There are a number of quality tools that can help to evoke the risks that may be associated with your project. One such tool usually associated with cause and effect is the Ishikawa diagram. We can use this tool to explore risks as well. We will explore what happens (cause) and how it will impact […]
We can use value analysis and value engineering techniques to improve our product cost structure and ultimately our value proposition. The analysis phase of this activity is called value analysis. The design phase of this activity is called value engineering. We are a bit constrained during these activities since as we have a product already […]
We perform risk audits on projects to ascertain whether we are deviating from the desired budget, schedule, and quality levels we specified at the start of the project. At the 50,000 foot level, risk auditing looks like the following: Define the problem Choose an audit team leader Choose an audit team or let the leader […]
A contingency in project management is a reaction plan to an untoward event; in short, we plan ahead for the failure of a given task. In order for a trigger to “fire,” we must set a threshold value that activates the trigger; otherwise, the trigger should never fire. Thresholds can be set based on financial, […]
Risks need to be assessed in regard to their business impacts, so that business decisions can be made promptly. Strategies should be built and decided based on the quantitative value of the risk. Managers must decide on whether to spend $500,000 to avoid a delay in a project. How long that delay is impacts the […]
Many organizations have a series of activities or processes (design reviews, analyses, verifications, validations, etc.) that they go through to produce the end product or service. The work will start with some kind of development process, which may be a matter of days, months or years, depending on the complexity of the product or service. […]
The trigger is a new concept to those acquainted with the FMEA approach to problem elimination. The trigger event (or threshold) is how we know we need to invoke our risk reduction activities and is direct responsibility of the person monitoring. Risk Response and Contingency Budgets Each risk dollar amount at stake is multiplied by […]
We recommend a modified version of the FMEA approach to assessing the risk. The approach is tailored to the needs of project and program managers. We will model the time line as a control plan with minimal controls other than the typical tollgate reviews and, perhaps, team meetings. We know from personal experience that treating […]
Experience suggests risk management happens after we have already encountered numerous and severe risks. We can see engineers bringing “risks” to the project manager when we are already witnessing the symptoms and the impact to the project is inevitable. To be relevant, risk management has to occur when there is time to plan actions that […]
We have discussed some issues regarding configuration management already and we will continue to discuss this underlying topic in this blog—it is that important! Mass customization presents specific issues. Mass customization occurs when set up our systems such that customers have the ability to request substantial modifications. Mass customization works when we take some sensible […]