Amrit Tiwana
Abstract
An analysis of risks in software development, using data from senior IT managers, produced surprising results. Our one-minute assessment tool applies those results to assessing the risks of specific projects.
- Alexander, C. Notes on the Synthesis of Form. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1964.Google Scholar
- Armour, P. A case for a new business model: Is software a product or a medium? Commun. ACM 43, 8 (Aug. 2000), 19--22. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Benko, C. and McFarlan, W. Connecting the Dots: Aligning Projects with Objectives in Unpredictable Times. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 2003. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Faraj, S. and Sproull, L. Coordinating expertise in software development teams. Manage. Sci. 46, 12 (2000), 1554--1568. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Highsmith, J. The great methodologies debate part I: opening statement. Cutter IT J. 14, 12 (2001), 2--4.Google Scholar
- Leonard-Barton, D. and Sinha, D. Developer-user interaction and user satisfaction in internal technology transfer. Acad. Manage. J. 36, 5 (1993), 1125--1139.Google Scholar
- Rus, I. and Lindvall, M. Knowledge management in software engineering. IEEE Softw. (May/June 2002), 26--38. Google ScholarDigital Library
- Standish Group. Chaos chronicles II. West Yarmouth, MA, 2001.Google Scholar
- Von Hippel, E. Lead users: a source of novel product concepts. Manage. Sci 32, 7 (1986), 791--805. Google ScholarDigital Library
Index Terms
- The one-minute risk assessment tool
Recommendations
Stakeholder Risk Assessment: An Outcome-Based Approach
Requirements engineering must manage the risks arising from project stakeholders. The Outcome-Based Stakeholder Risk Assessment Model (Obsram) provides guidance in stakeholder identification, identification of stakeholder impacts and perceptions, ...
Risk Management and Risk Assessment at ENISA: Issues and Challenges
ARES '06: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Availability, Reliability and SecurityIn this talk, the main directions followed in current and future work in the area of Risk Management and Risk Assessment at ENISA will be presented. The efforts in this area range from an initial inventory of Risk Management /Risk Assessment methods and ...
Reviews
Andrea F Paramithiotti
Tiwana and Keil present a risk assessment tool for information and communications technology (ICT) projects that they developed after finding that conventional tools took too much time, were highly complex, and often produced misleading results. In order to avoid such pitfalls, they developed a quick and practical (they call it "pragmatic") tool. After conducting a large survey of senior ICT project managers, the authors identified six key risk factors for information technology (IT) projects, and divided them into knowledge-related and organizational factors. Among knowledge-related factors, they place the similarity of the current project to previous ones, customer involvement in the project, and the stability of requirements. Among organizational factors, they place the use of formal project management methods, the fit between methodology and project type, and the project complexity itself. The tool devised by the authors consists first of dividing a Cartesian space into four quadrants, whose axes describe the type of risk factor (organizational or knowledge-related) and the manager's sphere of influence (within, if the project manager can control the risk factors, or outside, if he or she cannot). Then, each of the risk factors can be placed in the region of the plane that more accurately describes its nature. Different people in an organization can then be asked to place the risk factors in the grid; at the end of this process, the project manager can have an idea of the relative perception of these factors in the whole organization. This tool is straightforward, quick, and easy to use; however, being qualitative only, it is not suited for a rigorous analysis. The authors suggest using it as a first step, to "get the bearings," before embarking on a large project. It could also be useful as an introductory tool in risk assessment courses, just to get the flavor of what risk assessment is about. And who knows__?__ It could even be fun using in some everyday activities (for example, vacation planning or car substitution). Online Computing Reviews Service
Access critical reviews of Computing literature here
Become a reviewer for Computing Reviews.
Comments