A risk framework for web-based application development

The risk framework

Here are the primary risks drawn from the 120 item framework developed as part of my MSc in Software Development, see summary here. I was interested in whether web project managers in digital agencies should manage risk ‘just like IT projects’, for which documented models exist, or take a differing approach. This table shows the highest-rated risks from the framework I developed

The main risks identified fell within the following five areas:  

• Team or agency (company) issue
• Issue with the client
• Requirement and specification issues
• Technical issues
• Issues with project timing 

This is summarised below. The average column refers to the rating scale used (1 = highest risk, 5 = lowest), therefore the lower the score the higher the risk.

ID	Risk Items	Average
	Team / agency
1.1	There is a lack of internal team communication between individual team members	2.21
1.2	The project requires new or unfamiliar ways of working	2.25
1.3	There is little or no culture of disciplines / departments being held accountable for project problems	2.43
1.4	The agency is over committing	2.71
1.5	The agency / disciplines have previously been able to get away with doing things badly / slowly	2.83
1.6	This type of project has not been done before by the agency	3.00
	Client
2.1	The client regularly pushes for new functionality and changes	2.25
2.2	Unrealistic up-front estimates have previously been given to the client	2.33
2.3	The client does not understand the technical implications of their project requirements	2.71
2.4	The project is high-profile or politically sensitive within the organisation	2.74
2.5	The client lacks experience in web projects	2.92
2.6	There are frequent scope changes	2.79
2.7	The client lacks technical knowledge	3.00
	Scope and Requirements
3.1	There are many unknowns	2.38
3.2	There is insufficient initial budget to deliver what the client wants	2.50
3.3	The technical scope is too ambitious / optimistic	2.73
3.4	There is confusion over scope or deliverables	2.74
	Technical
4.1	There are strict client technical policies	2.43
4.2	There is poor technical support of the infrastructure	2.48
4.3	There are many organisational policies in force (i.e. data, legal etc)	2.74
4.4	There is political interference in technical decision making	2.78
4.5	Integration is required between many different technologies	2.91
4.6	The team is using unfamiliar tools / technologies / platforms	2.91
4.7	There are internal network or development platform issues	3.00
	Timing
5.1	The agreed launch date is unrealistic	2.74
5.2	Key tasks on the timeline are allocated too little time	2.96

For an overview see the study findings here

• Introduction
• Findings
• The Framework