Risk Management Analysis on Network Infrastructure
Description
Review the scenario and the addenda items detailed below. Each of these items presents risks to the project.
• The network infrastructure is problematic in certain areas of the state, meaning that the existing infrastructure may not support the deployment of the e-mail system in all necessary areas.
• Several of the vendors have offered to develop specialized e-mail address books and templates for the state users, if their product is selected.
• In the resource planning stage of the effort, you've identified that the project lacks two network engineers and a business analyst who would be responsible for project documentation.
• The existing budget plan does not cover the anticipated 20% increase in licensing for one of the key candidate products under consideration (Globalcom).
• All the products under consideration for purchase offer more substantial discounts for more users. The statewide Ohio Department of Taxation is considering adopting one of these e-mail systems, as well.
1. Determine if each of these five items present a negative risk or positive opportunity to the project.
2. Next, identify a strategy for managing the risk and defend your choice. In your explanation, postulate the risk probability as high, medium, or low and assess the impact as low, moderate, or severe. Here are the risk management strategy options:
o avoid, transfer, mitigate (negative risk strategies)
o exploit, share, enhance (positive opportunities)
o accept or plan contingency (both negative risk and positive opportunities)
3. Finally, using Web Resources or other links, identify software, project management tools, or diagramming techniques that can be used by the project team to help manage risk. One method of research is to enter the term "risk analysis software" or "risk analysis tools" into a search engine and access the links that apply. For software applications, the most appropriate tools are the ones that interface with Microsoft Project, include Pert diagramming techniques, and/or provide a cost-benefit and analysis feature as well.
Risk Management Analysis
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Risk Management Analysis
Determining if each of these five items present a negative risk or positive opportunity to the project.
The network infrastructure is problematic in certain areas of the state, meaning that the existing infrastructure may not support the deployment of the e-mail system in all necessary areas.
The above scenario presents a negative risk since the probability of problems arising during the deployment of the e-mail system is considered to be high. This is because problems in some areas of the state with the network infrastructure could lead to limitations and delays in implementing the system (Godfrey et al., 2020). As a result, more funding would be required to further upgrade the infrastructure, thus increasing the project timeline and the associated costs, which were unplanned at the onset.
Several of the vendors have offered to develop specialized e-mail address books and templates for the state users if their product is selected.
This scenario is a positive opportunity for the project since a number of the vendors are willing to develop specialized e-mail address books and templates if their product is selected. This is important because it grants the users customized options that would be suitable for their operations. Furthermore, this assists with the functionality and overall usability of the e-mail system, thus leading to higher satisfaction rates among users, which is a value add opportunity in the project.
In the resource planning stage of the effort, you've identified that the project lacks two network engineers and a business analyst who would be responsible for project documentation.
This scenario presents a negative risk to the project due to the potential risk of missing key personnel that would be important in the project (Godfrey et al., 2020). The lack of network engineers and a business analyst who are essential in the processes of project documentation and resource planning would lead to gaps in both manpower and required expertise that would increase the probability of the project being successfully implemented. As a result, this would mean that existing team members would be overloaded with work while further risking potential issues in the documentation and resource planning aspects.
The existing budget plan does not cover the anticipated 20% increase in licensing for one of the key candidate products under consideration (Globalcom).
This scenario presents a negative risk to the project since the budgeting lacks the miscellaneous 20% increase in licensing costs that are expected during the implementation of one of the key candidate products. Such oversights in the budget plan can lead to cost overruns and unplanned financial constraints (George, 2020). In the long run, this would negatively affect the selection process of the desired process, either leading to the selection of a cheaper alternative or increasing budget allocation that would affect other items in the overall budget.
All the products under consideration for purchase offer more substantial discounts for more users. The statewide Ohio Department of Taxation is considering adopting one of these e-mail systems, as well.
This scenario offers a potentially positive opportunity for the project since a large number of users would mean a reduction in the overall costs of purchase based on the substantial discounts provided (Godfrey et al., 2020). More so, if the statewide Ohio Department of Taxation also considers having the same e-mail system, this would further increase the discounts, thus offering huge cost savings. This is because a large user base provides the perfect opportunity to negotiate with the vendors leading to the procurement of the best offer presented for the project.
Identify a strategy for managing the risk and defend your choice. In your explanation, postulate the risk probability as high, medium, or low and assess the impact as low, moderate, or severe.
The network infrastructure is problematic in certain areas of the state, meaning that the existing infrastructure may not support the deployment of the e-mail system in all necessary areas.
The risk probability, in this case, is postulated to be high due to the potential of the network infrastructure issues to affect optimum working conditions. Further, the impact is assessed to be moderate due to the lack of deployment of the system in all necessary areas of the project.
In this case, the chosen risk management strategy is mitigation which would involve taking necessary actions to reduce the potential impacts of the risks and the probability of them occurring in the project (George, 2020). The high probability of infrastructure issues due to the network infrastructure gaps requires proactive measures by either working to resolve the issues or exploring alternative network solutions or providers. More so, having contingency plans in such scenarios can minimize the potential impact of the issue on the project deliverables and set timelines. This can include backup solutions for the network or redundant systems that cou...