The PCNet Project: Dynamically Managing Residual Risk

The required pre-workshop activities 

The information technology (IT) is one of the most significant breakthroughs that humankind has experienced in their lives. The functions of IT at both personal and industrial levels have made it so famous in a short span of time that every individual and organization is increasingly yearning to be exposed to the development. The increase in the level of information technology in the world has, however, been associated with an increase in the risks facing IT. The risk management procedures have been developed to mitigate the risks. Their success has not been a hundred percent since the dangers have involved residual risks. The remaining risks have been classified as the risks that have been left even though scientific and technological methods of mitigation have been put into place. That is to say that the risks are still present. Such risks have been experienced in the PCNet Project (B) Dynamically Managing Residual Risk, a case scenario involving the integration of IT to reduce the effect of risks (The Case Centre, 2018). 

Preparation is intrinsic to the efficiency of the risk management procedures in the different projects in an organization. Some of the pre-workshop activities require in this case are as follows. The first activity is the familiarization with the attendees of the risk management processes. That can be made through calls and emails to them. The second activity is understanding of the critical objectives underlying a risk management plan. The other action is to be conversant with the existing information on the risk management procedures. 

A risk workshop agenda 

A risk workshop agenda is inherent to the effectiveness of the goals of mitigating the residual risks affecting a project. The program is composed of activities, the time intervals and the relevance of each of the operation contained in the agenda. The risk workshop agenda will be conducted in a two-day risk workshop to efficiently capture the various aspects of the risk in the project and come up with the assessment of the risk and the solutions to the risks (KMDC, 2018). The following is the outline of the risk workshop agenda regarding the residual processes. 

TWO-DAY RISK WORKSHOP
DAY 1
Activity	Time taken	Relevance in the case
Morning	8:00 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.
Introductory part	30 min	The introduction of the workshop will serve to ensure that the attendees are aware of what will go on in the workshop.
Confirmation of the goals of the project	30 min	It will be necessary to put across the goals for the workshop to ensure the attendees work on a common plan
Confirmation of what is to be covered by the risk process in the risk management workshop	30 min	The stipulation of the risk process will increase the knowledge of the attendees on the risk process in the workshop.
The putting across of the ground rules to be followed In the workshop	30 min	The rules will be a unifying factor for the attendees of the workshop in the two days.
Briefing on risk management	1 hour	The briefing will introduce new knowledge to the attendees
Identification of the risks in the project	30 min	The identification of the risks will be a fundamental step in assessing the risks.
Afternoon	2:00 p.m.- 5:30 p.m.
Rationalization of the risks	1 hour	The brainstorming of the risks in the project will give the attendees an opportunity to think about them.
Description of the risk using terms that are associated with risk management	2 hours	That will be an important step in the assessment of the risks being faced in the organization.
The recording of the risks already identified during the workshop	30 min	The recording of the risks will provide a good account of the risks stipulated in the project.
DAY 2
Morning	8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Explanation of the risk assessment scheme in the workshop	2 hours	The explanation will initiate the risk assessment procedures in the project at hand.
Assessing the probability and the impacts	I hour 30 min	The probability and the impacts will be essential in finding out the extent of the risks in the project.
Categorizing the risks	30 min	The division of the risks into categories will ease the assessment process.
Afternoon	2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Nominating the risk owners	30 min	Nomination of the risk owners will create responsibilities to gauge the personnel responsible for the analysis and mitigation procedures.
Development of the initial responses to the prioritized risks	2 hours	This will be the climax of the workshop where the solutions to the identified residual risks will be highlighted.
Closure of the workshop	30 min	N/A

(Sterne et al., 2016) 

Threats in a risk register 

The issues and the problems that arise in the PCNet Project (B) can be tracked for easy reference a stored in a document where referrals will be easy. That document is called a risk register. The risk register primarily contributes to the ease of access to the issues required in a risk assessment process. 

The first threat in the risk register, in this case, is the difficulty in the integration of information technology. The PCNet Project (B) involved seemingly impossible pursuance of the digital incorporation following the acquisition of the company. The project required the installation of the low-cost computers which proved tedious for the companies involved. The companies may not have been adequately prepared for the digital migration. 

The second threat in the project's risk register is the lack of conversance with the new regulatory adjustments in the organization after the acquisition. In the case of the acquisition, the new changes that led to the integration of the PCNet Project have led to the lack of conversance among the implementers of the project. 

The third threat in the risk log for the PCNet Project is the failure to innovate. The companies involved seem to have had failures in the innovative aspects of the PCNet project has become an uphill task for the American-based companies. 

The fourth threat in the risk log of the PCNet project is the economic slowdown. The plummeting of the financial processes in the companies is detrimental to the overall efficiency of the PCNet project and the other projects in the company. The economic slowdown in the case of the PCNet project may be brought about by the lack of knowledge of the IT systems that are beneficial to the processes in a firm and therefore leading to a slow-paced development which may base the financial downswing being experienced in various organizations. 

The fifth threat in the project's risk register is the increase in competition. The rise in the level of technology in the various parts of the world has been an essential part of the increasing level of competition in the world. To arm the organizations in a rush, the PCNet project aimed at providing low cost IT solutions for the company. All the same, the project has not been a success since the risks associated with it reduces its potential for success. 

The following is the likelihood and the seriousness analysis for each risk in the PCNet project. 

Symbol	Interpretation
L	Low
M	Medium
H	High
E	Extreme
N/A	Not assessed

The following is the combined effect of the likelihood and seriousness of the risks for the PCNet project. 

