Skip to content

RAID Management

RAID is a well established project management tool used to identify, track, and manage key aspects that can impact the success of the delivery of a solution.

The objective of RAID Management is to understand and mitigate risks, assumptions, issues and dependencies throughout the problem lifecycle.

RAID

  • Risks - The objective of managing risks within RAID is to identify potential threats or uncertainties that could impact the delivery plan objectives, timeline, budget, or quality. By identifying risks early on, the development team can implement strategies to mitigate or eliminate them, reducing the likelihood of negative consequences
  • Assumptions - Assumptions are underlying beliefs, or conditions that are taken for granted, or preliminary decisions that have not been validated. Assumptions have the potential to influence outcomes. The objective of managing assumptions within RAID is to document and validate these assumptions to ensure that they are accurate and aligned with the problem hypothesis and solution. By addressing assumptions upfront, the team can avoid misunderstandings or misalignments that could derail delivery.
  • Issues - Issues are problems or challenges that arise throughout the problem lifecycle (although particularly during Design and Implementation). The objective of managing issues within RAID is to track and address these issues in a timely manner to prevent them from escalating and impacting progress. By actively managing issues, the team can minimize disruptions and keep the delivery on track towards its objectives.
  • Dependencies - Dependencies are relationships between tasks or deliverables that dictate their sequence or interdependence. The objective of managing dependencies within RAID is to identify and track these relationships to ensure that tasks are executed in the correct order and dependencies are managed effectively. By understanding and managing dependencies, the team can optimize workflow and minimize delays.

RAID Planning Events

RAID logs should be continually update by the problem owners and delivery team.

RAID Planning is a focussed event during which the delivery team produces and/or updates a structured RAID log.

Together the delivery team will review existing and identify new RAID items, considering and documenting:

  • the perceived impact,
  • the perceived likelihood,
  • workarounds or mitigation plans

RAID Logs

RAID logs are a maintained list of the current Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies, and support tracking and communication of RAID items.

The RAID Log details the RAID items as well as their status.

By maintaining a comprehensive RAID log, delivery teams can improve their ability to anticipate and respond to challenges, minimise disruptions, and ultimately improve effectiveness.

Responsibilities

Owner Responsibility
Delivery Owner The Delivery Owner is accountable for ensuring that effective RAID management is happening at appropriate times and the results are both accessible and effectively communicated with colleagues and stakeholders
Delivery Team The whole Delivery team is collectively responsible for RAID identification, management and mitigation
Product Lead Responsible for participating in any RAID planning events where necessary, and by collating and sharing relevant product related insights that could lead to the identification of new RAID items
Engineering Owner Responsible for participating in any RAID planning events where necessary, and by collating and sharing relevant engineering related insights that could lead to the identification of new RAID items
Design Owner Responsible for participating in any RAID planning events where necessary, and by collating and sharing relevant design related insights that could lead to the identification of new RAID items

Triggers

Typical triggers for RAID include (but are not limited to):

  • Requirement Elicitation - as requirements are gathered for the problem during the discovery zone
  • Design - during the design zone and design workshops, triggers could include architectural decisions that introduce technical risks, assumptions about third party integrations, or dependencies on specific design components
  • Resource Allocation - changes in resource availability or allocation
  • Technologies and/or Tools - selecting new technologies or tools for the solution
  • Change Requests - whenever there are changes to solution requirements, scope, or timeline
  • Testing and Quality Assurance - issues identified during testing and quality assurance activities can trigger RAID items relating to defects, performance issues, or dependencies on external systems

Communication Plan

Delivery teams are responsible for ensuring relevant stakeholders and/or colleagues are informed about the status of key RAID items and any actions being taken that could potentially impact delivery, other delivery teams' plans or stakeholders and other departments.

RAID communication plans typically include and document:

  1. Communication Channels - with delivery teams: via regular team meetings or RAID planning events or with stakeholders: via delivery status updates and reports, ad-hoc communications to address urgent or critical RAID items,
  2. Content & Format - RAID item summary, detailed descriptions, action items and trends in RAID data over time
  3. Escalation Process - defined escalation process for addressing high-priority or critical RAID items that require immediate attention or resolution
  4. Feedback Mechanism - encourage feedback from stakeholders and team members on the effectiveness of RAID communication and any improvements or suggested adjustments required
  5. Review & Continuous Improvement - regularly review the effectiveness of the RAID communication plan, gathering feedback from stakeholders and team members and identify opportunities for improvement

Note

Not all RAID items need to be communicated to all stakeholders, and in some situations can confuse rather than inform a stakeholder. Reporting on RAID should be tailored for the appropriate audiences, focussing on the key items of most concern or perceived impact.

Toolkit

Toolkit

RAID