TYPES OF RISK TO PROJECTS

Risks have been associated with issues. The purpose again is to assist you in dealing more effectively with risk. All projects have risks. Before embarking on military campaigns (which can be viewed as programs or projects), commanders assess their risks. The best commanders were the ones who could plan ahead to minimize risk and also deal with tactical situations. Alexander the Great and Caesar in ancient times are good examples here. Eisenhower and Rommel in World War II are more current examples.

We can define types of risks in terms of the sources of the issue. Here is a list of categories of issues.

• The project work. Quality and completeness of the work in the project can definitely lead to issues.

• The project team and leader. Personality issues, resource allocation issues, and personal situations are three subcategories.

• Management. There can be many management issues related to poor or a lack of decision making, for example.

• Business situation. A project is based on certain assumptions related to the business situation. The business conditions can change.

• Other projects. In today's world your project is often intertwined with other projects. What happens to them can impact you.

• External factors. There can be many external factors. Examples are government change, legal actions, union pressures, consumer interest groups, etc. The list is endless.

• Technology. Technology systems, hardware, and other types of technology can change changing your project and even making it irrelevant.

• Vendors and...