Research Paper Assignment on Software Risk Management Techniques

Question

Task: This assessment item relates to the unit learning outcomes as in the unit descriptor. This assessment is to reflect on a given project practices whilst considering various factors in component driven development or broad software engineering process and practices. This also covers research in software engineering areas/topics as listed in following section.

Instructions

In assignment 1 you were required to do a 5-10 minutes presentation on a recent academic paper on a topic related to Software Engineering or Software Engineering Methodologies. Some possible topics included but were not limited to:

• Software Engineering for Data Warehouse systems
• Risk Analysis in Software Engineering
• Project Management methodologies
• Advances in Prototyping for software engineering
• Cleanroom methodology
• Test Driven methodologies
• Advanced human Interfaces
• Artificial Neural Networks (applied to software engineering)
• Cloud Computing (in relation to software engineering)
• Agent Oriented Software Engineering

Assignment 2 requires writing a report or critique on the paper that you chose in the Assignment 1 to Presentation and Participation component above.

Your report should be limited to approx. 1500 words (not including references). Use 1.5 spacing with a 12-point Times New Roman font. Though your paper will largely be based on the chosen article, you should use other sources to support your discussion or the chosen papers premises. Citation of sources is mandatory and must be in the IEEE style.

Answer

Introduction
Risk management can be defined as a process of identifying the potential risks in a project, analyzing then and then taking necessary actions to reduce the risks. This process is very much required to be undertaken in the software based projects as well because there is too much risks involved in these kinds of projects. The paper which is being reviewed here is a research paper and it is based on the topic ‘Software risk management techniques’. The main purpose of reviewing this paper is to determine the risks that are involved in the software related projects and also though this paper, the techniques that can be used to control as well as manage the risks will also be determined. The article which will be reviewed here is based upon the software risk management techniques in the large scale systems. This article will be reviewed by discussing each of their factors in a detailed manner.

Main Body
In every software projects, there are various kinds of risks that are involved and it is very important to identify that what kind of risks are these about and what are the intentions of the authors of the research papers to discuss these risk management techniques. Intent & Content: The main intentions of the author to write this report is to assure that all the projects are being completed in an efficient manner. The projects that are handled on large scale involves various kinds of risks and to cover these risks, the author introduces these kinds of techniques. In this report, there will be discussion on all types of risk management techniques and models and their implementations as well[1].

In a project, it is very important for the author to determine that what kind of research methodology is being implemented in their research project or a research paper. It helps people in understanding it in a clear manner. In this paper, the author has used both qualitative as well as quantitative techniques for determining their risk management techniques for a large scale software system and projects. Apart from this, the author has also conducted a proper literature review where there was a discussion on the topics of the research by using expert reviews. The author also implemented the primary method for collecting the data and for that they did a survey for collecting the data related to the topic that has been discussed here. For quantitative data and analysis, fuzzy logic and probabilistic theory was implemented. The methods selected for the data analysis by the author is good and effective because with the help of it, they will be able to collect realistic data for their project and they will be able to bring the changes that they want in their project.

Tools for Risk Identification: Before identifying the tools for risk management, it is very important to know that whatkind of risks that are present in the research report. Thereare various stages of identifying the risks in a project like evaluating the whole project and see that where the team is facing difficulties in implementing their actions[2]. There can also be a brainstorming session conducted for collecting the data for the report. Apart from this, risk documentation can also be conducted so that possible risks can be ascertained from the documents. The types of risks that can be there possible are Generic risks and specific risks.

Tools for Risk Analysis: Now after identifying the risks, it is very important to assess these risks so that they can be controlled. The large scale systems are very complex to understand and thus it becomes difficult to understand the risks that are involved in it but if proper risk assessment tools will be implemented then these kinds of issues can be solved. In the research paper, the method to calculate the high impact of risk is discussed and with the help of this, the companies will be know that which risks are more dangerous for them and which are not.

Tools for Risk Planning: There are various tools which can be used for planning the risks and in this research paper also various kinds of risks planning techniques are discussed like team planning for risk mitigation, cost benefit assessment during planning, cause and effect analysis of risk etc. All these methods help in reducing the risks of the project. These steps can be taken by the manager of the company as they know better that what kinds of activities are being conducted in the projects[3].

Tools for Risk Tracking: After implementing the risk planning techniques, it is very important for the managers to track risks as well. While checking the risks, if the managers finds any kind of loopholes the process of risk identification starts again. The author has mentioned various kinds of risks tracking tools like periodic reporting of recent trends, periodic report of risk status, reviewing the documents etc.

