Assignment: Identifying Risks within a Strategic Business Context

For this unit's Shared Activity, you explored the concepts of uncertainty, risks and issues. All of these concepts are integral to the understanding of how risks affect an organisation's broader business context. Today's businesses now tend to look at risk strategically as it relates to the organisation's business goals and operations. Before resources can be allotted to mitigate risks and capitalise on risk-related opportunities, project managers need to identify departments and stakeholders related to uncertainty, risk and issues.

Project managers need to appraise risk at the pre-decision stage in a project's life cycle when a business case is being worked up for the project. This is because strategic-level risks crystallize once the project has been approved and begins to take shape. For large and complex projects, a project manager may need to create a tool such as a checklist of risks, commonly known as a 'Risk Breakdown Structure' (RBS). An RBS is a hierarchical representation of risks in categories and subcategories and is similar to a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). An RBS helps to identify the various sources from which project risks may arise. For example, in a software development project, the risk categories might be technology, human resources or system requirements. In a construction project, risk categories might relate to financing operations or securing permits. The project team may use risk identification techniques to focus on risks belonging to each of these categories. Once sources of risks are identified, project managers or teams can determine the probability and impact of each risk.

For this Individual Assignment, you will set the foundation for a risk management strategy by identifying sources of risk and determining how these risk sources impact an organisation's strategic business context. An effective risk management strategy identifies the roles and responsibilities of each individual. Some organisations have a dedicated risk management team. However, in the absence of a dedicated team, project team members share the responsibility of risk management. Some managers and teams prefer a formalised system of identifying risks, such as a Checklist of Common Risk Sources, which is one type of RBS. Others prefer to create their own checklists. There is no right or wrong way to identify risk sources.

As part of your Individual Assignment, you will expand on the need for identifying common risk sources.

To prepare for this Individual Assignment:

• Reflect on your readings from this unit. Consider the concepts of uncertainty, issues and risk as you identify risk sources.
• Review the Sample Checklist of Common Risk Sources provided in the Readings. Think about how uncertainty, risks and issues surrounding the project affect the various stakeholders.
• Select a project on which you have previously worked or one with which you are familiar. You may also select one of the scenarios from the Managing Projects module if you prefer. This project should be large-scale enough or complex enough that it would involve many risks, potential issues and stakeholders. You will use this project throughout this module and for your Final Project to prepare a risk management strategy.
• Think about your chosen project. How does the business context relate to the uncertainty, risks and issues surrounding this project? What are the business's products and goals? Who has a stake in the outcomes of the business? Who are the business's competitors?
• Review the Final Project Guidelines in the Readings. You may find it helpful to print them out and refer to them in other units as well.

To complete this Individual Assignment:

• Describe your selected project. In your description, include specifics on what the project is producing or accomplishing. List specifics such as budget, timeline and schedule, if you know them.
• Provide an analysis of the broad strategic business context of your project. Include details about the business, such as stakeholders, products or area of business, influential departments, location and competition which may influence uncertainty, risks and issues related to this project. Explain why and what influence they wield. Explain why project risk appraisal requires analysis of the business context. In other words, what would happen if the business context was not considered in project risk appraisal?
• Identify at least four sources of risk associated with your chosen project, using the Readings from Unit 1 as a guide. For each risk, identify the major stakeholders that should be included and consulted throughout the risk management identification and analysis for your selected project. Provide a rationale for your selection of each risk and the relevant stakeholders.

Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar