Summary - Planning for Quality & Risk Management

Let us summarize the important things we have learnt in the preceding chapters on Quality and Risk Planning.

• Quality and risk are two interrelated aspects of any project and need to be managed.
• While quality refers to the degree to which a set of characteristics of project deliverables and objectives fulfill the requirements, risk refers to an uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on meeting the project objectives.
• Quality management includes quality planning, quality assurance, and quality control.
• The quality management plan, quality metrics, quality checklist, and process improvement plan are the major output items of the quality planning process called Plan Quality.
• The only output of risk management planning is the risk management plan, which includes elements such as a list of tools and approaches to be used for risk management, identification and assignment of resources for risk management, risk categories, risk probabilities and impacts, and the format of risk reporting and tracking.
• This information is used in the remaining processes of risk management; Identify Risks, Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis, Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis, and Plan Risk Responses.
• The risk management plan is an input item to the risk identification process.
• Its only output is the risk register, which includes a list of identified risks, a list of the root causes of the risks, and an initial list of potential responses.
• The risk register, initially prepared during the risk identification process, is updated during the following processes: Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis, Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis, Plan Risk Responses, and Monitor and Control Risks.
• The main output of qualitative risk analysis is the prioritization of risks based on a probability and impact matrix for each objective. Each objective might have its own prioritized list of risks. However, the emphasis in quantitative analysis is on two things; assessing the probability of meeting each project objective and prioritizing the risks based on the total effect of each risk on the overall project objectives.
• Subsequently, the resultant prioritized list of risks can be used to prepare the risk response plan.
• Depending upon the priority of the risk, you can choose one of the three options—taking no action, taking an action if some event happens, or taking an action.
• When you decide to take an action, there are three ways to plan it: avoid, transfer, or mitigate in case of a negative risk; and share, exploit, or enhance in case of a positive risk.

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