RiskAid FAQ's

The following frequently asked questions and answers may help you to get a better understanding of RiskAid. They are split into:

• General
• Using RiskAid Products

General

WHY use RiskAid products?

Risk Management is a legislative requirement in a growing number of business sectors and a prudent business requirement for directors. From strategic level to project and operational levels, risk management is required to control risk and to show how this is being achieved.

We all live with uncertainty in our lives and cope with it to a greater or lesser degree. Whilst we can identify risks using our skills, experience and imagination, getting those risks into proportion is complex. Understanding how and when to take action, and if that action is appropriate and cost-effective, is also complex.

At first sight, a spreadsheet seems the natural choice for supporting the process. However, with evermore stringent reporting, auditing and monitoring and greater participation in the risk management process throughout the business, the maintenance of a large collection of spreadsheets becomes virtually impossible. RiskAid products are specifically designed to provide a collaborative support environment that provides all the reports, auditing and monitoring facilities needed, with a couple of clicks.

The RiskAid products bridge the "complexity gap". They are easy to use, allowing you to concentrate on using your experience and expertise to identify the risk and solutions whilst dealing with the complex calculations behind the scenes. Graphical and financial displays are available to fulfil all requirements.

RiskAid instantly shows if each proposed action is cost-effective and makes risk management reporting quick and easy, providing displays that can be used in reports, documents and spreadsheets.

WHAT are the RiskAid products?

RiskAid and RiskAid Enterprise are comprehensive web-based software products that support the whole risk management process. RiskAid is particularly suited to projects and programmes, RiskAid Enterprise deals with risks in organisations where hierarchies exist.

Both are easy to use and provide clear graphical displays and tables to show the benefits of your actions.

RiskAid is secure. You control your access and whoever else can see your risk assessments.

RiskAid maintains your up-to-date assessments. It allows your team to try out alternative "what-if" scenarios on your assessment safely, without affecting the baseline risk assessment. If team members submit a scenario to you for inclusion, the changes are highlighted and need only be included if you approve them. All changes are recorded for audit purposes.

WHO should use RiskAid?

Anyone in any organisation! It has been designed so that you don't have to be a risk management practitioner to use it.

RiskAid has been specifically developed for ease of use: no mathematical knowledge is required. It is designed to make risk management easier and help you implement the current best practice recommendations.

RiskAid supports risk assessments by individuals, teams, partnerships distributed across the globe. It provides a "virtual collaborative environment" where risk assessments can be shared securely, discussed and managed. Sharing the risk management process with your team, distributes the workload and involves them in shared solutions.

WHEN should I use RiskAid?

RiskAid can be used at any stage throughout your business plan, programme, project or operation. The sooner you start using RiskAid, the sooner you will get the benefits and have more scope for improvement.

In a competitive bid situation, the best time to do your first risk assessment is during the bid. This allows you to identify the risks and establish your potential contingency costs and project delays against your plan.

WHERE can I access RiskAid?

Inspiration can occur at any time, often when you are not in the office. Since RiskAid is web-based and doesn't need any software downloads or plug-ins, you can use it from wherever you can access the internet.

You don't need broadband. RiskAid pages are small and compact, so that they can be transferred and displayed quickly even on slow connections.

RiskAid has been accessed from airport terminals, hotels, homes, construction sites and even from trains.

HOW do I assess risks?

Risk identification and assessment can be undertaken using any method. The RiskAid process and software leads you to quickly identify and quantify risks using "structured brainstorming" techniques, which are effective if the team can be brought together in the same room or the "Delphi" technique, if the team is distributed.

RiskAid recommends its own, proprietary, risk classification set but, as an alternative, the PESTLE risk classification set (as advocated by the HM Treasury Orange Book) can be selected. Alternatively, your own risk classification can be included.

HOW MUCH does it cost?

RiskAid and RiskAid Enterprise are very cost-effective packages and are available as a web-based or intranet-based solution. The licences are on an annual basis. The intranet-based solution requires a server installation in your organisation, at aditional cost, and we can liaise with your IT deptartment to organise this.

WHAT do I get?

The licence includes:

• Permission for the designated users to use the software for a year
• Software updates during the period of the licence
• Software availability 24/7 on the web - 99.83% availability last year - ask your IT department if they can match this!
• Proven secure data storage of your data, coupled with complete confidentiality - this is why we do not name our customers!
• Comprehensive backup, service restoration and multisite fallback facilities
• Superb software reliability - only 7 errors in the last year
• Superb error handling and rectification - 100% availability during error rectification and a mean time to repair of 2.5 working hours - almost certainly better than your own IT department
• Help and advice - phone or email us to help you make the best use of our RiskAid products in your business - don't waste time puzzling!

