Applied Software Risk Management: A Guide for Software Project Managers

by Pandian; C. Ravindranath

• ISBN13: 9780849305245
• ISBN10: 0849305241
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-12-15
• Publisher: Auerbach Public

Summary

Few software projects are completed on time, on budget, and to their original specifications. Focusing on what practitioners need to know about risk in the pursuit of delivering software projects, Applied Software Risk Management: A Guide for Software Project Managers covers key components of the risk management process and the software development process, as well as best practices for software risk identification, risk planning, and risk analysis.Written in a clear and concise manner, this resource presents concepts and practical insight into managing risk. It first covers risk-driven project management, risk management processes, risk attributes, risk identification, and risk analysis. The book continues by examining responses to risk, the tracking and modeling of risks, intelligence gathering, and integrated risk management. It concludes with details on drafting and implementing procedures. A diary of a risk manager provides insight in implementing risk management processes.Bringing together concepts across software engineering with a project management perspective, Applied Software Risk Management: A Guide for Software Project Managers presents a rigorous, scientific method for identifying, analyzing, and resolving risk.

Table of Contents

Risk Culture	p. 1
Risk Thinking	p. 1
What Is Risk?	p. 2
A Boundary Problem	p. 3
Expressing Risk: The Basic Terms	p. 6
Additional Terms	p. 6
Risk Vocabulary	p. 6
Risk-Driven Project Management	p. 7
Project Visibility	p. 7
Goal Setting	p. 7
Product Development	p. 7
Development	p. 8
Maintenance	p. 9
Supply Chain	p. 9
Controlling the Process, Environment, and Risk	p. 10
Process Management and Risk Management	p. 10
SPC and Risk	p. 10
Five S and Risk	p. 10
Defect Prevention and Risk Management	p. 11
Maturity in Risk Culture	p. 11
Risk Scale	p. 13
Case Study	p. 14
Background Data	p. 14
Comments	p. 14
What Do We Learn from This Example?	p. 15
Preparing for Risk	p. 15
People	p. 15
Communication	p. 16
Body of Knowledge	p. 16
Metrics	p. 16
Estimation Models	p. 17
Detailed Planning	p. 17
Effective Defect Management	p. 17
Risk Management Process	p. 19
What Is Risk Management?	p. 19
Risk or Opportunity?	p. 20
Risk Management Paradigms	p. 21
Is There a Process?	p. 23
In Real Life	p. 23
Five Models for Risk Management	p. 24
The Core Models	p. 24
Superstructure Models	p. 24
Application of the Models	p. 24
Model 1: The Organic Risk Management Process	p. 25
An Analogy	p. 25
Comments	p. 26
Model 2: Goal Selection	p. 26
Thinking about Less Risky Alternatives	p. 27
Category 1 Risk-Informed Project Objectives	p. 27
Category 2 Risk-Informed Product Goals	p. 27
Category 3 Risk-Informed Requirement Management	p. 27
Category 4 Risk-Informed Milestone. Design	p. 28
Category 5 Risk-Informed WBS	p. 28
Model 3: Minimum Risk Management	p. 28
Creating Risk Awareness Is Risk Management	p. 29
Model 4: Medium-Scale Risk Management	p. 29
Risk Management Is Acting upon Risk Awareness	p. 31
Model 5: IAMT Cycle	p. 31
Model 6: Full-Scale Risk Management	p. 31
Initiative 1	p. 33
Initiative 2	p. 33
Initiative 3	p. 33
Risk Management at Different Levels	p. 33
The Mixup	p. 35
External Risks and Layers	p. 35
Can We Manage Subprocess Risks?	p. 35
Project-Level Risk Management	p. 36
Program-Level Risk Management	p. 36
SBU-Level Risk Management	p. 36
Enterprise Risk Management	p. 36
Risk Escalation	p. 37
Risk Elevation	p. 37
Troubleshooting Move	p. 37
Lack of Cooperation	p. 38
Risk Attributes	p. 41
Risk Classification	p. 41
