Poor Management of Known Risks is Major Cause of Failed Projects

Guest Post by John Ayers (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Studies show most projects fail due to poor management of known risks. The known risks on a project are:

1. Scope
2. Schedule.
3. Cost.
4. Quality.

The question is how do we manage known risks better?  Known risks can be significantly mitigated with application of basic Project Management methods and processes.

This article will address scope. The other known risks will be addressed in separate articles.

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Delivering Outcomes, Building Trust

Guest Post by James Kline (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

On July 17, 2020, the American Council for Technology – Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) issued a report entitled “Delivering Outcomes, Building Trust”.  The ACT-IAC is a non-profit educational organization established to create a “more effective and innovative government”. The report provides some ideas on how the United States Federal government can become “more resilient, adaptable, and responsive.” This piece will look at the report and its recommendations.

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Electric Car Hidden Risk

Guest Post by John Ayers (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Fifty years ago, having your own car was a sign of adulthood and your ticket around town. But that is all going to change within the next five to ten years due to rising CO2 levels and a new trend called Transportation as a Service. TaaS sits at the intersection of four technical macro trends. These are:

1. Autonomous vehicles
2. Electric vehicles
3. Connectivity
4. Sharing economy

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In Risk Management, It’s the Destination, Not the Journey

Guest Post by Andrew Sheves (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

A while back, I felt that pretty much everything was out of sync and I was highly disorganized. There was a growing list of undone things whether that was around the house, at work, with my family, or at the places where I volunteer.

It was definitely time for a reorganization.

A few weeks later, things were back in order (I even had time to write again), and a big part of my reorganization was refocussing on the systems I use for productivity.

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Derecho. A Black Swan Event?

Guest Post by Geary Sikich (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

On 10 August 2020 the US Midwest experienced a Derecho that brought widespread devastation to many areas.  A Derecho is a widespread, long-lived, straight-line wind storm that is associated with a fast-moving group of severe thunderstorms known as a mesoscale convective system.  Derechos can cause hurricane-force winds, tornadoes, heavy rains, and flash floods.  As depicted below the 10 August 2020 Derecho spanned serval states over a 12 hour period.

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Have the Faith to Seize risk Opportunities

Guest Post by Patrick Ow (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Have faith to seize on opportunities that come your way (but the risk is within us!)

Everyone has opportunities. But it is up to us to seize the opportunities that come our way!

There will be opportunities to build lives, to better ourselves, or to serve the community.

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Get Smart of Your Risk Mitigation

Guest Post by Andrew Sheves (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Often, the end of the risk assessment feels like the end of the process and things start to ease off. Unfortunately, this is when the real work begins because, now that you have identified and prioritized your risks, you need to do something about them.

There are several options when it comes to dealing with a risk but it’s risk treatments I want to focus on here. These often go askew when mitigation measures aren’t designed carefully. This wastes resources and the risks aren’t reduced.

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Quality 4.0: What Does This Mean for the Quality Profession?

Guest Post by James Kline (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

In several pieces for Insights, I have discussed the decline of ISO 9001 certifications, the internal and financial problems ASQ is experiencing and the implications for the quality profession.  Recently I was on the ASQ website. There are several references to Quality 4.0.  This article will look at Quality 4.0 and its implications for the Quality Profession. It will also provide an update on ASQ’s financial problems and the possibility it will declare bankruptcy. 

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Quality’s Journey to Create ‘Sustained Success’

Guest Post by Robert Pojasek (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

The initial journey to create “sustained success” got off to a difficult start in 1987 when the intent was for quality managers to implement ISO 9004 followed by ISO 9001 for certification purposes. ISO 9004 was viewed as being associated with TQM.  The extra work that was needed to fulfill TQM led organizations to use ISO 9001:1987 alone to certify their processes.

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Take a Risk and Acquire Skills for Future Work

Guest Post by John Ayers (first posted on CERM ® RISK INSIGHTS – reposted here with permission)

Today, there is a lot of attention and discussion regarding future work. How will new technology impacts jobs? What will it look like? What jobs will be eliminated? What will the future jobs look like? How should I prepare?

It is difficult to identify with any accuracy what jobs will be eliminated and what new jobs will be available. My advice is to focus on skills. What skills will help ensure job security in the future?  This is the real question.

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