Candice ShubbieConsultant| PROJECT40 ConsultingOntario, Ca, United States
When identifying risks in complex projects, what methods do you use to proactively identify risks in the early stages of a project, and how do you manage the tension between mitigating risks and encouraging innovation within your project?
What are your thoughts on balancing innovation with risk mitigation by first creating phases specifically for innovation while containing risks, and outsourcing high-risk innovations to specialized vendors/partners? What are your methods?
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Adaptive approaches focus on early de-risking of complex projects by proactively identifying high concern areas of uncertainty and exploring those as early as possible in the project's lifecycle. Disciplined Agile as an example has a milestone for proving that a solution architecture is viable as an early stage milestone.
In general, tackling the trickiest elements of a project early rather than trying to get easy wins is one way to reduce the impact of realized risks.
Addressing technology risks early is built into the Systems Engineering "V" model of top down validation and bottoms up verification. A gated process may be used to provide more formality to ensuring major uncertainties are addressed early. Although it is often viewed as a traditional predictive model, it is in fact iterative. In early stages as the main technology hurdles are identified, concepts are developed and feasibility is verified at a high level prior to going further. The V is often though of as linear, going down the left side and up the right, but there are feedback loops at each layer of decomposition.
Whether or not the risks can be transferred to a 3rd party vendor is a strategic business decision. It may reduce cost and risk particularly if the prime contractor lacks the intellectual capital but longer term, the prime contractor may be locked into a business partnership with the vendor which has its own strategic disadvantages including the vendor having too much control over your ongoing financial performance. Saving Changes...
Eric SimmsSenior Program ManagerBaltimore, Maryland, United States
I like to create detailed scenarios and wargame them, preferably with as many stakeholders from different groups as possible. The more prespectives from which we can spot potential risks, the better. I then enter the risks into a register along with options to address it. I can then use the register to support a particular level of innovation-related risk.The only issue against creating initial phases for innovation is that they probably won't uncover much risk. When developing something truly novel sometimes it's impossible to predict risk will exist until you blunder headlong into it. That's part of innovation, so I account for a large amount of unknown risks in cutting-edge projects, the idea being that the knowledge learned will be worth it.
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1 reply by Candice Shubbie
Oct 21, 2024 8:35 PM
Candice Shubbie
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Eric,
Very good point regarding minimal risk being uncovered during early innovation phases. As with most novel projects, and projects in general, it can be hard to predict risk until you are in the thick of it.
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Candice ShubbieConsultant| PROJECT40 ConsultingOntario, Ca, United States
Oct 21, 2024 11:26 AM
Replying to Eric Simms
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I like to create detailed scenarios and wargame them, preferably with as many stakeholders from different groups as possible. The more prespectives from which we can spot potential risks, the better. I then enter the risks into a register along with options to address it. I can then use the register to support a particular level of innovation-related risk.The only issue against creating initial phases for innovation is that they probably won't uncover much risk. When developing something truly novel sometimes it's impossible to predict risk will exist until you blunder headlong into it. That's part of innovation, so I account for a large amount of unknown risks in cutting-edge projects, the idea being that the knowledge learned will be worth it.
Eric,
Very good point regarding minimal risk being uncovered during early innovation phases. As with most novel projects, and projects in general, it can be hard to predict risk until you are in the thick of it. Saving Changes...