Risk Attributes	p. 41
Risk Origin	p. 44
Internal Risks	p. 44
External Risks	p. 44
Drawing the Boundary Line between Internal and External	p. 44
Break Boundaries Within	p. 45
External Risks: A Class Apart	p. 45
Vendor Risks	p. 46
Screening the Risks	p. 46
Hazard Risks	p. 46
Constraint Risks	p. 47
Nominal Risks	p. 47
Trivial Risks	p. 47
Three P's	p. 47
Project Risks	p. 48
Process Risks	p. 49
Product Risks	p. 49
Risk Severity	p. 50
SEI Risk Taxonomy	p. 51
Risk Levels	p. 52
Time Element	p. 52
Affected Process Areas	p. 54
Affected Key Result Areas (KRA)	p. 54
Affected Goals	p. 54
Affected Requirements	p. 54
Risk Name	p. 54
Who Will Assign the Attributes?	p. 55
Extension of Attributes	p. 55
Risk Record Structure	p. 55
Risk Classification Is Risk Measurement	p. 56
Risk Identification	p. 57
The Meaning of Risk Identification	p. 57
Risk Identification Methods	p. 58
Type I: Intuitive Methods	p. 59
Mind Mapping	p. 59
Brainstorming	p. 60
Out-of-the-Box Thinking	p. 60
Analogy	p. 61
Type I: History-Based Methods	p. 61
Top Ten Risks	p. 61
Risk Checklist	p. 63
Taxonomy-Based Questionnaire	p. 63
Type II: Project-Specific Risk Identification	p. 65
Phase I: Context Setting	p. 65
Phase II: Data Gathering	p. 65
Phase III: Risk Discovery	p. 67
Phase IV: Assigning Attributes	p. 69
Phase V: Validation	p. 70
Phase VI: List	p. 72
Levels in Identification	p. 72
Process-Level Risk Identification	p. 72
Project-Level Risk Identification	p. 72
Enterprise-Level Risk Identification	p. 72
Identifying Product Risks	p. 73
Distinguishing Product Risks from Process Risks	p. 73
Distinguishing Product Risks from Product Defects	p. 73
Product Risk Management versus Defect Management	p. 74
Implementing Risk Identification Processes	p. 74
Risk Analysis	p. 81
Scope and Purpose of Risk Analysis	p. 81
Bias for Action	p. 81
Risk Selection	p. 82
Types of Risk Analysis	p. 82
First-Order Analysis	p. 83
Analysis 1: Risk Screening	p. 83
Analysis 2: Quadrant Map	p. 84
Analysis 3: Top Ten Risks List	p. 86
Useful Risk Distribution Analysis	p. 87
Analysis 4: Internal-External Risk Distribution	p. 87
Analysis 5: Project, Product, Process Risk Distribution	p. 88
Analysis 6: Process Risk Signature	p. 88
Analysis 7: Time Analysis	p. 89
Analysis 8: Causal Analysis	p. 90
Seeing the Larger Picture	p. 92
Analysis 9: The Process Map	p. 92
Analysis 10: Performance Area Map	p. 93
Risk Levels and Analysis Effort	p. 93
Ownerless Risks	p. 94
Putting Together the Preliminary Analyses	p. 94
The Analysis Report	p. 94
More Analysis	p. 95
How to Implement Analysis	p. 95
Responding to Risk	p. 97
Getting Started 7	p. 97
Special Treatment for Catastrophic Risks	p. 98
Communicate Risks	p. 98
Find Solutions	p. 98
Carry People Along	p. 99
The Action Plan	p. 99
Organizational Response to Hazard	p. 100
Fallacy of Risk Ranks	p. 100
Beyond Statistics	p. 100
The Constraint Risks	p. 100
Responding to Ordinary Threats	p. 101
A Comparison of Two Levels of Response	p. 101
Risk Response Plans	p. 102
Risk Avoidance	p. 102
Risk Transfer	p. 102
Risk Acceptance	p. 103
Risk Monitoring	p. 103
Risk Mitigation	p. 103
The Questions	p. 104
A Risk Mitigation Plan Case Study	p. 105
Contingency Plans	p. 107
Continuous Monitoring	p. 107
Triggers	p. 107
The Onset	p. 108
Strategic Plan	p. 109
Risk Escalation	p. 109
Implementing Risk Response	p. 110
Suggestions	p. 112
Risk Tracking	p. 113
What Do We Track in Risks?	p. 113
A Moving Target	p. 113
Tracking Risk Response Plans	p. 114
Tracking the Bigger Response: Audits	p. 115
Tracking Hazard Risks	p. 116
Trigger Levels	p. 116
Case Study: How Wrong Triggers Fail Risk Management	p. 117
Tracking Project Risks	p. 118
Tracking until Project Ends	p. 118
Milestone Risk Review	p. 119
Performance Targets and Risks	p. 119
