Learning Journal - Mid Term - CIS 644

Middle of Term - CIS 644 Managing Project Risk

There are 6 objectives associated with CIS 644 - Managing Project Risks.  They are:

1. Evaluate the risk identification process as it relates to the project management process groups and knowledge areas.
2. Evaluate the project manager's role in managing project risk
3. Compare various tools and techniques to identify and assess the impact of identified risks on the overall project.
4. Demonstrate how to prioritize risks according the their impact and significance on the overall project.
5. Evaluate quality improvement methodologies for the purpose of mitigating or eliminating project risks.
6. Create comprehensive project risk and quality management reports.

1.  Given your knowledge/skills/experience/confidence at the start of this course, what have you learned so far?
I'm shocked to look back on what I wrote at the beginning of the term.  At that time, I felt like I had a pretty good handle on how to identify risks.  What I've learned is that it's not that easy to identify all the risks associated with a project.  And even more so is it is not easy to identify ways to mitigate the risk.  

2.  Looking at the course objectives, which ones do you feel you have achieved and which ones still look difficult or completely unfamiliar to you?
When I look at the 6 course objectives, I believe that I have a pretty good handle on the role of the project manager in managing the risk of the project, and that I am much better equipped to identify project risks.  I believe that I still have room improve on risk prioritization and identifying potential risk mitigation and/or risk elimination plans; including how to report risks.

3.  How has the information you learned so far changed the way you approach projects or think about projects in your everyday life?
During the first part of this course, I have been called upon by a project manager of one of the projects I'm working on to help them identify the potential risk of descoping some of my required functionality from the next release.  This has been an interesting exercise to watch as she juggles the integration of three project into one deliverable.   What I've learned is that our project managers did not do a good job identifying potential risks for this phase of the project.  If one project is delayed, it impacts the other two projects.

4.  Are there any topics that have been discussed that still seem unclear?  What are your thoughts as you get ready to start the second half of the course?
I'm looking forward to a better understanding of how to identify ways to mitigate risks, even if I (as the project manager) do not have any control over the risk.  I think risk prioritization will be very interesting as well.