Risk Analysis & Mitigation Memo

IT 328 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a risk analysis and mitigation memo. We all work on projects whether at work, at school, or around the house. Some projects are small and can be completed quickly; however, some take time, planning, and preparation. How can you make sure that a project is completed once it is started? How do projects in information technology really run behind the scenes? Project management provides a structured method to move through a project from the time it is created until the time it is completed and all the steps in between.

In this project, imagine that you are team member for an IT development project. Your team has identified several risks the project faces that could negatively impact its outcome. You have been tasked with selecting one of those risks and analyzing it in order to determine the best solution to mitigate the risk and determine how your solution will affect the overall project. You will write a professional email memo to your project manager, with supporting documentation as attachments. The email will explain your analysis, recommendations, and the impact of those recommendations. Your thorough analysis is critical to the project manager to help him or her make an informed decision about how to move the project forward. Use this reference as an example, to assist you with writing a business memo.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

 Explain the relationship between an information technology project’s scope, budget, and schedule to determine how they impact one another  Develop industry-appropriate messaging for communicating an information technology project’s status and needs to project stakeholders  Determine key information-technology considerations for informing project risk-management response strategies  Examine project management documents for key project data to promote successful information technology projects through development, testing, and

production

Prompt Your email memo and attachments should be drafted in a Word document with the project charter, RACI chart, and Gantt charts included in an appendix. In your memo, you will describe background information about the project that you are working on, detail information about a specific project risk, and propose a recommended risk mitigation strategy to your leadership team.

Your memo will make use of the following project scenario:

Regatta University is a leader in both traditional education and career-path development, including in emerging fields. The university prides itself on staying on the leading edge of curriculum and degree programs, learning methodologies and instructional technologies, student services, and demonstrated student success. “The future is here and now,” the university’s president, Martha Yoon, likes to say.

Regatta serves approximately 8,000 students at locations including the original campus in Augusta, Maine, and satellite campuses in Ventura, California; Dayton, Ohio; and Hilo, Hawaii. In a typical term, approximately 40% of Regatta’s students take courses at a distance through the university’s online education hub. Enrollment growth has been strong, increasing by 4 to 8% each year for the last decade.

You are a key member of the information technology team at Regatta, with a core specialization in student services. You are responsible for providing user- friendly interfaces connecting to a flexible, powerful information structure. Now you have a new project—working with colleagues to create a student degree progress tool that students will use for accurate, instant information on their progress toward program and degree completion. As you may imagine, this tool is eagerly awaited by a variety of stakeholders, including Regatta academic advisors and the Office of Enrollment Management, as tracking and communicating student progress toward degree completion is vital for retention. “We need a tool that will be easy to use but also accurate. No misinformation!” your team manager says.

Your memo will analyze and recommend mitigation strategies for one project risk. The risk you choose to focus on must come from the list of project risks in the provided Project Management Documents Excel worksheet. They are located in the tab titled Risk Matrix.

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in your memo:

I. Introduction: Using the Student Degree Progress Project Charter document, the RACI chart in the Project Management Documents workbook, and the Gantt Chart document as guides, provide background information on the project you are working on.

A. Describe the purpose of the project and the end objective, including where this information is documented. B. Identify the key stakeholders involved in the project, including an explanation of their roles and responsibilities. C. Describe your own role and responsibilities on the project team, citing specific information from the project’s Gantt chart. D. Explain the triple constraint relationship between the project’s scope, schedule, and budget. Support your response with examples from the

project materials and your experience in adding the new element to your project during Milestone Two.

II. Project Risk: Select a risk from the list in the Project Management Documents workbook. Using these project management documents as guides, provide detailed information about the specific project risk.

A. Explain why this risk requires attention. Support your response with examples from the project management documents. B. Describe any dependencies within the project that may be affected by this risk. Provide specific examples from the project management

documentation to support your response. C. Explain the implications for the project within the context of the triple constraint if this risk is not addressed.

III. Risk Mitigation: Using all available project documents as guides, recommend a risk mitigation strategy. A. Explain the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk. B. Explain in detail how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project. Include any tradeoffs that must be made to accommodate the

mitigation strategy, and consider the triple constraint and any other variables that you deem important. C. Defend why your proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the project team.

IV. Conclusion: Summarize the project needs in your project risk and mitigation proposal for your stakeholders. What are the most important pieces of information to take away?

V. Communication: Your risk mitigation email memo attachments will be evaluated based on the following elements: A. Develop email communication in a clear and professional way, using language appropriate for the audience of stakeholders. B. Attach supporting documentation to aid in the communication of your mitigation strategy.

Milestones Milestone One: Introduction, Stakeholders, and Roles In Module Two, you will compose a brief project description that summarizes the student degree progress project, including its purposes, objectives, and how and where to find further information about it. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric. Milestone Two: Your Role and the Triple Constraint In Module Three, you will take on one of the three technical roles on the project team. Using the Gantt chart, you will first describe the work assigned to your role. You will also list work performed by others that must be done prior to the tasks assigned to your role. In this milestone, you will also consider the implications for the project restraints with the addition of a new project component that you will create. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric. Milestone Three: Project Risk and Mitigation In Module Five, you will draft two key sections of your final project. In this milestone, you will identify and describe a project risk from the list of risks included in the Project Management Document Excel workbook, then you will recommend risk mitigation strategies. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric. Final Submission: Risk Analysis and Mitigation Memo In Module Seven, you will submit your final project. It should be a complete, polished artifact containing all of the critical elements of the final product. It should reflect the incorporation of feedback gained throughout the course. This submission will be graded with the Final Project Rubric.

