Why is Risk ID All Over the Map?

New website = riskcommentary.ca
Looking carefully at conventional advice, we discover why risk ID can be ineffectual.

Confusion entrained by the supposed risk ID methods set out in conventional literature.

· interviews and surveys, questionnaires
· audits, physical inspection
· brainstorming
· networking with peers, industry groups
· judgemental - speculative, conjectural, intuitive

· history, failure analysis
· examination of personal experience or past agency experience
· incident, accident and injury investigation
· scenario analysis
· decision trees
· SWOT analysis
· flow charting, system design review
· work breakdown structure

Conclusions
Procedures in this list can certainly inspire the search for risk, but are problematic for various reasons.
By contrast High Quality Risk Assessment is specified to identify uncertainty in relation to goals.

• High Quality Risk Assessment definition (Ep. 004)
• procedural grounding in proper planning (Ep. 005, 006)
• preparation of the Context Paper for the risk ID session (Ep. 007,008).

KEY QUOTE
“Such a multiplicity of [risk ID] methods might entrain confusion about the object of the exercise.” (Robertson, p.42)

LINKS
 Do you need a risk matrix (risk register) or other templates for risk assessment? Enterprise Risk Management Tools and Templates 
E. Robertson Solving the Enterprise Risk Management Puzzle: Secrets to Successful Implementation (2016)