User Guide

Risk Management

Risk is the probability of suffering a loss and vulnerability that the threat will occur due to
diminished quality of a service to increased cost, missed deadlines etc. in a project. In other
words this feature helps in identifying risks which has potential cost impact on the project or
tasks. Generally, a risk is measured by probability, impact and cost.

Risk Management is the process of measuring, or assessing risk and developing strategies to manage
it. Strategies include transferring the risk to another party, avoiding the risk, reducing the
negative effect of the risk, and accepting some or all of the consequences of a particular risk.

In ideal risk management, the risks with greatest probability, and greatest impact are handled
first, and risks with lower probability and lower impact are handled later. The parameters like
trigger, mitigation plan and contingency plan will help in handling the risk. For effective project
management, it is necessary to foresee the risks involved in the project and manage them . Risk
management includes reporting, assigning, monitoring and deleting a risk. Following sections explain
each process in detail.

Categorizing the risks
Categorizing the risks means placing similar risks into a group in a project to support routing,
reporting, and work flow. A first attempt at categorizing the risk is made when it is first
recorded. The proper risk category is helpful when prioritizing the resources required to address
the risk. It is especially useful for reporting purpose.

Creating a category
Steps to create a category:

Edit/Delete a category
Steps to edit/delete a category:

List Categories.
To list out all the categories in a project select (see Figure: 9.7 list of categories in a
selected project) click List Categories action. The first column shows Id which
marks the serial number of a category and the second column represents the category name. In order
to list out all the categories in all the projects then you have to select All Projects
option from the Project drop down list available in action bar. The category list page
is displayed by default after category creation and deletion. If there are no categories available
in the selected project a message No categories available will be displayed.

Figure: 9.7 list of categories in a selected project.

If the number of categories to display exceeds the value set for Num of records per page
field in Preferences tab, then each page will list the number of categories as per
the value you have set for the above field.

To navigate between list pages, select the page number from the Page number drop down list
(see Figure: 9.8 Category list in a selected page) available in the filter bar and this drop down
will be displayed only when the number of categories available in a selected project are more than
the value set for Num of records per page field.

Figure: 9.8 Category list in a selected page.

Reporting a risk
A risk contains following fields:

• Category lists various categories of a project.
• Assign to consists of resource names who are involved in a project.
• Probability indicates the likelihood of a risk occurrence. The possible values are
  None, Rare, Unlikely, Possible, Likely, Certain.
• Impact is the effect of risk on the other tasks, projects, etc. The possible values are
  None, Trivial, Low, Medium, High, Critical.
• Cost is the possible loss to the project.
• Trigger is an indicator which notifies that the risk is turning into a problem.
• Mitigation plan is a plan which helps to lessen risk by lowering its chances of
  occurring or by reducing its effect if it does occur.
• Contingency plan denotes the planned allotment of time and cost for unforeseeable
  elements with a project.
• Summary is a brief note of a risk.
• Description is the details about a risk.
• Additional Information gives an extra information if any.
• Affected Tasks lists the task affected due to a risk being reported.
• Task Triggers is an indicator which notifies that the risk is turning into a problem.
• Mitigation Tasks denotes the task which mitigates the risk.
• Contingency Tasks It denotes the task which is contingency in nature.
• Linked risks denotes other risk of the project which is related to the risk
  being reported.
• Linked issues denotes the an issue of a project that is related to the risk
  being reported.
• Linked documents denotes a documents of a project that is related to the risk
  being reported.
NOTE: Only an Admin or a project member can add a risk to a project.

To add a risk to your project, first select the project of your interest from the Project drop
down list on the action bar. The drop down list will show the projects for which you are a member.
Following are the steps to add a risk to your project:

When you report a risk, if you have not selected any name for Assigned to field, i.e.,
selected None option, then the risk status is set to New. If you have selected a
value other than None for Assigned to field then the risk status is set to
Assigned.

Monitoring Risks
Every risk created in a project will undergo a series of operations. It includes viewing the list
of risks present in a project, viewing the details of a particular risk and update the risk details.
List Risks
This feature helps you to view the list of risks present. You can either view a list of risks
present in all the projects you are involved or a particular project you are involved.

