.
To earn 80-89% of the points available for this assignment –
Identify at least 6 risks at each level, including risks such as: the general ability to complete the project successfully; major tasks of different types and categories; sub-tasks of different types and categories; lowest level leaf node tasks or sub-sub tasks of different types and categories. Include risks of several different risk types and categories, including risks such as: external risks, financial risks, organization risks, PM risks, quality risks, technical risks, and other risk categories. Include several different risk handling categories (avoidance, mitigation, transfer, acceptance).
Include most of the following risk info for ea. risk: Title or description of item or TASK at risk; Description of the RISK; Risk category or type; Initial assessment of Consequences, impact, or cost at risk; initial likelihood or probability; Initial risk score (consequence x likelihood); Risk handling CATEGORY; Risk handling / control / mitigation / action PLAN; Designation of risk “owner. Answer all questions.
To earn 70-79% of the points available for this assignment –
Identify at least 3 risks at each level, including risks such as: the general ability to complete the project successfully; major tasks of different types and categories; sub-tasks of different types and categories; lowest level leaf node tasks or sub-sub tasks of different types and categories. Include risks of several different risk types and categories, including risks such as: external risks, financial risks, organization risks, PM risks, quality risks, technical risks, and other risk categories. Include different risk handling categories (avoidance, mitigation, transfer, and acceptance).
Include most of the following risk info for ea. risk: Title or description of item or TASK at risk; Description of the RISK; Risk category or type; Initial assessment of Consequences, impact, or cost at risk; initial likelihood or probability; Initial risk score (consequence x likelihood); Risk handling CATEGORY; Risk handling / control / mitigation / action PLAN; Designation of risk “owner. Answer the majority of the questions.
To earn 60-69% of the points available for this assignment –
Identify at least 6 risks, including risks such as: the general ability to complete the project successfully; major tasks of different types and categories; sub-tasks of different types and categories; lowest level leaf node tasks or sub-sub tasks of different types and categories. Include risks such as: external risks, financial risks, organization risks, PM risks, quality risks, technical risks, and other risk categories. Includes only one of the risk handling categories (avoidance, mitigation, transfer, acceptance).
Include much of the following risk info for ea. risk: Title or description of item or TASK at risk; Description of the RISK; Risk category or type; Initial assessment of Consequences, impact, or cost at risk; initial likelihood or probability; Initial risk score (consequence x likelihood); Risk handling CATEGORY; Designation of risk “owner. Answer the majority of the questions.
Less than 60% –
Risk Registers that do not meet the requirements will earn a zero. WBSs that are not original work will earn a zero.