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You know that the best you can expect is to avoid the worst1
SCOPE RISK. Of the testing of original assumptions that propel the project, the
most important is scope risk. If the scope is not carefully thought out, the project, no
matter how many resources are thrown at it, or how long one works at it, may be
literally impossible (40). Since few projects are completed with the original scope
perfectly intact, managing scope risk entails understanding in detail the require-
ments of the initial scope and anticipating a process to handle scope change risks
of: scope creep (initial requirements are not well specified), scope gaps (committing
to a project before requirements are known), and dependencies (inadequate re-
search of legal and regulatory requirements, etc.) (41-43). Project deliverables and
scope planning must be in writing and typically includes the following information:
what the project will and will not include (“is/is not”);
LYLE A. BRECHT 410.963.8680 DRAFT 1.4 CAPITAL MARKETS RESEARCH --- Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Page 1 of 2
P L A N N I N G 1 0 1 : I D E N T I F Y I N G & M A N A G I N G P R O J E C T R I S K
people: key staff availability and reducing staff losses during the project;
By the process of writing the plan, the opportunity is that others may assist the pro-
ject team to find defects and omissions, and “seek an improved plan, quickly” (127).
When mitigation is not an option for white or black swans that occur, good planning
includes contingencies to complete the project with minimal impact to the deadline
and cost (201). The ultimate rationale for project planning is that it constitutes the
best process presently known for learning whether a project is feasible (332). Be-
cause a project is technically feasible does not mean that is institutionally, economi-
cally, or politically feasible. The object of planning is not to develop the perfect plan,
but the best one possible given existing constraints (127).
1 Italio Calvino, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler (1979) in William Poundstone, Prisoner’s Di-
lemma (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 53.
2Page numbers in parentheses refer to: Tom Kendrick, Identifying and Managing Project Risk:
Essential Tools for Failure-Proofing Your Project, 2nd Edition (New York: AMACOM, 2009).
3See Joe Stephens, “Lessons from Exxon Valdez spill have gone unheeded,” The Washington
Post (July 14, 2010) at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/
07/13/AR2010071306291.html?nav=rss_email/components.
4 The objective of projects is to reduce systemic risk. Too much systemic risk and utilities fail,
always. See http://www.scribd.com/doc/22163392/Consequential-Catastrophic-Risks.
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