Risk Mangagement

Avoid project issues

At Turtle Technology we believe that the management of risk is essential to ensure that the project is delivered on time, on budget and to a high quality.

Risks will be identified by anyone involved in the project and where appropriate, communicated, mitigated, monitored and escalated. Project risks are:

  • Identified and documented at the beginning of the project
  • Identified and documented during the project
  • Assessed to determine their probability 1, proximity 2, impact 3 and mitigation 4
  • Mitigated if necessary
  • Monitored to review probability

1 Probability is High / Medium / Low

2 Proximity is Imminent / During project / After project

3 Impact may relate to cost, time, quality, scope and benefits

4 Mitigation is the actions required to manage the risk. A decision may be taken to replan to avoid the risk. Alternatively actions may be taken to lessen probability or impact. A fallback plan may also be devised should the risk occur.

Sometimes risks can be positive - they can be opportunities. Opportunities are managed in a similar way but with the goal of invoking them rather than avoiding them. In this case the mitigation may be to replan to realise the opportunity. Or actions may be taken to increase the likelihood or benefit.

Sample project risks include:

  • Cutting edge technology may not provide the required functionality or robustness.
  • Integration with other systems may prove more complex than anticipated.
  • Availability of key client or Turtle resources may be difficult.
  • Dependencies on third parties to contribute to the project.
  • Potentially poor quality of existing data may be difficult to migrate to the new system.
  • Misunderstandings in the approved documentation.
  • Testing by the client may not be adequate.
  • Testing by the client may take too long.