In project environments with tight budget and time restrictions the demand for efficient approaches is high. This can affect any project area including project risk management. As a response to such challenges a lean project risk management tool (“Top 8 Risk Factor Checklist Tool”) was developed. This tool is based on standard risk factors (“weak signals of risks”) proposed by recent research studies. A pre-test of the “Top 8 Risk Factor Checklist Tool” was conducted on real software development projects with project managers from different companies located in the US, the UK, Germany, Switzerland and India. Per design there were two groups: (1) the “test group” and (2) the “control group”. The “test group” members applied the tool on a weekly basis for several weeks. The “control group” members were only surveyed on the standard risk factors and mitigation activities. The following test observations were made: 1. The “test group” members needed effectively only about 3 minutes per week to assess the 8 standard risk factors and to provide feedback on mitigation activities. 2. The “test group” perceived more of the 8 risk factors than the “control group”. 3. The “test group” reported more risk factor mitigation activities than the “control group”. 4. Mitigation activities of the “test group” were more “risk factor perception oriented” than the mitigation activities of the “control group”. 5. The majority of the “test group” members would use the tool again on other projects. The test observations indicate that the lean project risk management tool seems to be (a) time efficient, (b) considering appropriate standard risk factors and most importantly (c) beneficial for project managers. Don’t miss the positive experience made by those participated project managers and learn about your individual risk management profile in comparison of the overall “test group” profile.
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