Tools for Risk Control & Monitoring: This is that step for which the whole process is conducted i.e. for controlling the risks and monitoring as well. In the research paper, it is described that the risks can be controlled by having a recovery plan if any kind of problem arises and apart from this, cause and effect analysis during risk control; cost benefit analysis etc will also be conducted so as to control the risks[4]. In order to monitor the risks, the methods that can be implemented are prototyping, benchmarking, simulations, requirement management etc.

Risk Assessment Framework– It is a framework that is designed for assessing the risks that are present in the complex projects. The risks which are present in the software are very crucial and these risks arrive uninvited. So, it is always better for the projects managers to be prepared for these kinds of situations so that proper actions can be taken within time. In the paper, it is mentioned that the project managers follows complete steps for identifying the risks till monitoring and controlling it. The process mentioned in this research paper isvery effective as through this, the proposed risks can be identified in a clear manner. Through this process, the companies can be spared from the large sized losses that they may have faced if unaware from the potential risks in the project.

Risk Management Process: This is a very crucial process which is necessary to be conducted in every project which is involved in software development. This process helps the organizations in reducing the possible risks that are involved in their project. The author has mentioned that in order to manage the risk process, it is very important to have standardized and well developed methods of each step. This process starts with predicting the risks and ends with communication and feedback[5]. The whole process helps the avoiding the risks that might arise and cause damages.

Discussion:
In the research paper, the author various techniques for managing the risks process and one of them is software risk evaluation (SRE). This method helps in providing a more comprehensive outline to the whole project. It is considered as a very effective technique for identifying the risks as well as analysing it. While implementing this technique only team member are involved and not the stakeholders. The final results are shared with the stakeholders[6].

Another method which is discussed for mitigating the risks involved in the project is the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). In this model, a database is used by the companies for measuring the risks and the speciality of this model is that it combined the risk assessment and the risk control. In the first step, risk is identified and in the second step, the risk mitigation plans are prepared. This method is very well structured and can be be used effectively by the companies for identifying and controlling the risks. Another technique that was mentioned in the research paper for analysing the risk is ARMOR i.e. Analyser for reducing module operational risks[7]. This is very effective technique for identifying the operational risks in software modules.

Conclusion
From this research paper, it can be reviewed that there are lots of risks involved in the software projects but there are various solutions also that are available for reducing those risks from the software. There is so much of competition also in the market that companies are forced to use these risk management techniques so as to improve the quality of their products and services and also curb the risks as well. in this report, various types of risk management techniques, risk planning models have been discussed that eventually helps in running the software project in more effective manner. Basically, it can be said that for every kind of problem, its solution is also mentioned; the only thing is to implement those solutions in an effective manner.

References
[1] A. Cagliano, S. Grimaldi and C. Rafele, "Choosing project risk management techniques.A theoretical framework", Journal of Risk Research, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 232-248, 2014. Available: 10.1080/13669877.2014.896398.

[2] A. Elzamly, B. Hussin and N. Salleh, "Top Fifty Software Risk Factors and the Best Thirty Risk Management Techniques in Software Development Lifecycle for Successful Software Projects", International Journal of Hybrid Information Technology, vol. 9, no. 6, pp. 11-32, 2016. Available: 10.14257/ijhit.2016.9.6.02.

[3]A. Sangaiah, O. Samuel, X. Li, M. Abdel-Basset and H. Wang, "Towards an efficient risk assessment in software projects–Fuzzy reinforcement paradigm", Computers & Electrical Engineering, vol. 71, pp. 833-846, 2018. Available: 10.1016/j.compeleceng.2017.07.022 [Accessed 6 May 2020].

[4]I. Beichl, "Top of the Charts", Computing in Science & Engineering, vol. 13, no. 5, pp. 4-4, 2011. Available: 10.1109/mcse.2011.91.

[5]S. Alhawari, L. Karadsheh, A. NehariTalet and E. Mansour, "Knowledge-Based Risk Management framework for Information Technology project", International Journal of Information Management, vol. 32, no. 1, pp. 50-65, 2012. Available: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2011.07.002.

[6]M. Carvalho and R. Rabechini Junior, "Impact of risk management on project performance: the importance of soft skills", International Journal of Production Research, vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 321-340, 2014. Available: 10.1080/00207543.2014.919423.

[7]C. Lindholm, "Involving user perspective in a software risk management process", Journal of Software: Evolution and Process, vol. 27, no. 12, pp. 953-975, 2015. Available: 10.1002/smr.1753.