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A Project is an outcome of some activity, normally resulting in some form of benefit to a person or
organisation, that has a defined start and finish. The Project could be also be constrained in terms of
budget and scope.
At the start of the Project, the Project Manager may identify some risks, maybe create a work
breakdown structure and finally develop the schedule. Whilst the Project Manager was traversing
this path, he would be making assumptions and with Project sponsors and stakeholders he would be
deciding on a large number of things. The information created during this process is often
documented in a number of places, and more often than not it is never reviewed or analysed due to
the difficulty of accessing the information. In this case an important Project resource is disregarded,
the information buried amongst the Project documents and if correctly and intelligently managed can
help to ensure that the Project will succeed.
One solution that is widely used is the Project RAID log. The RAID log is the record of the Risks,
Assumptions, Issues, and Decisions that are encountered during a Projects lifecycle. The RAID log
can be a simple set of lists or as complex as an enterprise wide Project Information Management
system. The RAID log is normally created and used by the Project Manager and is often shared with
Project stakeholders and team members.
The RAID log is often seen as a way to tick a box to placate the organisations management. The
information held within the RAID log is not captured just for historical reasons, if managed, updated,
and analysed it can be used a tool to show Project progress or quickly check, through the use of RAG
status, Project health.
The 10 benefits listed below will hopefully show how the RAID log is such a useful tool.
Benefit 1: A RAID log will make you think about your project
How you think about your project is key to a successful outcome. You can look at the project
schedule as long as you want but youre sure to be missing some important issues. Whilst the project
schedule is extremely important, you have to look at the Project from various viewpoints and an up
to date RAID log provides a number of these viewpoints. As a busy Project Manager you probably
dont have the opportunity or luxury to set aside vast amounts time to do some quality thinking about
your project, however the RAID log provides a cost and time effective way to trigger your thought
processes.
When you decide to use a RAID log for your project in an effective manner, you are committing to a
regular activity of identification, update, analysis, and communication. This activity forces you, as
Project Manager, to think about your Project systematically and in detail.
What do you do with the analysed information in your RAID log, you communicate it! The RAID
log can be used as a tool to communicate with the rest of the project team and stakeholders; you are
presenting information that has backing evidence, a powerful position to be in. This communication
may lead your project team and stakeholders to actively think about the project.
Taking the time to think about your project is critical to project performance, it helps you to keep
control and understand the nuances of the project. It will help in your relationship with stakeholders,
giving them confidence that you have detailed knowledge and control over your project. Ensuring
that the project team and stakeholders have access to the RAID information will translate into good
quality decision making.
and scheduling will reflect this. The management of project risk is not an isolated activity during
project start but a systematic methodical process throughout the lifecycle of the project. The good
news is that in most cases the impact of the risks will reduce as the project nears its completion.
Benefit 6: A RAID log enables you to review assumptions you have made
All project managers, stakeholders, and team members make project related assumptions all the time;
very few are written down or recorded. These assumptions cover the breadth of project activity,
many of them are trivial however there are a number that are fundamental to an important activity;
an example is an assumption made in regards to work estimation that in turn supports the planning
and scheduling which is wrong, this could lead to a ill-conceived delivery date.
Recording assumptions made should be recorded in the RAID log, this means that any planning,
financial, or any other activity where assumptions have been made can be reviewed in light of future
events. A detailed recorded assumption enables Project members who need to know why a certain
path has been taken to understand the thinking of the recent past. The recording of assumptions is
fundamental to help resolving differences in opinions about strategy, tactics, and events between
stakeholders, and between tram members.
An assumption log, recorded correctly, will provide if needed a view for the lessons learned activity
at the end of the project. This is particularly important if the project failed in some way as the
assumptions made during the course of the project can be analysed and if found faulty improved
processes can be implemented for future projects.
Benefit 8: A RAID log helps you to understand what will happen in the future
A risk will have a period of time when is could be activated or trigger, in other words there is
window of risk activation. A risk trigger or activation date may highlight a time period or phase
within the Project when it is most likely to trigger and cause an impact to the Project. This is useful
information to know as you may be required to develop specific mitigation plans that are executed
within the risk activation window. Analysis of the risk trigger dates or activation window can give
you a future forecast of the riskiest phases of the project.
The analysis of the trigger date with the impact and probability of the occurrence of the project risks
can highlight the areas of the project that are the most riskiest and would benefit from focussed
attention. Analysis of past and current Issues in the RAID log can provide an indication of problem
areas that may have not been previously identified.
Benefit 9: A RAID log provides a foundation for Project schedules and plans
Nearly all project schedules are aspirational. The project manager or the project team normally
cannot not give a 100% guarantee that a schedule will run accurately and achieve its outcomes as
planned. What normally occurs is that the schedule is modified during the lifecycle of the project due
to issues that arise. This is not a bad thing, these issues if identified and handled early can be of
benefit. So, whilst a schedule is an estimate or pan of how the project will be delivered, there is a
likelihood that the schedule will need changing or if strictly adhered too will produce project failure.
How do we reduce the likelihood of schedule failure. Firstly, accept the schedule will need
modifying and secondly, identify the as many schedule risks that you can. A good plan or schedule
that has a probability of success will will take risk mitigation into account. The robust identification
of the Project Risks should underpin the creation of a schedule or plan.
We are now comfortable with the notion that the schedule will change, what we are trying to achieve
by spending time on accurately assessing the schedule risks is that this change to the schedule will
not impact on any deadlines or scheduled deliverables. However when change is required it is often
useful to understand the assumptions and decisions underpinning the planning of the schedule. If
these planning assumptions and decisions are recored in a RAID log, then the reschedule activity can
be completed accurately and quickly.
Conclusion
Weve listed and briefly described 10 benefits of using a RAID log. It is an important and often
overlooked project tool which can help you, the project manager, deliver an outstanding project or
programme which in turn will lead you to fame and riches; if thats what you want of course. Project
sponsors can profit from the continuity that a RAID log ensures; a well maintained log will facilitate
a smoother change-over of staff, particularly project managers or project leaders.
There are health warnings of course; deciding to use a RAID log will take a lot of your project
management time to implement and manage. Once you have the RAID log implemented you will
need to allocate time to review and update the log on a regular basis. This system will pay dividends
if properly maintained.
Youve read the benefits, go on get yourself a RAID log for your project!