Software architects are a key player to identify and mitigate risk. This input is highly valued by any project manager or even an organizational operations team. This discipline correlates to the approach for Project Management, by following the same activities:
- Idenfiy
- Describe and communicate
- Assess impact and probability of occurrence
- Define countermeasures
- Plan countermeasures
- Realize countermeasures
- Track risks
Especially bullets five to seven are underestimated in many hands-on cases. Please find some general risks listed below:
- Tight schedule
- Availability of resources
- Skills of resources
- Limited domain-specific knowledge
- New or nonproven products
- Critical external interfaces
- Availability of technical infrastructure
- Inadequate requirements
- Change of scope
- Inadequate documentation
- Ambiguity
- Inconsistencies
- Missing prioritization
Some hints which people like to forget; even though they are general knowledge:
- Pressure leads to quick and dirty solutions
- Adding resources to a delayed project causes further delays
- Murphy\’s Law: Further problems occure distinct
- Politics will make a system fail
- Keep it short and simple (KISS)