6.2.2 Measuring the Performance of the Risk Management Process

Abstract

AbstractMeasuring the performance of the risk management process is difficult in that there is generally no physical outcome to measure. The best risk management processes ensure that nothing “bad” happens, hence nothing to measure. Even when something “bad” happens, it could have been predicted by the process, accepted by the project, and the project got a bad roll of the dice, and the project may even face cancellation. But would that outcome indicate that the risk management process malfunctioned? So the problem faced by the risk management community is that either a good or a bad outcome can be a result of the performance of the risk management process or simply good or bad luck.The professionals in the risk management community and the measurement community have posed several possible ways to measure the performance of the process. Those techniques are presented along with suggestions as to how the project manager may use the metrics to make adjustments to the process.