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RUNNING HEAD: RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN

Risk Management Plan

Name of Student

Name of Instructor

Name of Institution

Name and Code of Course

(Date)

Author Note
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Risk Plan for The project x

A risk is anything that can happen when involved in any venture. If the risk

takes place it is likely to have a positive or negative impact on the project or a

venture being undertaken by a company or an individual .That chances of the risk

taking place or happening is called a probability and if rated as may happen it is a

probability of less than 100 percent. If the risk has many chances of happening then

it is rated to have a probability of 100 percent. This in other words states that it will

happen. A risk can only be a risk when it has a probability above 0 percent. It also

needs s to show that there is a chance for it to happen or not. If these are not

characteristics then it is not a risk (Project Perfect, 2010).

The important part is to consider the idea of it having a positive or negative

impact on the project. The impact is what the risk manager tries reduce in order to

avoid have great loses. The negative impacts can cause insurmountable results to

the project and may even ruin the progress of the project. Sometimes there is no

need to avoid a risk but try to neutralize the risks. This is because it may be so

expensive to avoid a risk than having a plan to handle its impact (Project Perfect,

2010).

A risk management plan has four stages. The first stage is identifying the risks

by using a combination of brainstorming and review of standard risk lists. The next

stage is risk quantification. There is a need to assess the impact of the risk and the

probability of the risk occurring also needs to be assessed. The next stage is risk

response. The strategies of risk response are to either avoid the risk, transfer the risk

to someone else ,mitigate the risk or try to reduce the impact to the project or reduce
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the chances of the risk occurring. The final step is risk control. It is important to

continuously monitor risks and identify any change in the status. It is also important

to carryout regular risk reviews so that they can identify risk probabilities and

impacts. This also helps to remove risks that have passed, and identify new risks

(Project Perfect, 2010).

This document is reserved as a Risk Plan for the development of project x. As

the project was analysed there were several risks identified. Preamble planning for

the projects helps to prevent future problems in the middle of the project. The

planning helps monitoring and eliminates chances of small problems from becoming

nightmares as the project progresses deeper. The risks are monitored and dealt with

immediately once they are evident. The ideas expressed in this plan are meant to be

a shield to the potential risks before they take toll on the project development.

The risk plan was developed from a session of brainstorming conducted by all

the stakeholders of the project. In this case they were officials from the Department

of Defence who are the client, consultant engineers and other interest groups.

Putting in mind the nature of the security of the product or project there was a lot of

discrepancy into the matter but we eventually came up with several risks. The list of

potential risks was very long but at least the organisation of the risks into the

particular types made some of them to be combined as they fell under the same

category. The merging of the risks together was able to bring to a total of fifteen risks

that needed to be analysed (Cynthia, 2009).

Some risks stood out than others such as the possibility of a change in

specifications of the AMDS. This was seen as there were discussions on how some

settings and programming into the systems was suppose to be. This out rightly

meant that the software’s and hardware’s would face changes too. This was a risk
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and it was well prepared for by the team. This is because every model that is to be

made would be tested and the succeeding demonstration equipment will be

combining the changes (Cynthia, 2009).

There was also a risk of security breach and the AMD’s turn into a hazard.

The sophistication of the product was a clear indication that if anything went wrong

then it would lead to a great disaster. The contingency plan was to ensure that the

system was able to notice faults in the system sand communicate to the fault. This

will ensure that close monitoring of the system and security checks to be carried out

regularly to ensure that the AMD was in form (Mind Tools, 2010).

Another apparent risk was the resources allocated and the time of completion

of the project. The project is expensive in terms of time and development hence it

would be likely to have a plan to look out for activities that could run concurrently so

that the project does not flow out of schedule. This can be seen for example when

the product goes for testing there is a likelihood that it may not be to the complete

requirement in the initial tests thus calling for several tests. However in the project

there is allowance of time for the lag, a high chance is that the opportunities

allocated may be used out and then start to over ride on time of other activities

(Cynthia, 2009).