To view a list of risks of all the projects:

To view a list of risks of a particular project:

When you are in Risks tab, at any time if you want to go to list page, click
List Risks action. If there are no risks present in the project you have selected, then
the page will display a message There are no risks to display. Click here to add a new risk.
is displayed. If there are risks present then the page will provide following information:

Figure: 9.9 List of risks in a selected project.

To list out all risks in all projects then selectAll Projects option from the
Project drop down (see Figure: 9.10).

Figure: 9.10 List of risks when all projects are selected.

Figure: 9.11 List of risks in a selected project.

Filters for risks
Filter is used to view the preferred risks of a particular project. Filters can be applied
according to Reporter, Assigned to, Category, Probability,Impact and Status.

Whenever you would like to view a filtered list of risks, select the the appropriate filter
options (see Figure: 9.12 Usage of filters in risks) and click Apply Filter button
then a risk list for that filter option will be displayed (see Figure: 9.13 View of risks
with filter applied).

Figure: 9.12 Usage of filters in risks

Figure: 9.13 View of risks with filter applied.

NOTE: Filters will get displayed only when you are in List Risks page.

View Risk
To view detailed information of a risk, click the risk of your interest from the list of risks.
This will take you to View Risk page. This page consists Update Risk, Assign
To Me, Resolve Risk, Close Risk, Delete Risk buttons. Delete Risk and Close Risk
buttons are displayed only for project owner as only he/she is allowed to delete/close a
risk. Below the buttons there will be a Risk Notes text area to add a risk note to
a risk. Below the text area are the buttons Cancel, Reset and Add Risknotes present.

For more information on risk notes, see Risk Notes of this chapter.

If there are any risk notes present, they will be displayed below the buttons. Otherwise, it will
display a message There are no notes for this risk.. At the bottom of the page, there will
be risk history displayed.

• Update Risk: This feature is used to make any modifications in a risk.
• Assign To Me: This feature is used to assign a risk to yourself. This button
  gets displayed only when risk is not assigned to any project member or assigned to a member
  other than the logged in user and risk status is other than Resolved and Closed.
• Resolve Risk: This is used for resolving a risk. This button will get displayed
  if the risk status is neither Resolved nor Closed.
• Close Risk: This feature is used only when a risk is resolved completely. This
  button will get displayed only if the risk status is other than Closed.
• Delete Risks: Risks can be deleted when you think it is not required any more.

For more information about risk history, see Risk History section of this chapter.

Along with the fields explained in Reporting a Risk section, there are other fields the risk will
contain which will get displayed when you are either in View Risk or Update Risk
page. They are:

• Id is an unique number assigned to a risk.
• Reporter is the name of a resource who reported a risk.
• Last Edited On displays the date and time when the risk information are updated for
  the last time.
• Status is a state of affair. A risk can be in one of the following status:
• New status indicates that a risk that is newly reported.
• Acknowledged status indicates that a risk has been looked at but not
  confirmed or assigned.
• Confirmed status indicates that a confirmation has been made regarding
  the occurrence of a risk.
• Assigned status indicates that a risk has been assigned a resource.
• Resolved status indicates that a risk has been fixed, waiting for confirmation
  regarding the fix.
• Closed status indicates that a risk resolution has been confirmed by the
  project owner.
• Reopen status indicates that a previous resolution provided to a risk is
  not satisfactory.

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Update Risk
To modify a risk information, you can click Update Risk button provided in
View Risk page. You are allowed to change information pertaining to Category,
Probability, Impact, Assigned To, Status, Cost, Trigger, Mitigation plan, Contingency plan,
Summary, Description, Additional Information, Risk Notes ,Affected Tasks, Task Triggers,
Mitigation Tasks, Contingency Tasks, Linked Issues, Linked Risks, Linked Documents.

Note: For more information about risk notes, see Risk Notes section of this chapter.

How to update?

