Out of curioisity, l would like to know if people view the following as project risks, and if so, why?
1. Fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates
2. Upcoming regularly scheduled federal election, keeping in mind the project is to bring about an outcome that meets the current government objectives
By themselves those aren't risks but might be a trigger which causes a risk to be realized (e.g. cost overrun due to increase in FX rate). Saving Changes...
Out of curioisity, l would like to know if people view the following as project risks, and if so, why?
1. Fluctuating foreign currency exchange rates
2. Upcoming regularly scheduled federal election, keeping in mind the project is to bring about an outcome that meets the current government objectives
Exchange rates can certainly affect the business case, but I would expect Finance to book it on the business management side, rather than the PM themselves.
Elections and federal budget cycles are often a risk on government projects, but there is usually not much we can do at a project level other than accept the risk and wait to see what happens. If a new party takes control and cancels the project budget, we box everything up and ask our bosses where to report to work tomorrow. There is no mitigation other than it's a good time to use up some vacation.
I've had a $1B risk on a project related to a potential federal regulatory change, but it just sat there on our risk matrix as a reminder that if it suddenly occurs, it will terminate the project immediately.
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1 reply by Steve Ratkaj
Oct 02, 2019 3:06 PM
Steve Ratkaj
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Excellent. Those mirror my thoughts as well. In reality, because elections cycles are fairly well known and predictable, and because we should know of the subsequent delays based on our experience, as good PM's and scheduler's these events should be mapped onto the project schedule, and schedules should account for these delays. Same thought process somewhat for currency fluctuations. I don't see individual PM's being the risk owner for currency fluctuations in a mature organization that runs many simultaneous projects. Instead, these should be managed at the "corporate" level through management reserve.
Exchange rates can certainly affect the business case, but I would expect Finance to book it on the business management side, rather than the PM themselves.
Elections and federal budget cycles are often a risk on government projects, but there is usually not much we can do at a project level other than accept the risk and wait to see what happens. If a new party takes control and cancels the project budget, we box everything up and ask our bosses where to report to work tomorrow. There is no mitigation other than it's a good time to use up some vacation.
I've had a $1B risk on a project related to a potential federal regulatory change, but it just sat there on our risk matrix as a reminder that if it suddenly occurs, it will terminate the project immediately.
Excellent. Those mirror my thoughts as well. In reality, because elections cycles are fairly well known and predictable, and because we should know of the subsequent delays based on our experience, as good PM's and scheduler's these events should be mapped onto the project schedule, and schedules should account for these delays. Same thought process somewhat for currency fluctuations. I don't see individual PM's being the risk owner for currency fluctuations in a mature organization that runs many simultaneous projects. Instead, these should be managed at the "corporate" level through management reserve. Saving Changes...