Using RiskAid

Is the RiskAid method and tool specific to any type of risk assessment?

No, RiskAid is designed for any project, programme, business or organisation. RiskAid even supports criteria, other than those involving time and cost, to be used to assess the risks. These criteria are up to you to define. So whether you are undertaking a department relocation, the development of a new product or the provision of a set of services, RiskAid is applicable.

Does RiskAid require specialist mathematical knowledge?

No. RiskAid does all the calculations for you. You don't need any mathematical knowledge to use it, nor do you need to be a risk management practitioner. Most information is shown graphically which is easier to understand than a table of numbers

I don't think I handle large enough programmes to need this rigorous approach

These principles have been used on projects and programmes ranging from £50K to £55M. Paradoxically, the smaller projects often need this approach just as much as the larger ones, because you (as a manager) have so much less room for manoeuvre on smaller programmes. Depending on the size, an initial risk assessment can take ½-3 days (including defining your actions). This is not a large investment during the bid phase, especially since it can help you determine a low-risk approach tailored to your team's skills. Almost inevitably, this early investment repays itself many times over, later in the programme.

I use Monte-Carlo simulations on my plan, so why should I need RiskAid?

Monte-Carlo simulations will give you statistical information on what the potential project length will be and what its potential cost could be - often in an "S" curve giving you the probability of completing by any date, and the cost at that date. This is ok, as far as it goes, but doesn't give you any clue as to what to do about it. Also, in our experience, the majority the risks appear from outside the plan - a key team member leaving or falling sick, a subcontractor failing to deliver on time, a change in priorities in your company, exchange rate fluctuations etc.

With RiskAid, you concentrate on identifying risks in each area of the risk matrix which helps you and your team to think both within the project and beyond, considering all risks that could affect it. Although the risks are outside your direct responsibility, you can actually do an amazing amount to minimise or even eliminate their effects on your project with well-defined actions and end up with a cost-benefited action plan that your team can agree with and work with. All that is needed is some imagination and awareness of the different ways of dealing with risks.

I like the idea, but haven't done risk assessments to this depth before. Where do I start?

The first place to start is with this website and documentation, which explains the RiskAid method and RiskAid software. Then consider attending one of our courses on RiskAid methodology and software where you can get real practical advice on how to implement risk management and learn from others' experiences. We can help you to get the process going in your own business environment, facilitating the initial risk sessions for you and allowing you to be self-sufficient as quickly as possible. Finally, if you get stuck at any stage, we are on the end of a phone and on email, ready to help you.

What do I need to be able to use RiskAid?

You need a PC or MAC with an internet connection, a browser (IE6 or above, or equivalent) and a license to use RiskAid. That's all. If you use another computer, you can still access RiskAid. The license is tied to your access of RiskAid, not the machine that you access it from.

My IT department doesn't allow new applications to be installed on our PCs. How could I use RiskAid?

Your IT department is being very prudent. You don't need to download or install any new software to use RiskAid. Just use your internet browser to access RiskAid. By the way, this saves your IT department all the hassle of maintenance as well, as we do that on the web or on the intranet server.

Can I use RiskAid from any location, on any PC?

Yes, as long as you have a license, an internet connection and a recent internet browser.

Who can see my risk assessment?

When you start a risk assessment, you specify who can have the following access to your assessment:-

• See - can see the existence of the assessment, and can access the assessment summary page only
• View - can view the contents of the assessment, but cannot make any direct changes. However he can propose changes, using the scenario facility
• Edit - can edit the contents of the assessment until the assessment becomes managed, when he/she can propose changes, using the scenario facility
• Manage - the manager or administrator of the assessment, and so can change the assessment baseline once the assessment is managed, and can authorise scenario proposals from others with access to the assessment.

These access rights can apply to either individuals or teams. You can change it at any time. No-one else apart from those approved can see your assessment. Note that only licensed individuals within your organisation's licence can access your RiskAid area at all and that all licensing rights and access rights are checked on every page access.

How do I obtain a license?

Contact us, at info@riskreasoning.co.uk, to establish your precise requirements and place a Purchase Order with us. We will respond by setting up your account and licenses and arranging training (if required).