Article #19:
Risks and Contingencies

 

By Kevin Craine

 

When designing a document management strategy, it is imperative that you consider the likelihood that your project will (or will not) be successful. In my book, “Designing a Document Strategy,”  I suggest that if you can determine the risks associated with your strategy and take into account the contingencies (“what if?”) you will be better able to plan for them ahead of time. This is especially important for the most critical steps in your action plan. If the probability of success for a given action step is low, you must develop other alternatives. Do this by compiling a list of questions to assess your risks, and then answering them honestly. Some questions to consider are:

• Is this a new technology?
• Has this been done before?
• Will conditions change while you are implementing your project?
• What will be the outcome if things go wrong?
• If things go wrong, what will you do?
• What is the probability that your project will be successful? (100%? 50%? 10%?)

Unless you are 100 percent certain that your project will be successful and will not encounter unanticipated problems along the way, you must develop contingencies and corrective steps for the risks you anticipate. A contingency plan will minimize your risk, and give you room to stay on schedule and meet your objectives. It will allow you to react quickly and confidently to problems that occur. Your backup plans should answer the question: “If things go wrong because of…”

Levels of risk and uncertainty vary from project to project. The more complex your project is, the more likely that you will need to “hedge” against the following factors:

Estimates	The best estimates are based on historical data, but predicting the future is far from certain. Complete information is often unavailable. Estimates are not always accurate and may contain errors in financial and technical data.
Design changes	Highly complex tasks and projects may require adjustments along the way. External and internal situations may change over time.
Omissions	Sometimes information is forgotten or overlooked. Information that was not important in the initial stages may be important in later stages.

 

When making a contingency plan, your goal is to prevent your project from going off course. You will also enrich your entire project planning process by thinking through some alternative routes. Follow these steps to develop a contingency plan:

1. Review your objectives and your action steps. Consider potential problems.
2. Assess the probability that any given problem will occur (e.g., “There is a 50% chance it will occur.”).
3. Determine the likely impacts of potential problems (e.g., “What might happen as a result of this?”).
4. List your options and alternatives. What are the various ways each risk or problem can be minimized or solved?
5. Develop actions you will take to prevent the potential problem from occurring. If a problem cannot be avoided, develop a contingency or countermeasure.

By carefully considering the risks of your document strategy ahead of time, and developing contingency plans to overcome those potential risks, you will be in a much better position to design and implement a successful and meaningful document strategy. It is much better to be prepared in the event something goes astray, than to be caught off guard because you failed to objectively consider the risks at work and evaluate ways to overcome those risks.

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