The unrealistic cost and time estimates in the planning stages of the project

are a considerable possibility due to the very complex nature of approximations that

must be made when compiling the project Work Breakdown Structure. These

estimates are associated with nearly every other risk as well, since any unforeseen

changes in the work plan will lead to changes in cost and time scale. Early noticing
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of this inconsistencies and risks helps to ensure the project is guarded against the

probable possibilities of failure in its preparation stages (Mind Tools, 2010).

Efforts to obtain more relevant information and searching for similar projects

for comparison was the way to go in order to get a chance to generally build a

broader knowledge base was not so fruitful. This was aimed towards the borrowing

of techniques and of a structure and a more accurate forecast of the resources (time

and cost) needed to satisfactorily complete our project x. There was little that could

be obtained but at least the few comparisons contributed to the coming up with a

structure that will be used. Continuous, routine and timely updates of resource

projections should also be embraced throughout the lifespan of the project in order to

help mitigate and building problems (Mind Tools, 2010).

Although it is difficult to forecast which requirements could be altered as the

project lifespan continues, it is important to note that resources devoted to extensive

project planning will again be beneficial for all parties in the long run. Along with

researching and continuous update of similar projects to gain a perspective on past

requirements changes, a greater knowledge of successful conversion details will

help to anticipate these changes. This knowledge must be routinely and

successfully communicated to all project stakeholders, and active participation in

general between organizations and the various stakeholders will bring out the

Department of Defence a good system that can effectively monitor the security and

in the right schedule. The AMD is a unique project hence there are unique

challenges and if not well noted they are likely to bring down the whole project

(Cynthia, 2009).
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In summary, project risks are inevitable and are part of life, however there are

many techniques that can be used to mitigate their potential impacts and keep the

project on track. For Project X, we have compiled a list of fourteen significant risks.

They are categorized using the Risk Probability / Impact Matrix. From this activity,

two risks stood out as the most important to plan for and monitor. Budget and time

overruns are a real likelihood given the nature of this project complexity and

uniqueness of the project, but impacts can be mitigated with extensive pre-planning

as well as performing routine updates of resource allocation and continuous

comparison and research from similar projects. Project scope requirements changes

are nearly a given, though their negative impacts can be diminished with research,

knowledge, and most important, communication between the contractor and the

stakeholder and the client who is the Department of Defence (Mind Tools, 2010).

The risks

Potential risks in project

x
Quality Risks
1. The Demonstration may not match up to the quality required by

the DoD
2. the technology may be too sophisticated for

the DoD,

EXTERNAL

RISKS
3. the enemy may get to learn the technology and use a more sophisticated

technology to bypass their security

4. there may be natural disasters that may incapacitate the technology for example

earth quakes
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5. change of specifications by the DoD to fit particular needs after

demonstration

INTERNAL

RISKS
6. the failure in hardware and software leading to a fatal

disaster
7. the military personnel carrying out the maintenance may fail to operate the

machine correctly thus it may be a hazard to the personnel

BUDGET

RISKS
8. the funds allocated to complete project may not be enough it

may cost more

9. the150 more orders of AMDS by the DoD may not be completed in the

given time frame

poor cost estimates that may lead to overrun the

budget

SCHEDULE

RISKS
10. Project may overrun the time period

of five years
11. the time period may be too short for completion of the

whole project

RESOURCE

RISKS
12. the technology may be too complex for the

staff collected
13. there may be a conflict of ideas with the selected scientists and project team

members this may be a problem to the success of the project

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Risk Probability / Impact Matrix:

High 4,5,11 8,9,10
Probability Medium 1,2,7,12,13 3,6
Low
Low Medium High

Impact

Cynthia, S. (2009). A Project Manager's Book of Forms: A Companion to the

PMBOK Guide. Canada: John Wiley and Sons.

Mind Tools. (2010). Risk Impact/Probability Chart. Retrieved June 06, 2010, from

Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_78.htm

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Project Perfect. (2010, June 7). Project Risk Management. Retrieved June 7, 2010,

from Project Perfect: http://www.projectperfect.com.au/info_risk_mgmt.php