Method and system for quantitatively assessing project risk and effectiveness

• US 7,313,531 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2001
• Issued: 12/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: NTT Data Services Corporation
• Original Assignee: Perot Systems Corporation (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Chappel, Oscar A., Creel, Christopher Taylor
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US09/998,474
• Publication Number:
  US 20030101089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,217 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7
• US Class Current: 705/7.17
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063118 Staff planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06313 Resource planning in a project environment
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0635 Risk analysis of enterprise or organisation activities

Abstract

A method and system for assessing risk of a change proposal on a project development, and effectiveness of a service provider to satisfy a client. The method for assessing risk may include receiving the change proposal requesting one or more amendments to be performed on the project. One or more elements of the project potentially affected upon the change proposal being approved may be identified based on the amendment(s) of the change proposal. Metric(s) indicative of the potential effects on the project based on the identified element(s) may be generated. The method for determining effectiveness may include receiving change proposals. A frequency of receipt of the change proposals being received during the course of the project may be monitored to determine effectiveness of the service provider in satisfying the client.

Claims

1. A method for assessing risk on a project associated with at least one change proposal directed toward the project, the project being developed by a service provider for a client, said method comprising:

receiving, from the client by the service provider, the at least one change proposal directed toward the project during a life cycle of the project, the change proposal requesting at least one amendment to be performed to the project being developed by the service provider;

identifying, based on the at least one amendment request, at least one artifact of the project to be potentially affected upon the change proposal being adopted; and

generating at least one metric indicative of the potential effects on the project based on said identifying the at least one artifact, the at least one metric providing an objective risk assessment for the service provider to provide the client and for allowing the service provider and the client to assess both direct and indirect risk before the at least one change proposal is adopted and to objectively make an informed business decision as to whether or not to adopt the at least one change proposal.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one metric includes a statistical value.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said generating includes performing a regression analysis.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the service provider is at least one of a consultant and a contractor.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the project is at least one of a document and a product.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein said identifying includes determining an artifact to be amended.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein said identifying the at least one artifact includes counting descendants of the artifact to be amended.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one metric includes a numerical representation of at least one of direct and indirect artifacts affected by the change proposal.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the project is a requirements specification.

10. A system for assessing risk on a project associated with at least one change proposal directed toward the project, the project being developed by a service provider for a client, said system comprising:

means for receiving, from the client by the service provider, the at least one change proposal directed toward the project during a life cycle of the project, the at least one change proposal requesting at least one amendment to be performed to the project being developed by the service provider;

means for identifying, based on the at least one amendment request, at least one artifact of the project to be potentially affected upon the change proposal being adopted; and

means for generating at least one metric indicative of the potential effects on the project based on said identifying the at least one artifact, the at least one metric providing an objective risk assessment for the service provider to provide the client and for allowing the service provider and the client to assess both direct and indirect risk before the at least one change proposal is adopted and to objectively make an informed business decision as to whether or not to adopt the at least one change proposal.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one metric includes a statistical value.

12. The system according to claim 10, wherein the means for generating includes performing a regression analysis.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein the service provider is at least one of a consultant and a contractor.

14. The system according to claim 10, wherein the project is at least one of a document and a product.

15. The system according to claim 10, wherein the project is a requirements specification.

16. The system according to claim 10, wherein the means for identifying includes determining an artifact to be amended.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the means for identifying the at least one artifact includes counting descendants of the artifact to be amended.

18. The system according to claim 10, wherein the at least one metric includes a numerical representation of at least one of direct and indirect artifacts affected by the change proposal.

19. A computer-readable medium having stored thereon sequences of instructions, the sequences of instructions, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to:

receive, from a client by a service provider, at least one change proposal directed toward a project during a life cycle of the project, the project being developed by the service provider for the client, the at least one change proposal requesting at least one amendment to be performed to the project;

identify, based on the at least one amendment request, at least one artifact of the project to be potentially affected upon the change proposal being adopted; and

generate at least one metric indicative of the potential effects on the project based on said identifying the at least one artifact, the at least one metric providing an objective risk assessment for the service provider to provide the client and for allowing the service provider and the client to assess both direct and indirect risk before the at least one change proposal is adopted and to objectively make an informed business decision as to whether or not to adopt the at least one change proposal.