	Seriousness
		Low	Medium	High	Extreme
Likelihood	Low	N(no action)	D(no action)	C(mitigation if funds are available)	A(prioritized for the mitigation as soon as the project commences)
	Medium	D(no action)	C(mitigation if funds are available)	B(mitigation actions to be implemented in the execution of the project)	A(prioritized for the mitigation as soon as the project commences)
	High	C(mitigation if funds are available)	B(mitigation actions to be implemented in the execution of the project)	A(prioritized for the mitigation as soon as the project commences)	A(prioritized for the mitigation as soon as the project commences)

Justification of the probability and impacts for threats identified above 

The following is the probability/impact analysis for the identified risks in the PCNet project. 

Description of risk	Impact on project	likelihood	seriousness	combination	Mitigation actions	Responsibility	Timeline for the mitigation
Difficulty In the integration of information technology	slowing down of the operations of the project and the entire organizational performance	H	H	A	A committee involved in the education of the employees on the advantages of knowledge in IT should be formed.  The organization should come up with an IT team to enhance the integration of IT into the organization.	Project manager	2 weeks
Lack of conversance with the new regulations after the merger.	The lack of conversance has brought about confusion to the acquired organization in terms of the technological changes that have been instituted. The projects such as PCNet are also stalling.	H	M	B	The details of the acquisition should be made clear to the stakeholders of the involved companies to ensure that confusion is avoided.  More time should be invested in learning the new adopted culture for the employees to ensure they are conversant with the new organizational culture.  The project team members should take an initiative of being conversant with the new culture.	Project team	3 weeks
Failure to innovate	The organizational projects have been characterized by traditionalism and therefore slow.  The progress of the projects have become slow.	M	M	C	The PCNet project has to provide an opportunity for the employees to be creative in their operations handling at the organization.  The employees are expected to have a desire to be innovative in the organizational perspective, more so when they are to be part of teams.	Project team members	4 weeks
Economic retardation	The project involving the installation of the information technology systems may not be effective.  The other projects in the organization may stall.  The organization may incur losses.	H	H	A	Projects involving the advancement of technology have to be introduced in the organization to maintain the operational efficiency of the employees.  The project management in the organization may come up with lucrative projects involving technology.  Knowledge on information technology can be bequeathed to the employees to spark economic growth, and especially with the technological sprawl.	Project manager	2 weeks
Increase in the levels of competition	Increased levels of global competition in the various industries have led to the reduction in the economic output of particular companies.  Increased competition has led to the poor performance of projects in the organizations.  Increase in competition has led to the redundant pressure emerging to perform better than the others.	L	H	C	The PCNet project has to come up with better strategies of edging industrial competition to maintain productivity.  The project team members are expected to perform their tasks diligently to place the whole project in a high position in the competition.	Project team members, project manager	4 weeks

Opportunities in a risk register 

The risks in an organization can be transformed into opportunities in the process of risk assessment to mitigate them effectively. The method of converting the threats into opportunities for the companies is usually technical and involves the trained personnel to identify the various risks and look for the organizational avenues to turn the risks into the opportunities that are capable of making money for the organization as a whole (Blattman & Annan, 2016). 

The following are the opportunities in the risk register regarding the PCNet project. The first opportunity is the implementation of training on information technology and its application in the organization. One of the significant risks in the project involves the lack of conversance with the information technology's applicability in the project. The opportunity is linked to the threat. The other chance is to use the PCNet plan to be in a better position in the competition platform comprising the whole industry. That opportunity is tied to the risk of the increase in competition reducing the level of economic processes' efficiency. The last chance is to use the PCNet project as a motivation for the internal organizational innovation. That is tied to the risk of failure of change which has adversely affected the efficiency of the project. 

Justification of the probability and impacts of opportunities identified above 

The various opportunities have different probabilities and impacts or the development of the PCNet project. The following is a representation of the analysis of the likelihood and outcomes of the possibilities. 

Opportunity	Impact	Likelihood	Seriousness	Combination
Implementation of training on IT	The employees will gain the necessary skills in information technology to boost their knowledge even in the introduction of the PCNet project.  The employees will have an opportunity to actively be part of the risk assessment team.  The opportunity will reduce the effect of the lack of training in IT.	H	H	A
Use of PCNet project to reduce the effects of competition.	The project will be outstanding and have a better market position in the competition.  The employees will learn to efficiently handle their tasks so that they can spark a competitive advantage in their industry.  The opportunity will reduce the undesirable effects of competition in the projects.	L	H	C
Internal motivation to pioneer innovation	The solutions to the recurrent problems at the workplace.  The opportunity will reduce the negative effects of the failure to innovate among the employees of the organization.	M	M	C

References 

Blattman, C., & Annan, J. (2016). Can employment reduce lawlessness and rebellion? A field 

Experiment with high-risk men in a fragile state. American Political Science Review , 110 (1), 1-17. 

KMDC. (2018, April 5). Quantitative analysis - A 2-day risk management workshop . Retrieved from http://www.kmdc.com.my/mdp/quantitative-analysis.html 

Sterne, J. A., Hernán, M. A., Reeves, B. C., Savović, J., Berkman, N. D., Viswanathan, M., … Higgins, J. P. (2016). ROBINS-I: a tool for assessing risk of bias in non-randomised studies of interventions. BMJ , i4919. 

The Case Centre. (2018). The Pcnet Project (B): Dynamically Managing Residual Risk . Retrieved from https://www.thecasecentre.org/educators/products/view?id=58001