How to do Risk Identification

Show Notes

The process of risk identification itself. We can go ahead with confidence, because all of the procedural and conceptual elements we need are finally in place.

Recap
High Quality Risk Assessment: Preferred method: round-table of experts
Prepared session: agenda, context paper and facilitation aids
Risk formulation rules - see blog post.
Points in facilitation
Review: conceptual and procedural foundation
Notice that in our preparatory work, we have:

• proper concept and definition of risk ID and assessment (Ep. 004)
• procedural grounding in proper planning (Ep. 005, 006)
• procedural refinement in the creation of a Context Paper for the risk ID session (Ep. 007, 008)
• avoided pitfalls entrained by some of the conventional risk ID advice (Ep. 009).

The question arises once more: is all of this too much work?
Summary statement of your expected result:
As required in our definition of High Quality Risk Assessment (Ep. 4), we have to identify risk:

• that is consistently conceived among participants as uncertainty connected with goals
• in direct association to intended actions (goals/objectives) that are researched and substantiated
• in relation to defined corporate values which govern behaviour of staff and employees
• comprehensively, considering all possible relevant sources of risk
• as efficiently as possible, being mindful of the constraints in using people’s time
• rigorously, so as not to gather information based on vague and disparate ideas of risk
• within a context using defined assumptions that are documented and so contribute to due diligence
• in such way as to effectively aggregate qualitative and semi-quantitative information

So, there we have a summary description of all the prerequisites and elements of an effective risk identification exercise. In the next episode, we can continue our work in the the round table session by assessing the risks, once they are identified and formulated.

KEY QUOTE
The deliverable for a risk ID and assessment session: "A comprehensive list of risks, arranged in several categories of analysis, with criticality rankings and mitigation measures, arrived at by consensus, to inform an improved business plan." (Robertson p.36)

LINKS 
Do you need a risk matrix (risk register) or other templates for risk assessment? Enterprise Risk Management Tools and Templates 
Blog post - How to Write Risk Statements
E. Robertson Solving the Enterprise Risk Management Puzzle: Secrets to Successful Implementation (2016)