RAID is outdated: use B-RADICAL for Better Project Management

B-RADICAL is a music term, but might we also use it to help us undertake better project management?

Jump to the infographic here.

RAID is an acronym or term that has been coined in recent years to represent some of the critical project controls, namely for Risk, Assumptions, Issues and Dependency (RAID) management. The team at PMLogic have many years of combined project delivery experience and we would like to introduce you to our acronym ‘B-RADICAL’. So, what’s this new term all about? Well RAID has been useful however its coverage of the essential project controls can be expanded. The 10 suggested ‘B-RADICAL’ elements that can be used to enhance your planning, control and management of a project are benefits, risks, actions, dependencies, decisions, issues, communication, changes, assumptions, and lessons. Effective application of each project control (from the Axelos MoV® and PRINCE2 Agile® Glossary and two other sources) can significantly contribute to better management of your project and your project’s success:

Benefits - The measurable improvement resulting from an outcome perceived as an advantage by one or more stakeholders, and which contributes towards one or more organizational objective(s).

Risks - An uncertain event or set of events that, should it occur, will have an effect on the achievement of objectives. A risk is measured by a combination of the probability of a perceived threat or opportunity occurring, and the magnitude of its impact on objectives. Risk Register - A record of all identified risks relating to an initiative, including their status and history. Also called a risk log. Risk Management Strategy - Describes the goals of applying risk management to the activity, the process that will be adopted, the roles and responsibilities, risk thresholds, the timing of risk management interventions, the deliverables, the tools and techniques that will be used, and the reporting requirements. It may also describe how the process will be coordinated with other management activities.

Actions - Task management relies on action items in order to get things done. An action item is a task on your list that you need to complete. It typically moves you closer to achieving a significant objective (e.g. finishing a project), and it clearly outlines deadlines, responsibilities, and dependencies for every sub-task. (https://www.projectcentral.com/blog/action-items/)

Dependencies - A project dependency is a logical, constraint-based or preferential relationship between two activities or tasks such that the completion or the initiation of one is reliant on the completion or initiation of the other. (https://www.workzone.com)

Decisions - Decision Register - A record of all decisions made relating to an initiative, including their status, relationships, and history. Decision Point - A point in the progress of a programme or project at which significant decisions are made.

Issues - A concern, query, request for change, suggestion or off-specification raised during a project. Project issues can be about anything to do with the project.

Communication - A description of the means and frequency of communication between the project and the project’s stakeholders. Communications Plan - A plan of the communication activities that will be established and maintained during the organizational activity (strategic, programme, project, or operational). It typically contains when, what, how and with whom information flows.

Changes - Change Authority - A person or group to which the project board may delegate responsibility for the consideration of requests for change or off-specifications. The change authority may be given a change budget and can approve changes within that budget.

Assumptions - A statement that is taken as being true for the purposes of planning, but which could change later. An assumption is made where some facts are not yet known or decided and is usually reserved for matters of such significance that if they change or turn out not to be true, there will need to be considerable re-planning.

Lessons - A report that documents any lessons that can be usefully applied to other projects. The purpose of the report is to provoke action so that the positive lessons from a project become embedded in the organization’s way of working and the organization is able to avoid the negative lessons on future project. Or a Retrospective - A regular event that looks at how the process of doing work can be improved. In keeping with the agile concept of ‘inspect and adapt’, these events help teams to continually improve their working practices, little by little, over time. Validated Learning - The idea of learning through the use of experiments carried out in a scientific way: i.e. using a series of carefully designed steps and using measures to prove whether the experiment has been successful or not. Post Implementation Review - The process of determining the nature and value of benefits achieved and lessons learned from the project. This would need to be repeated at intervals to collate full results.

The PMLogic team trusts this new acronym will serve you well in your future project and change endeavours. Please let us know your feedback from employing B-RADICAL.