1. Click the preferred risk in the List Risks page. You will see View
   Risk page.
2. Click Update Risk button in the view risk page. Here the Edit page will
   be displayed.
3. Make necessary modifications in the respective field.
4. Click Save & Close button to save changes or click Cancel button
   to discard the changes made. This will take you to View Risk page.
5. Click Reset button to undo the changes made and remain in the same page.

Risk notes
A risk note is a description about the changes made to a risk. It is used to provide a detailed
information to other project members on how the changes have been made to a risk by a member. Any
project member can add a risk note to a risk as long as the status of risk is one of the
following:New, Assigned, Acknowledged, Confirmed, Reopen. A risk note which has been
already added to a risk can be edited or deleted only by a member who has added it.

Steps to add a risk note to a risk:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk to which you would like to add risk notes.
2. Enter the text in the Risk Notes text area.
3. Click Add Risknotes button
4. If you click Add Risknotes button when the text area is empty, then a window
   will get popped up with a message “Please fill up the Risk Notes field..
5. Click OK in the pop-up window to continue.
6. Click Cancel button to go back to List Risks page.

Alternatively you can also do the following:

1. Go to Update Risk page of a risk to which you would like to add a risk note.
2. Enter a text in the Risk Notes text area.
3. Click Save & Close button.

NOTE: For more information about updating risk, see Update Risk section of this chapter

NOTE: Adding a risk note to a risk is an optional operation. But it is a good practice to
add a risk note for every change made to a risk.

Edit Risk notes
You can edit only the risk notes you have added. Edit option is available only if the risk status
is other than Resolved and Closed. To edit a risk notes follow the steps given below:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk where you would like to edit risk notes.
2. Move to the risk notes you would like to edit by scrolling down the page. You will see
   Edit and Delete below the risk notes.
3. Click Edit button. It will take you to edit risk notes page (see Figure:
   CHA.14 Editing risk notes).
4. Do the necessary changes to the risk notes.
5. Click Update Notes button.
6. If you would like to cancel the edit operation and go back to View Risk page,
   then click Cancel button.
7. To undo the changes made before saving it, click Reset button.

Figure: 9.14 Editing risk notes

For more information about viewing risk details, see View Risk section of this chapter.

Delete Risk notes
You can delete risk notes that you have added. To delete a risk follow the steps given below:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk where you would like to delete risk notes.
2. Move to the risk notes you would like to edit by scrolling down the page. You will see
   Edit and Delete below the risk notes.
3. Click Delete button.

Assigning a risk to yourself
You can assign a risk to yourself if it is not already assigned to you. To do so, follow the
steps given below:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you want to assign to yourself.
2. Click Assign To Me button.
3. The Status field of the risk is set to Assigned and Assigned to field is
   set to your name.

Resolve risk
When a resolution to a risk is identified and acted on, the status of the risk can be set to
Resolved to indicate that the risk has been fixed. Once the status of a Risk is set to
Resolved, no futher modifications can be performed on the risk. The only operations permitted on
a resolved risk are: Closing, reopening and deleting a risk.

NOTE: For more information about deleting a risk, see Delete Risk section of this chapter.

NOTE: You can resolve a risk whose status is not already resolved or closed.

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you would like to resolve.
2. If risk is not already Resolved or Closed, then a
   Resolve Risk button at the bottom of the page is displayed. Click Resolve Risk
   button.
3. You will get a page to add a risk note about the action you took to resolve the risk (see
   Figure: 9.15 Resolving a risk and adding a risk note) Add a risk note in the text
   area provided.
4. Click Save & Close button to resolve a risk.
5. Click Cancel button to go back to List Risks page in which case,
   the risk status remains unchanged.

Figure: 9.15 Resolving a risk and adding a risk note

For more information about adding risk notes, see Risk Notes section of this chapter.
Alternatively you can also do the following:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you would like to resolve.
2. Click Update Risk button that is present at the bottom of the page.
3. Select Resolved option for the Status field.
4. Add a description in the Risk Notes text area.
5. Click Save & Close button to resolve a risk.

Close risk
At any time irrespective of the risk status, if you find a reported risk to be irrelevant to the
project or if it is relevant and has been resolved by any project member, then you can close the
risk. Once a risk is closed, it can either be deleted or reopened (please refer to sections
below for details).

