Defining The Components of Risk

No risk component model can account for every risk on every enterprise software project. Furthermore, it does not make sense to focus on every risk, and the most important risks deserve the most attention.

We rate enterprise software project risk on the following factors. Some of these factors are related to the application and vendor, and others are associated with the other parties involved in implementation.

Application Related Risk Categories

  1. Functionality
  2. Implement ability
  3. Usability
  4. Maintainability

Vendor Related Risk Categories

  1. Sales Information Quality
  2. Implementation Capabilities
  3. Support Capabilities
  4. Internal Efficiency
  5. Current Innovation Level

Project and Client Related Risk Categories

  1. The complexity of Specific Functionality to be Implemented
  2. Preparedness of External Implementing Entities
  3. Preparedness of the Buyer’s Implementation Team

Of these risk categories, we produce ratings for the Application and Vendor Related Risk Categories as a self-service offering within the Software Selection Packages. This is done as a starting point for determining the risk of the entire project. Clients can complete the risk estimate using this as a beginning point or can contact us for a complete estimate that includes an interview and analyzes the Project and Client Related Risk Categories.

Our measurement of risk is not merely a straight average of all the input components, but rather is a weighted average as we have found some components to be more critical – even among this crucial group – than other risk factors. This is all explained in the following link.