Assessing Risk

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" rowspan="3" width=170 BGCOLOR="#000099" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="02ebbc00erkqpg.jpg"> <div> Return to <A HREF="tr_appl.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Applications of Testable Requirements">Applications of Testable</A> <A HREF="tr_appl.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Applications of Testable Requirements">Requirements</A></div> <div> ----------------------------------</div> <div> <A HREF="est_sys_size.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Estimating System Size"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8cccccc00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Estimating System Size</A></div> <div> <A HREF="chg_sys_size.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tracking Change In System Size Over Time"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8cccccc00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Tracking Change In System Size Over Time</A></div> <div> <A HREF="quant_unders_req.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Quantifying Understanding of Requirement"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8cccccc00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Quantifying Understanding of Requirements</A></div> <div> <A HREF="test_case_cover.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Test Case Coverage"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8cccccc00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Test Case Coverage</A></div> <div> <A HREF="earn_val.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Earned Value"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8cccccc00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Earned Value</A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Wing0a73007700c8cccccc00.png" HEIGHT="13" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Assessing Risk</B></div> </td> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=60 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>Assessing Risk</B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=396 width="100%" colspan=2 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> Project size is a key risk indicator.  Small projects run less risk and are often more tolerant of process lapses, while large projects run exponentially larger risk and need ever increasing management and control of risk.  The testable requirements size estimate can help identify the overall project risk based on size.  It can also help evaluate the reasonableness of the project estimates and highlight the high risk areas.</div> <bR> <div> The risk of missing target dates and cost estimates are among the most common risks encountered on a project.  Furthermore, undefined and poorly defined requirements are two key sources of risk.  These often lead to the following risks:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Budget/Schedule problems when projects are understaffed due to requirements being ignored or misunderstood.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Poor quality due to lack of coverage of ignored or poorly understood requirements.</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Rework, or low user satisfaction if poorly defined requirements are developed incorrectly.</div> <bR> <div> Areas which are difficult to size based on a low percentage of ILRs identified can often pinpoint requirement problems that can lead to the above risks.  Highlighting these along with the underlying assumptions can help identify these risk areas so they can be managed.  As requirements are further defined and enhanced, the size estimate and risk assessment can be refined and continue to be used to help manage the project throughout the life cycle.</div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=24 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <A HREF="earn_val.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Earned Value"><B><IMG SRC="02711110.png" border=0 width="17" height="17" ALT="prev" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B> </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="17" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="17"><B>     </B><A HREF="tr_appl.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Applications of Testable Requirements"><B><IMG SRC="02611110.png" border=0 width="17" height="17" ALT="up" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></A><B> </B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="17" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="17"><B>          </B><B>               </B><A HREF="http://www.mosaicinc.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.mosaicinc.com"><B>Mosaic Home</B></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>