NOTE: Only a project owner can close a risk.

There are two ways you can close a risk. If the risk status is Resolved, then the only way you
can close a risk as follows:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you would like to close.
2. If risk is not already Closed, then a Close Risk button at the
   bottom of the page is displayed. Click Close Risk button.
3. You will get a page to add risk notes regarding why you are closing a risk. Add a risk note
   in the text area provided.
4. Click Save & Close button to resolve a risk.
5. Click Cancel button to go back to List Risks page in which
   case, the risk status remains unchanged.

NOTE: For more information about adding a risk, see Risk Notes section of this chapter.

If the risk status is other than Resolved and Closed, then you can follow either
the steps explained above or the one explained below:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you would like to resolve.
2. Click Close Risk button that is present at the bottom of the page.
3. Select Closed option for the Status field.
4. Add a description in the Risk Notes text area.
5. Click Save & Close button to resolve a risk.

Reopen risk
Some times you will encounter a risk that has been Resolved or Closed, but that risk has not been
handled properly, then you can reopen a risk. You can add a risk note, update information, assign,
acknowledge, confirm, resolve or close a reopened risk. If the risk status is either Resolved or
Closed then the steps to reopen a risk are as follows:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you would like to close.
2. Click Reopen Risk button.
3. You will get a page to add a risk note about the reason for reopening a risk. Add a risk
   note in the text area provided.
4. Click Save & Close button to resolve a risk.
5. Click Cancel button to go back to List Risks page in which case,
   the risk status remains unchanged.

For more information about adding a risk, see Risk Notes section of this chapter.

If the risk status is other than Resolved, Closed Reopen then you can follow either the steps
explained above or the one explained below to reopen a risk:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you would like to resolve.
2. Click Update Risk button that is present at the bottom of the page.
3. Select Reopen option for the Status field.
4. Add a description in the Risk Notes text area.
5. Click Save & Close button to resolve a risk.

Deleting a risk
You can delete a risk reported by any project member irrespective of the status of the risk. To
delete a risk, you need to be owner of the project to which the risk belongs. The steps to delete
a risk are as follows:

1. Go to View Risk page of a risk you would like to delete.
2. Click Delete Risk button.
3. You will get an alert message Are you sure you want to delete this risk?. Click
   OK button to delete the risk and click Cancel button to
   cancel the deletion.

Risk History
It is necessary to keep track of the changes made to a risk of a project as all the project
members are allowed to make changes to a risk. Keeping track of the changes will give a clear idea
about who did what to a risk at any time. ValleySpeak Project Server has an automatic mechanism
to record the changes made to a risk and display it to the project members when they go the View
Risk page. It will log the changes made to all the editable fields.

Risk history is displayed at the bottom of the View Risk page. It provides following information:

• Log Date and Time is the date and time when a particular change is made to a risk.
• User Name is a name of a project member who made the change.
• Field Name is a field whose value is changed by the project member.
• Change is an actual change made to a risk

Whenever a new risk is added to a project, the ValleySpeak Project Server will record it into the
risk history as New Risk which will be shown in the Field Name column of the risk history.

Changes made to fields Category, Probability, Impact, Assigned To, Status, Cost, Trigger,
Mitigation plan, Contingency plan, Summary, Affected Tasks, Task Triggers, Mitigation Tasks,
Contingency Tasks, Linked Issues, Linked Risks, Linked Documents are all shown in the Change
column with the format oldvalue => newvalue. For example, if you change the risk impact from
High to Critical then Change column shows the modification as High => Critical.

Fields like Description, Additional Information and Risk Notes allows more text to be
entered. So, the format of the log is different form as that of the fields mentioned above as it
is difficult to show the old value and new value in the history. For example, if you add further
Additional Information for a risk the Field Name column will show the modification
as Updated Additional Information.

When you update risk information by clicking the button Assign To Me, Resolve Risk, Close
Risk, Reopen Risk, then the ValleySpeak Project Server will record a log for the Status
field. Also, when you add/edit/delete risk notes, the log is recored for Risk Notes field.

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