27 Risk Analysis
Acknowledgements
The sample scenario below was adapted from a suggestion from Gemini, and the risk register is based on a white paper by Atlassian.
Scenario
In this exercise we will be performing a risk analysis for a cloud migration of a legacy system. This project involves moving an organization’s critical, on-premises Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to a new cloud platform (e.g., AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud). The system is essential for daily sales and customer support operations.
Project scope and details
Goal: Successfully migrate the Legacy CRM Application and its database to the selected cloud platform within six months, ensuring minimal downtime and maintaining all existing functionalities.
Current System: A 15-year-old proprietary CRM running on an aging, dedicated server within the company’s data center. It interfaces with an on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for invoicing.
Key Stakeholders: IT Infrastructure Team, CRM Development Team, Sales Department, Customer Support Department, and Finance Department (due to ERP integration).
Project Team: A Project Manager, two Cloud Engineers, two CRM Developers (with limited cloud experience), and one Business Analyst.
Budget: $150,000, which includes cloud subscription costs for the first year and consulting fees.
Constraints: The migration must be completed before the start of the Q3 sales cycle (in seven months), as the current hardware is predicted to fail soon. The system must meet strict industry data security and compliance regulations.
Analysis
Generate a list of risks and fill in this risk register. Don’t forget to include risks with positive outcomes.
- Start by brainstorming a list of all risks you can think of
- Categorize them into groups
- Assign probability and impact scores for each risk
- Record this as a number between 1 and 5 according to this table:
Pick a strategy for each risk
- Transfer
- Avoid
- Mitigate
- Accept
AI-assist
Have each team member pass your plan through a different AI tool and see if it has any additional ideas that you didn’t think of. Include the project description and your risk register table in the prompt. It might look something like this:
I am performing a risk analysis of a project that is about to begin. Please check over my risk register and provide suggestions for any risks I may have overlooked.
Project scope and details
Goal: Successfully migrate the Legacy CRM Application and its database to the selected cloud platform within six months, ensuring minimal downtime and maintaining all existing functionalities.
Current System: A 15-year-old proprietary CRM running on an aging, dedicated server within the company’s data center. It interfaces with an on-premises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system for invoicing.
Key Stakeholders: IT Infrastructure Team, CRM Development Team, Sales Department, Customer Support Department, and Finance Department (due to ERP integration).
Project Team: A Project Manager, two Cloud Engineers, two CRM Developers (with limited cloud experience), and one Business Analyst.
Budget: $150,000, which includes cloud subscription costs for the first year and consulting fees.
Constraints: The migration must be completed before the start of the Q3 sales cycle (in seven months), as the current hardware is predicted to fail soon. The system must meet strict industry data security and compliance regulations.
Risk register
<copy/pasted risk register>
Are there any suggestions that you find particularly insightful?
Are there any differences between the different AI models that surprised you?
At this stage of AI development, I highly recommend you come up with an additional list of risks on your own. Do you agree? Why or why not?