Step Six: Quantify Risks and Risk Analysis
The best managers of software projects seem to have an uncanny ability to anticipate what can happen to their projects and devise just-in-time mitigation approaches to avoid the full impacts of the problems. In reality, this ability is simply the skillful application of well known risk management techniques to the well known problems of software management. Unfortunately, too many software managers are skilled in seeing potential risks and then ignoring them outright.
Before we explore the risk management process and how to apply it to the risks associated with sizing and estimation, it is important to understand what a risk is and that a risk, in itself, does not necessarily pose a threat to a software project if it is recognized and addressed before it becomes a problem.
Software Sizing, Estimation, Risk Management Book Available in Japanese
I received copies of the book Software Sizingl, Estimation, and Risk Management: When Performance is MEasured, Performance Improves, translated into Japanese. I dont know the link to purchase the Japanese version yet. The English version may be obtained via http://www.amazon.com/Software-Sizing-Estimation-Risk-Management/dp/0849335930/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213648096&sr=8-1 I am honored that the Japanese publisher found this book valuable enough to translate and look forward to much dialog with Japanese speakers on this. I originally envisioned this book as the elements fo software sizing. The publisher thought it would be better to include estimation as well. Mike Evans, my coauthor, thought we should do this as a series of three books. We had another book planned “7 Characteristics of Dysfunctional Software Projects” when Mike became terminally ill. Mike thought that book should still be written but I haven’t been able to bring myself to write that book without Mike.
