Risk Management and Communication

Communication is the most essential function that can affect any outcome. Comunication does not merely mean getting the message across to the stakeholder, but it also implies winning over your stakeholder so has to have support for your project at all times. Given below are a few communication tools which will work the right way in getting your risks through.

1. Project Initiation Report:

Commonly referred to as PIR, this report summarises the project on various fronts like effort, estimation, risk-impact analysis, risk management, effort available and projections on project completion. It is created before the project start and serves as a powerful communication tool to project sponsor and other key stakeholders within the delivery organization.

• SDLC Stage: Project initiation
• Key Stakeholders: Project Manager, Project Sponsor, Project Quality Advisor, Project Unit Head.
• Primary Intent: To give an exhaustive end to end picture of the project situation including the risks and the risk management plan to internal stakeholders.

2. Project Plan: Project plan

The risk management section of the Project Management Plan serves to communicate risk, its impact, mitigation and overview to the end viewers. The initial risks flow down from the project initiation report (PIR). Till the end of the project, it communicates the risk management plan to its stakeholders.

• SDLC Stage: Project start to project closure
• Key Stakeholders: Project Manager, Project Quality Advisor, Project Sponsor,
• Primary Intent: Continuously monitor risks and its impact to internal stakeholders

3. Estimation

Usually, it is not a common practice to share details of estimation with the customer. But in some cases, usually common in large accounts where the relationship with the client has matured over time, estimation details are transparently shared. At the point in time, it is also advised to have an annexure of risks to the given approach.

• SDLC Stage: Proposal stage
• Key Stakeholders: Project Manager, Project Sponsor, Customer
• Primary Intent: Convey the initial risks of the chosen approach to client, especially the ones impacting cost.

4. Status Reports

This is a communication tool mainly between the Project Manager and Customer to apprise the customer of the progress on the project. It also highlights the issues and risks on the project to the customer.

• SDLC Stage: Project start to project closure
• Key Stakeholders: Project Manager, Customer
• Primary Intent: Keeps the customer appraised of the project progress at the same time ensure that risks and issues are effectively tracked.

5. Client Portal:
In large accounts, where the cost overhead is justified, it is advisable to have a portal where by the projects across the account can be tracked through the portal. Usually, in these cases, it is also customary to have joint risk mitigation strategies with the customer’s buy in.

• SDLC Stage: Project start to project closure
• Key Stakeholders: Project Manager, Customer
• Primary Intent: Project updates can be posted on the portal from time to time both by the customer and software vendor. Also, it report generation based upon data can be facilitated. This portal thus increases the transparency with the customer and also seeks support on customer related issues.

6. Dashboard
A dashboard is similar to a Client Portal, the difference being that it is used internal to an organization. Other major difference can be that relevant dashboard snippets and event triggers are posted to the stakeholder on a periodic basic. Thus this uses the push mechanism for data unlike the pull strategy involved in case of a portal.

• SDLC Stage: Project start to project closure
• Key Stakeholders: All internal project stakeholders
• Primary Intent: Current project updates to all project stakeholder. Since it has the advantage of data getting pushed to the stakeholder’s inbox, it offers an edge over other tools.