Lesson 1: Define a risk

You can define the risks for a project at any time during the project life cycle. By defining a risk, you can understand its probability, impact, and exposure and prepare a counter strategy to use if the risk occurs.

About this task

In this lesson, the risk is a user interface that is not intuitive. After you complete this lesson, you will have defined the risk.
Get ready: You can define risks in the web or Eclipse clients. For information about defining risks in the Eclipse client, see Define risk
Remember:

This feature is available only if you are using the Formal Project Management process template.

Procedure

To define a risk in the web client:

  1. Click the Work Items menu. From the Create Work Item section, click Risk .
  2. In the Summary field, type UI not intuitive.
  3. On the Overview tab, complete the fields.
    The Risk work item type contains these additional fields.
    • Probability: The likelihood that the risk will occur.
    • Impact: The degree to which the risk affects the project.
    • Exposure: The magnitude or scope of the risk. The exposure is determined by multiplying the probability and impact and dividing that number by 100.
    • Precision: The degree to which the risk is understood.
      Note: When you define the probability and impact, the matrix shows the risk severity. The cell where the probability and impact qualifiers meet is represented by a letter: L for Low, M for Medium, and H for High severity. The letter indicates the degree of precision. The letters change based on what value you set in the Precision field. You can also define the probability and impact by selecting a cell in the matrix.
    • Consequence Cost: A number that represents the financial impact of the risk. By default, the USD currency is displayed along with the cost. You can set another currency in the project area editor. For more information about setting currency, see Setting the currency of risk costs.
    • Probability Cost: A number that represents the probable cost of the risk occurrence. This value is determined by multiplying the probability and consequence cost. By default, the USD currency is displayed along with the cost. You can set another currency in the project area editor. For more information about setting currency, see Setting the currency of risk costs.
    • Risk Category: Categorizes risks that are based on types. By default, some categories are defined as enumerations for the process template. You can define new enumerations in the project area editor.
    • Identification Date: This date can be in the past, present, or future. If you are defining a risk only, you can leave this field blank and select a date when the risk is identified.
    • Occurrence Date: This date can be in the past, present, or future. If you are defining a risk only, you can leave this field blank and select a date when the risk occurs.
    • Identified For: This field lists the iterations for the project. This field is same as the Planned For field for any other work item type. When you run a query for the risk work items, you can use the Planned For attribute. The Identified For attribute is not available as an option for queries.
  4. Click Save.

Lesson checkpoint

In this lesson, you learned to define a risk by specifying its category, probability, impact, and exposure.