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Requirements changes

Contracts

Hardware

Political concerns

Management risks

Legal risks

Technical issues

In addition, you could also devise a set of questions to pose to the group. Sample
questions include the following:

Is the task on the critical path?

Is this a complex task?

Does the task involve a new or unfamiliar technology?

Does the task have multiple dependencies?

Have you had problems with similar tasks in previous projects?

Is this task controlled by outside influences (permits, regulatory compliance,
environmental factors, and so on)?

Are there inexperienced resources assigned to this task?

Are there adequate resources assigned to the task?

Are you unfamiliar with the hardware or software you’re going to use for the tasks?

You can conduct the brainstorming meeting in a couple of ways. You can provide

everyone with a marker and a sticky-note pad and ask them to write one risk per sticky
note as they review the risk types and the questions. You can post the risks to a
whiteboard and begin to categorize them. You can also invite someone to attend the
meeting and take notes. No matter which method you use to identify the risks, at the
conclusion of the meeting you should have a completed risk register.

This is essentially a list of risks that you can record in a simple spreadsheet that

includes an identification number, risk name, risk description, risk owner, and
response plan (or where the response plan can be located). The risk owner is the
person responsible for monitoring the project to determine whether the potential for
this risk event is high and for implementing the risk response plan should it occur.

Once you have identified all the possible risks to the project, you need to analyze the
risks to determine the potential for the risk event to occur and the impact it will have
on the project if it does occur.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

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