What do you do if a risk is too controversial to admit to? I was discussing this with a friend the other day: he knew a CEO who wanted the … Continue reading Hiding from risk
Category: Risk and uncertainty
Charting risk and incremental development
Here’s a visualisation, which I find useful, to describe the risk inherent in big bang releases. A big bang release of a big tech project is often superficially more desirable … Continue reading Charting risk and incremental development
Responding to security issues
I was talking security last night to some very experienced digital people. We shared horror stories of various security breaches and attacks. (We all lived to tell the tale). There … Continue reading Responding to security issues
Squaring “value first” with “risk first”
One of my mantras to product owners is “value first, risk first”. But at first blush there’s a conflict here. “Value first, risk first” is intended to guide people on … Continue reading Squaring “value first” with “risk first”
A public example of risk and the fear of failure
There was a fascinating piece in Monday’s Guardian that tells a good story about risk and the fear of failure. By way of introduction: The employment minister Esther McVey was … Continue reading A public example of risk and the fear of failure
Handling showstopper risks
I’ve come across a couple of approaches recently to handling “showstopper” risks—the kind of risks that come from entirely outside a project and can invalidate the entire effort. An example … Continue reading Handling showstopper risks
Carrying risk has value
One of the many excellent presentations at QCon London last week was from Tim Lister, co-author of Peopleware and much else, who talked about risk. We’re conditioned to think risk … Continue reading Carrying risk has value
What they say and what we hear about risk
When CEOs and other leaders — such as Cabinet Secretaries — say “we need to take more risks”, they don’t really mean it. Or at least, they don’t mean it … Continue reading What they say and what we hear about risk
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