ISBN : 978-81-963532-2-3 (E-Book) Asoftwareprojectcanbeaffectedbyalargevarietyofrisks.Inordertobeabletosystematicallyidentifythe importantriskswhichmightaffectasoftwareproject,itisnecessaryto categorize risks into different classes. The project manager can then examine which risks fromeachclass arerelevant to the project. Therearethreemaincategoriesofrisks whichcanaffectasoftwareproject: 1. Projectrisks Projectrisksconcernvariesformsofbudgetary,schedule,personnel,resource,andcustomerrelatedproblems.Animportantprojectriskisscheduleslippage.Since,software is intangible, it is very difficult to monitor and control a software project. It isvery difficult to control something which cannot be seen. For any manufacturing project,such as manufacturing of cars, the project manager can see the product taking shape. Hecan for instance, see that the engine is fitted, after that the doors are fitted, the car isgetting painted, etc. Thus he can easily assess the progress of the work and control it. Theinvisibility of the product being developed is an important reason why many softwareprojectssuffer from therisk of schedule slippage. 2. Technicalrisks Technicalrisksconcernpotentialdesign,implementation,interfacing,testing,andmaintenance problems. Technical risks also include ambiguous specification, incompletespecification, changing specification, technical uncertainty, and technical obsolescence.Most technical risks occur due to the development team’s insufficient knowledge abouttheproject. 3. Businessrisks This type of risks include risks of building an excellent product that no one wants, losingbudgetaryor personnel commitments, etc. RiskAssessment Theobjectiveofriskassessmentistoranktherisksintermsoftheirdamagecausingpotential.Forrisk assessment, first each riskshould beratedin two ways: • Thelikelihoodofariskcomingtrue (denoted asr). • Theconsequenceofthe problemsassociatedwiththatrisk(denotedass). Basedon thesetwo factors, thepriorityof each risk can becomputed: 192 Software Engineering Keerthana P, Manasa KN, Ganga D Bengal
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