Application Lesson

1. Describe and define a method or combination of methods for risk identification that you have used on your real-work projects. (10 points)

The author of Risk Management – Tricks of the Trade for project Managers taught me many different ways to identify risks. In my current project management work, I used a combination of these methods for risk identification. About a year ago, I was assigned to manage a high dollar value construction project building a communication information systems complex involving data center, headquarters, training center, and other facilities. The acquisition team consisted of experts at different business lines and from different functional areas. To name a few, the team included information technology specialists, electrical engineers, mechanical engineer, civil engineer, contract specialist, and environmental specialist internally and the communication information operator, public work officer, and base operators externally.

To identify the risks, I mainly used brainstorming, risk surveys similar with expert interviews, cause and effect diagram, and strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analyst. I first identified the experts from internal team and external stakeholders who worked 50 plus miles away in the field office. I sent them emails to solicit the risks that they foresaw in their own expert areas. After collecting the responses, I grouped them in different categories and identified additional questions based on the responded risks. I then informally interviewed the internal professional using these additional questions to identify additional risks. For the field office team member, I emailed second surveys containing the additional questions to obtain additional risks. After collecting the risks, I called a brainstorming meeting to include all internal and external team members. I first posted and went over the risks from the surveys and interviews on a board then asked the team member to add any...