Deliverables Milestone Deliverable Module Due Grading

One Introduction, Stakeholders, and Roles 2 Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric

Two Your Role and the Triple Constraint 3 Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric

Three Project Risk and Mitigation 5 Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric

Final Submission: Risk Analysis and Mitigation Memo

7 Graded separately; Final Project Rubric

Final Project Rubric

Guidelines for Submission: Your email memo and attachments should be 2 to 4 pages in length with double spacing, one-inch margins, 12-point Times New Roman font, and adherence to the latest edition of APA formatting.

Critical Elements Exemplary (100%) Proficient (85%) Needs Improvement (55%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Introduction: Purpose

Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates an advanced ability to extract accurate information from project documentation

Describes the purpose of the project and the end objective, including where this information is documented

Describes the purpose of the project and the end objective, but description is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or does not include where this information is documented

Does not describe the purpose of the project and the end objective

6

Introduction: Stakeholders

Meets “Proficient” criteria and response demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder within the project team

Identifies the key stakeholders involved in the project, including an explanation of their roles and responsibilities

Identifies the key stakeholders involved in the project, but explanation is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or does not include stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities

Does not identify the key stakeholders involved in the project

6

Introduction: Role and

Responsibilities

Meets “Proficient” criteria and cited information is especially well-suited for supporting the description of own role and responsibilities within the project team

Describes own role and responsibilities on the project team, citing specific information from the project’s Gantt chart

Describes own role and responsibilities on the project team, but description is cursory, contains inaccuracies, or lacks specific reference to the project’s Gantt chart

Does not describe own role and responsibilities on the project team or cite specific information from the project’s Gantt chart

6

Introduction: Triple Constraint

Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a complex grasp of the implications of the triple constraint relationship on the project

Explains the triple constraint relationship between the project’s scope, schedule, and budget, supporting response with examples from the project materials and experience in this course

Explains the triple constraint relationship between the project’s scope, schedule, and budget, but explanation is illogical, contains inaccuracies, or is not supported by examples from the project materials and experience in this course

Does not explain the triple constraint relationship between the project’s scope, schedule, and budget

8

Project Risk: Requires Attention

Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a complex grasp of the project needs

Identifies risk and explains why the risk requires attention, supporting response with examples from project management documents

Identifies risk and explains why the risk requires attention, but explanation is illogical, contains inaccuracies, or does not include example from project management documents

Does not identify risk and explain why the risk requires attention

8

Project Risk: Dependencies

Meets “Proficient” criteria and description demonstrates a complex grasp of the dependencies within a project

Describes any dependencies within the project that may be affected by the risk, including support from project management documentation

Describes any dependencies within the project that may be affected by the risk, but description is illogical, contains inaccuracies, or does not include support from project management documentation

Does not describe dependencies within the project that may be affected by the risk

6

Project Risk: Implications

Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of possible risk results

Explains within the context of the triple constraint the implications for the project if the risk is not addressed

Explains the implications for the project if the risk is not addressed, but explanation is illogical or cursory or is not within the context of the triple constraint

Does not explain the implications for the project if the risk is not addressed

8

Risk Mitigation: Mitigate

Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation demonstrates a sophisticated awareness of steps needed to mitigate the identified risk

Explains the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk

Explains the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk, but explanation is illogical, cursory, or contains inaccuracies

Does not explain the steps that need to be taken in order to mitigate the identified risk

8

Risk Mitigation: Affect

Meets “Proficient” criteria and explanation makes cogent connections between important project variables and the proposed risk mitigation strategy

Explains in detail how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project, considering the triple constraint and any other variables deemed important including any tradeoffs that must be made to accommodate the mitigation strategy

Explains how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project, but explanation lacks detail, is illogical, contains inaccuracies, does not consider the triple constraint and any other variables deemed important, or does not include tradeoffs that must be made to accommodate the mitigation strategy

Does not explain how the proposed mitigation strategy will affect the project

8

Risk Mitigation: Best Course of

Action

Meets “Proficient” criteria and defense makes cogent connections between the proposed mitigation strategy and the project goals

Defends why the proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the project team

Defends why the proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the project team, but response is cursory or illogical or contains inaccuracies

Does not defend why the proposed mitigation strategy is the best course of action for the project team

8

Conclusion Meets “Proficient” criteria and summary demonstrates an advanced ability to distill project information

Summarizes the project needs for stakeholders

Summarizes the needs for stakeholders, but summary is unclear or missing key components

Does not summarize the project needs for stakeholders

8

Communication: Professional

Meets “Proficient” criteria and email demonstrates an advanced ability to appropriately tailor communication to a specified audience

Develops email communication in a clear and professional manner, using language appropriate for the audience of stakeholders

Develops email communication in a professional manner, but language is not appropriate for the audience of stakeholders or information is not clear

Does not develop email in a clear and professional manner using language appropriate for the audience of stakeholders

8

Communication: Documentation

Meets “Proficient” criteria and supporting documentation is especially well-suited to aid in the communication of the proposed mitigation strategy

Attaches supporting documentation to aid in the communication of the mitigation strategy

Attaches supporting documentation to aid in the communication of the mitigation strategy, but documentation is incomplete or contains inaccuracies

Does not attach supporting documentation to aid in the communication of the mitigation strategy

8

Articulation of Response

Submission is free of errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, and organization

Submission has no major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization

Submission has major errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that negatively impact readability and articulation of main ideas

Submission has critical errors related to citations, grammar, spelling, syntax, or organization that prevent understanding of ideas

4

Total 100%