We are often asked many different questions about our Project Risk Manager software application: How it functions, who can use it, how it manages project risks etc. Below is a selection of our most common Project Risk Manager software application FAQs. We hope these FAQs answer most of your queries but, if not, please feel free to get in touch with us directly through our Contact Us form, or email us directly at: [email protected] and we will endeavour to respond to your query within 48 hours of receiving it.

Does Project Risk Manager run on Mac OSx and Linux?
At the moment our software only runs on Windows platforms (Windows XP and newer). However, we will be adding Mac OSx and Linux compatible versions shortly.

What is a System Administrator?
A System Administrator is a user who has full access to all of the application’s customisable parameters, as well as access to all lower security levels. System Administrators are responsible for setting up the application’s global resources, which are applied to all projects, and for assigning the application’s primary users. The software subscriber is automatically granted System Administrator access rights.

Can more than one System Administrator be assigned?
Yes. Although it is normal practice, for security and control reasons, to only allow one System Administrator, there are instances where subscribers may need to assign multiple System Administrators. Additional System Administrators can, however, only be assigned by an existing System Administrator.

Can a System Administrator also be an active user of the application?
Yes. All contacts added to the database may be assigned at one of five access right levels, being:

  • System Administrator
  • Project Administrator
  • Risk Manager
  • Risk Owner
  • Guest

Active users are those people who have been assigned Risk Owner or higher access rights, and people with System Administrator access rights have full access to all projects and all risks, so they can also manage risks assigned to them just as any other active user would.

Who are Guests?
Guests are inactive users who may be added to the contacts database in order to give them read-only access to all projects and risks for information purposes. Users with Guest access rights can export data and run reports on all projects, but are not able to add, edit or delete any data in the application.

How many users can be assigned with Guest access rights?
As many as you want. The software licence conditions only limit the number of active users permitted by the system.

Does the application cater for opportunity, or positive outcome, risk types?
No. Project Risk Manager is specifically designed for managing threat, or hazard, risk types only. In this application we apply the project management mantra of, “Plan the Work, and Work the Plan”. The process of managing opportunity risks is also somewhat different from managing threat risks. We are, however, in the process of building an add-on module to the application which will separately consider and manage opportunity risks. We will make a general announcement as soon as this module is ready for release.

Why do you use a 4x4 risk ranking matrix and not a 3x3 or 5x5 matrix?
We have found over the years that using a 4×4 matrix provides an optimum probability and impact range to work from. Larger matrixes, which increase the number options to choose from and hence, theoretically increase the risk ranking accuracy, don’t add much value to the risk management process, but can significantly slow the process of managing risks down. Conversely, smaller matrixes tend to limit risk ranking accuracy to a degree that makes the management of them over simplified and error prone.

How are risks closed?
The application uses the risk ranking matrix and status of mitigations to determine whether a risk status is; Open, On-Going or Closed. If all mitigations have been implemented and the mitigated risk ranking is 3 or less, the system will automatically close the risk. There is one exception to this rule however, and that is if a risk has already occurred. i.e. The risk occurrence date has past and the probability of occurrence is 100%. In this instance it is not possible to mitigate probability below 100% and only the risk impacts can be mitigated. Therefore the lowest possible mitigated risk ranking in this case is 4. The application is designed to recognise this exception, and will allow the risk to be closed in this circumstance even though the mitigated risk ranking is greater than 3.

Can risks be closed manually if their mitigated ranking is greater than 3?
Yes. There are inevitably instances where individuals and businesses will still be prepared to take on risks even though they have not, or cannot, adequately mitigate them. In such cases the application provides a function for risk owners to manually close the risk.

How does risk manageability work?
Risk manageability is derived from the risk occurrence date and the number of mitigations available for implementation. The more distant the risk occurrence date is and the more mitigations there are, the more manageable the risk is. This information is helpful in identifying risks which are either inadequately mitigated, or need to have their mitigations implemented urgently due to the proximity of the risk occurrence date.