By Christopher Storck (ERNI Switzerland)
In solution projects, effective delivery risk management and strategic prioritisation are key drivers of project success. These practices enable teams to focus resources on tasks that deliver maximum value while mitigating risks that could derail timelines, inflate costs or compromise quality.
This article outlines actionable strategies to enhance project success, including leveraging the modified Weighted Shortest Job First method (WSJF) for prioritising backlog items, developing a robust initial backlog, and integrating risk management at every phase.
Understanding delivery risk management for project success
Delivery risk management involves identifying, assessing and mitigating risks that could cause delay, increase cost, or compromise quality or customer satisfaction. These risks are distinct from product risks and stem from factors like process inefficiencies, resource constraints or misaligned expectations. It is a proactive approach that helps project managers anticipate issues before they arise, ensuring projects stay on track and within budget.
The first step in managing both product and delivery risks is to conduct a thorough risk assessment. This involves identifying potential risks, evaluating their impact and determining their likelihood. Delivery risks in particular may include scope creep, poor resource allocation, or communication gaps between development teams and the customer.
Less obvious examples include underestimating the complexity of individual features within the broader system context, where interdependencies or technical limitations may lead to unforeseen delays and the misprioritisation of functionalities, which can result in critical features being delayed or redundant efforts consuming valuable resources.
Once risks are identified, they can be prioritised based on their potential impact on the project. Addressing high-priority risks not only reduces risk exposure but also ensures that efforts are focused on tasks that provide the most value while minimising disruption.
Regular risk reviews are essential for delivery risk management. They allow project managers to update risk assessments, incorporate lessons learned and adjust plans as new challenges emerge. Tools like risk catalogues and structured frameworks such as the modified WSJF method can further enhance prioritisation and decision-making. Additionally, aligning delivery risk management with the product roadmap helps maintain consistency across timelines and deliverables.
By addressing delivery risks early and consistently, teams can improve collaboration, maintain quality standards, and align outcomes with client expectations. This ensures smoother project execution and strengthens relationships with clients through predictable and reliable delivery.
Strategic prioritisation for maximising project value
Strategic prioritisation is the process of determining which tasks or projects to prioritise based on their importance and potential impact on the organisation’s goals. For solution projects, it goes beyond basic evaluation by considering factors like alignment with client needs, potential return on investment, resource requirements and delivery risks.
Using structured frameworks, such as the WSJF method, enhances prioritisation. WSJF is a prioritisation framework used within the Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe) to rank tasks based on their cost of delay divided by effort, ensuring maximum value delivery across large-scale Agile projects. This method evaluates tasks based on value, urgency and complexity, ensuring that high-impact items are addressed first. To learn more about agile methodologies, visit our page on agile consulting services.
Modified WSJF=Business Value+Time Criticality+(2*Risk Factor)Job Size
To incorporate delivery risks, we can modify the WSJF formula. By amplifying the weight of the risk component by a factor of 2, we ensure that tasks with high risk are prioritised earlier, emphasising the impact of delivery risks. This doubling elevates the score to the next category (when using the Fibonacci sequence). This amplifies the importance of risk reduction without overcompensating, thus providing an even more balanced approach to prioritising backlog items in complex projects.
Clear communication is also essential for effective prioritisation. By transparently documenting and sharing the criteria and rationale behind prioritisation decisions, project managers can ensure alignment between development teams and customers. This builds consensus and fosters collaboration, ultimately improving project outcomes.
Integrating risk management into backlog creation for robust planning
Integrating delivery risk management with strategic prioritisation is crucial for constructing an effective initial backlog. Accounting for delivery risks during prioritisation ensures that early development efforts focus on tasks with the highest value and urgency while mitigating potential disruptions caused by unclear requirements, complex dependencies, or resource constraints.
Incorporating risk assessments directly into backlog prioritisation is essential. For example, backlog items with high delivery risks – such as ambiguous user stories or dependencies on third-party integrations – can be prioritised for early elaboration or resolution to prevent downstream delays. Using the modified WSJF method enables teams to balance risk mitigation with value delivery by factoring risk into prioritisation alongside other criteria.
Developing risk management measures for the highest-priority backlog items further ensures that risks are identified and addressed proactively. These plans can guide early activities, such as workshops with key stakeholders to clarify scope or dependencies, ensuring the backlog is ready for execution.
By integrating delivery risk management into the initial backlog creation, teams can build a strong foundation for the project, reducing uncertainty and aligning early deliverables with both client expectations and strategic objectives. This approach enhances client satisfaction and sets the stage for smoother project execution.
Strategic insights and recommendations for project teams
Effective delivery risk management and strategic prioritisation are essential for enhancing project success. By proactively managing risks and strategically prioritising backlog items, project teams can ensure that their resources are allocated to the most important and impactful features while also minimising the potential for project disruptions.
To further enhance project outcomes, consider adopting the following strategic insights and recommendations:
By integrating the principles of Swiss Software Engineering, we enable project teams to deliver solutions that reduce risks, enhance client satisfaction and improve resource efficiency, ultimately strengthening our clients’ competitive edge.