Risk Management

Had the risk plan been ignored, the probability of the project failing to meet the deadline would be high. A risk plan serves as a reference point to ensure that things are running smoothly, and this prevents the final rush to meet the desired deadlines. The Hasty job would have compromised the quality of the final product since the accuracy and precision of technical input would be ignored. The result would mean that the resources consumed during the construction of the project would go to waste. Since the project involved a large team which included subcontractors, it would be difficult to establish which individual or group of persons were responsible in case of delays or technical mishaps. The development of the satellite was supposed to be systematic and in case a technical fault was detected in the course of assembly, it would be possible to debug and, therefore, prevent a loss of resources before it was too late.

The risk plan enabled the project team to assess the progress of their work. It would be difficult to notice whether they were on track or off-track, had the risk plan been absent. This also enabled them to predict the date when they would finish the project. The time it took for the project to be completed also determined the cost the team would undergo. The more they delayed the more they would have to pay for labor and utilities cost. Accurate plan would also work on improving quality of the final product since enough time would allow for consultations and necessary tests to avoid technical mishaps (Haslett, 2010).

The first thing would be to identify the various risks involved and possible outcomes from the listed risks. The next step would be to suggest various ways of tackling the risks involved in order of priority. Teamwork and brainstorming would work best for the whole team. In case the teams work from different stations, it would be necessary to establish an online link with a full-time administrator to coordinate the various suggestions from the team members. To rule out the possibility of a project failure, it could be wise to factor in the resources available and the cost of monitoring the risks. After the potential risk is identified, the probability of its frequency should be established to avoid repeated errors. The risk plan should be monitored regularly to ensure consistency (Allen, 2003). In the case of the occurrence of a risk, the degree of its effect should be established and also the possibility of its frequency of occurring. The effects might not be very severe but assessing the value of the risk should be sufficient to ensure that the cost of the project is not exaggerated. It is advisable to follow the risk plan as much as possible to avoid negligence of minute details which may look harmless at a glance but eventually might cause the whole project to collapse (Barkley, 2004). Certain formulas should be established to calculate the frequency of occurrence of certain risks. A good example is the composite risk index which tries to determine the rate of risk occurrence.

The risk impact on the project could affect it both positively and negatively. Positively in that it may establish an unnecessary plan in the manual and alternative procedures which will probably be less costly and may serve the expected results. Negatively, the risk might compromise the systematic development of the project, and hence the finished product. According to the Office of Government Commerce (2007), measures should be put in place to avoid risks, but since risks are sometimes inevitable, project managers should establish alternatives that can be used to deliver similar results. It is also wise to transfer the risk to a third party, for example, by insuring the risks with a reputable company. Frequent evaluation of the risk plan should be conducted and all members of the team should be informed of the progress and possible difficulties they are facing if any.