It was my Birthday in 2018.

Forwarded from John L. Evans (linkedin.com/in/johnevans): ​The Best Birthday Present Ever! “Yesterday it was my Birthday, I hung one more year on the line, I should be depressed ‘cos my life’s a mess, but I’m having a good time!” Yesterday was my birthday, again, and many people have been kind enough to acknowledge that and send their good wishes; for which I am eternally grateful. However, it got me thinking: As we grow older (& wiser?), despite the fact that we’re probably more loyal, more reliable, more knowledgeable, more trustworthy, more willing, and less maintenance than some, it strangely becomes harder to attract work, clients or employers. Well it shouldn’t: As the population ages with a larger and larger proportion being retired and entitled to state benefits; the pension they have paid for and perhaps more frequent support from the health services and local authorities, the burden on society & it’s younger members, industry and commerce, through the steadily increasing imposition of taxation to pay for the old folk’s care, will grow and grow, the result of which will be to drive those businesses and people away, to new lands, ever increasing the burden on those that remain. Employ the old, they’re great value and the key to prosperity for all. Many thanks for your kind wishes, and a Happy New Year to you & yours…….. 🙂

The Biggest Risk of All

Risk is the likelihood that things will go wrong.  Wherever and whenever there is more than one potential outcome, a less desirable outcome is possible.  To manage risk effectively requires the anticipation of outcomes, including less desirable outcomes, and a plan and budget to manage those events.  Simply compiling a list of risks of potential issues and / or problems, without embedding strategies to deal with them into plans, is not effective risk management.

Anticipating every potential issue at the start of a programme may be impractical, however, it is possible to continuously anticipate problems as a programme progresses and to continually update and amend plans to deal with issues as and when they occur, and keep the plan on track, time, cost and quality.

To quote the ‘Scrum Alliance’:

“There is no definite consensus on the need for risk management within the Agile method. This has led many to believe that risk management is irrelevant in an iterative model. Some follow the approach of ignoring risks until they manifest into issues; they then manage them through the natural sprint progression.”

And that’s why ignoring risk is the biggest risk of all!

Feel free to retain a copy for your records.

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Cheers John

John L. Evans / FCMI, FIC, FBCS CITP, MCIPS

+44 7957 190 186