Tracking Operational Risks	p. 119
Tracking Risk Exposure	p. 119
Categorywise REN	p. 120
Risk Metric	p. 120
Risk Closure	p. 120
Tracking Enterprise Risks	p. 120
Learning by Tracking	p. 121
Tracking Improves Risk Management	p. 121
Surprises	p. 121
Surprise 1: No Real Risk	p. 122
Surprise 2: Other Forces in Action	p. 122
Surprise 3: True Risk Definition	p. 122
Risk Tracker Tool	p. 122
The Hardening of Risks	p. 123
Hardening of Business Risks	p. 123
Hardening of Product Risks	p. 124
Hardening of Process Risks	p. 125
Hardening of Project Risks	p. 125
Implementing Risk Tracking	p. 125
Suggestions	p. 125
Risk Models	p. 127
Why Models?	p. 127
Models Connect	p. 127
Models Enable Risk Discovery	p. 127
Models Integrate	p. 128
Models Give Visibility	p. 128
Types of Models	p. 129
Simple Risk Models	p. 129
Matrix Models	p. 129
Tree Models	p. 130
Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA)	p. 132
Managing Product Risk Using FMEA	p. 134
Affinity Diagram	p. 137
Risk Line	p. 139
Probability Density Function (pdf)	p. 140
Risk Simulation	p. 142
Implementing Risk Models	p. 143
Risk Intelligence	p. 145
Natural Warning Systems	p. 145
Metrics Models	p. 146
Metrics Choice	p. 146
Product Risk Metrics: An Example	p. 146
Early Indicators	p. 147
Control Charts	p. 147
Scorecard	p. 147
Earned Value Model	p. 148
Estimation Model	p. 149
Using COCOMO to Study Risk	p. 149
Requirement Model	p. 151
Kano Model	p. 151
Critical Path Model	p. 154
WBS Model	p. 156
PERT Model of Risk	p. 157
Task Network Scenario A	p. 157
Task Network Scenario B	p. 157
Task Network Scenario C	p. 158
Implementing Risk Intelligence	p. 159
Feed Forward	p. 161
Beyond Risk-Reports	p. 161
Passing Knowledge Forward	p. 162
Risk Communication: The Critical Need	p. 163
Ten Barriers to Risk Communication	p. 164
Risk Dashboard	p. 165
Traffic Lights	p. 165
Risk Scorecard	p. 166
Analytical Views	p. 166
Use of Models	p. 167
The Tool	p. 167
Risk Reports	p. 169
Risk Closure Report	p. 170
Better Than SPC	p. 171
Incorporating FFL in Risk Management	p. 171
Integrated Risk Management	p. 173
Economy Drive	p. 173
A Problem	p. 173
The Need for an Integrated Approach	p. 173
Interfaces	p. 174
Collaboration	p. 174
The Visible and the Invisible	p. 175
Two Worlds	p. 175
Connecting Threads	p. 175
An Example	p. 176
The Positive and the Negative	p. 176
Program-Level Integration	p. 177
Artifacts for Risk Integration	p. 177
Decision Analysis	p. 178
Strategic Business Unit (SBU)-Level Integration	p. 178
Enterprise-Level Integration	p. 178
Integrated Plans	p. 178
Transfer to Other Plans	p. 179
Integrated Risk Management: An Agile Process	p. 179
How to Establish Integrated Risk Management	p. 180
Risk Management: Draft Procedures	p. 183
Can There Be a Procedure?	p. 183
Dangers of the Stereotype	p. 183
Procedure Is Only a Tool	p. 183
Risk Is a Game	p. 184
The Risk Arena	p. 184
Culture versus Procedure	p. 184
Symptoms of Not Having a Formal Risk Management Procedure	p. 184
The Anatomy of a Risk Management Procedure	p. 185
Evolution	p. 185
Empathetic Initiative	p. 186
The Layers	p. 186
For Whom?	p. 186
Implementing the Procedures	p. 187
Procedure 1: Risk Management at Project and Operations Level	p. 188
Procedure 2: Enterprise Risk Management	p. 196
Caper Jones's Risk	p. 203
Rex Black's Quality Risk List	p. 205
SEI Risk Taxonomy	p. 207
Top N Software Risks	p. 211
PMI, Risk Management Process	p. 213
IRM, Risk Management Standard	p. 217
Continuous Risk Management (CRM) Paradigm	p. 219
Barry Boehm's Risk Management Process	p. 221
Risk Management in CMMi	p. 223
Requirement Risk versus Measurable Quality Attributes	p. 225
Diary of a Risk Manager	p. 227
Risk Glossary	p. 237
References	p. 239
Index	p. 243
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.