Using risk tools to support effective risk communication apm... · to support effective risk...
Transcript of Using risk tools to support effective risk communication apm... · to support effective risk...
Risk Reasoning Ltd
Using risk tools
to support
effective risk communication
Mark Swabey
Managing Director
Risk Reasoning Ltd
Set up communications beforehand!
Risk Reasoning Ltd
Project Communications
Project Manager
Procurement
Supplier
Supplier Supplier
Risk Manager
Team Leader
Team Members
Team Leader
Team Members
Team Leader
Team Members
Customer/s Senior Management
Board of Directors
Other Stakeholders
Public/Press
Risk Communications
Risk Reasoning Ltd
Managed risk communication - Options
Ignore risk communication. Result?
Initial feeling of calm
Until the risks surprise you
Crisis management ensues
Central person (often risk manager). Result?
swamped person,
slow response to risks,
potential for missed information for some recipients.
Organise who sees what and when. Result?
good for recipients, less irrelevant information
difficult to organise unless….
Use collaborative tools that support risk management
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Organising information
A Risk Assessment for each scope of work – a project, sub-project,
a project phase, a business operation, an initiative, a whole division,
a whole business
A hierarchy of assessments (imposing a reporting structure)
Market
Assessment
Business
Assessment
Information
Assessment
Programme
Assessment
Project A
Assessment
Project B
Assessment
Project C
Assessment
Project A
Phase 1
Assessment
Project A
Phase 2
Assessment
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Organising information
Access control for each risk assessment – who can do what and
when
At the start
Once reporting on the assessment
Controlled by each assessment manager, not IT department –
so must be simple and intuitive
Control, but freedom to experiment
Maintaining the baseline
Allowing user to try things out
Authorising modifications
For example: RiskAid scenarios – private copies of the assessment
that can be changed and submitted for approval
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Configuration Control in a risk assessment
Risk
Assessment
Risk
Assessment
Baseline
Assessment manager
starts config. control
User Creates a
“what-if” scenario
Risk
Assessment
Scenario
User submits
“what-if” scenario
for approval
Manager
approves
changes
Yes
No
User deletes
“what-if” scenario
Risk
Assessment
Baseline
updated with
changes
User changes
“what-if” scenario to
to find better solution
Controlled changes to
risk assessments using
“what-if” scenarios
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Information for the board & senior
management
What motivates them? Money, timescales, key performance
indicators (KPI’s)
Talk their language if you want to persuade them – assess risks and
actions (responses) in cost, time and KPI’s
So RAG ratings are not persuasive by themselves
Want report on progress, with brief summaries of changes,
responses, proposals and rationale
Knowing that progress is being made is a key motivator (Harvard
Business Review article entitled “The Power of Small Wins,” May 2011)
Want overview but ability to drill down and investigate
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Aggregating the results up the hierarchy
& reporting against budgets
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Information for the
Project Management and Team
Motivation
Seeing the benefits – saving money, time, KPI’s
Seeing the priorities at all time
Just concentrating on my responsibilities (not having to wade
through irrelevant info)
Seeing progress in handling risks
Support
Estimating – uncertainty and alternatives
Handling the bureaucracy
Alert me to changes in risks and actions, and the effects
Displays that guide
Trying things out in private – what if scenarios
Easy comparisons
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Risk Priority Matrices
Preventative
Actions reduce
the chance
of risk occurring -
pushes risk
to right
Limiting Actions
reduce the impact
of the risk - pushes
risk down
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Displays show the benefits of actions
Preventative
Actions reduce
the chance
of risk occurring -
squashes graph
to right
Limiting Actions
reduce the impact
of the risk - squashes
graph down
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Information for Suppliers
Motivation
Seeing the benefits – saving money, time, kpi’s
Seeing the priorities at all times
Clear risk responsibilities
Clear separation – Theirs, Ours and Shared
Support
Estimating – uncertainty and alternatives
Handling the bureaucracy
Alert me to changes in risks and actions, and the effects
Displays that guide
Trying things out in private – what if scenarios
Easy comparisons
Risk Reasoning Ltd
Information for other stakeholders
Quality Assurance
Maintaining records
Demonstrating risk management in action
Audit & regulatory bodies
Maintaining an audit trail
Demonstrating Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC)
Customers
Confidence in your predictions, awareness and pro-active
management, anticipating problems and having fallback plans
“Interested bystanders”
Summaries
Comfort - demonstration of “defence in depth”
Lessons learned
Risk Reasoning Ltd
Motivational aspects for tool design Always show the benefits to each user
Easy to use – quickly pick up, use and put down when required
Tool designer – clear displays, minimum clicks to get to any
relevant point, precise changes, immediate effects, hide the
complexity
Fully collaborative – many simultaneous users, not tripping over
each other
Tool designer – design consideration from the start
Use human strengths – judgement, decision-making
Tool designer – tool must not dictate
Use computing strengths – data storage, data comparison,
maintaining records (GRC!), calculations
Key Question – Does the tool help or hinder?
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When it goes wrong
Difficult to use
Can’t see the benefits
A spreadsheet is easier?
Are you sure your risk
calculations are correct?
Compare with last month, or six
months ago
Aggregate the whole business’s
risks from all assessments,
prioritise and summarise them
Who changed what this month?
How did he get hold of that
spreadsheet? I can’t change it
because someone else is!
People will avoid it, risk assessments
will die
People will avoid it, risk assessments
will die
Almost all spreadsheet-based risk
calculations aren’t!
Difficult to show the changes
Substantial effort required
Spreadsheets don’t keep records and
are essentially single user
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When it goes wrong
Wading through irrelevant information
Risk consultants running your risk
assessments for you
People will avoid it, risk assessments
will die
Your staff will not be engaged and
involved
When the consultants leave the
meeting, there is a feeling that risk
management has gone with them
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When it goes right Risk workshops get far further, far quicker – benefits seen immediately
Identify Risks
Allocate initial owners
Assess
owned
risks
Assess
owned
risks
Assess
owned
risks
Assess
owned
risks
Review Assessment
Allocate priority risks
Propose
actions for
owned
risks
Propose
actions for
owned
risks
Propose
actions for
owned
risks
Propose
actions for
owned
risks
Review Actions
Approve, reject or recommend
further work
Workshop Sequence
Brainstorm Session
Individual
Assessments
in parallel
Individual
Proposals
in parallel
Group Review
Group Review
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When it goes right
Risk Reviews
Call for individual reviews by risk and action owners
Reviews returned as scenarios
Approved, rejected or retained for discussion by assessment
manager
Review meeting
–on discussion items only and any new risks
–only relevant people needed
–short, focussed meeting
Risk Reasoning Ltd
Conclusion
Risk tools are most useful if:
They make risk management easier for everyone concerned
They show the benefits of risk management to everyone
concerned
They are used consistently by all concerned
Risk tool designers need to
Take into account:
– the needs of each type of user
– the motivations of each type of user
Avoid:
–complexity for the user