All you need to know about What is RAID in project management

Project management seems easy but it is not as a manager needs to be proactive, should have an end in mind, have an organization in everything either tasks or the workplace, and reflect teamwork. By staying organized and planned, still, you can face problems during the project, you need to know what is RAID in project management and how to use it proficiently.

A detailed introduction, to what is RAID in project management

Before diving into the depth, we need to have a clear and detailed introduction of strange sounding term RAID. RAID is not a term but a group of different terms working in a team to show us the right track when we face unexpected problems. RAID is a collection of words Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies.

When we plan the project, we think it is perfect and the project will run smoothly but it does not most probably. During the running of a project, it faces problems that a project manager can assume if he thinks deeply and highlight them as future risks for the project.

So, we can call these problems risks of the project.  By using the RAID log, we can minimize these risks or control them in time by tracking them regularly. So, to understand what is RAID in project management, have look at each member of the RAID group.

1. Risks

The first part of RAID is the "Risk". The project managers work for identifying the risks they can face during the project. To identify the risks during project management, managers need to take their teams in confidence as they can help to identify the risk and also share the solution if go through brainstorming.

2. Actions

The "A" of RAID is about the action plan that a project manager prepares with his team. In this step, a project manager along with his team decides the task distribution for each team member. Every team member knows what his task to overcome the risk is. The project managers know very well about every member of their team and their skills so, they assign them the task in which they can give their best.

3. Issues

When learning everything about what is RAID in project management, you will also brainstorm the issues along with your team. By doing so, the project you are discussing the past hardships you and your teams faced in previous projects. By using the RAID log, you will reflect on the whole process of identifying the hardships creating the issues, what team members did to resolve those issues, and how much time it took.

4. Dependencies or decisions

"D" in RAID is the last essential part that can be for dependencies or decisions. When working on a project, different team members are working together to perform different tasks. Some tasks are dependent on each other and there is a great need to coordinate with the team by following a specific time frame. For this purpose, project managers develop Gantt charts for their team so, that they could know the frequency of their tasks per week and month.

In the case of decision-making, the project manager takes it to the team in confidence and values their opinions. He considers their words and even accepts them by coding them as the final decision of the project to resolve the issues and remove the risks. He keeps a record of the decision-making by developing documents and mentioning the name of team members so, that he can use them in the future.

How does RAID help the project managers?

As RAID is a new term for many project managers and they think of it as just a waste of time that is a wrong concept. To remove such concepts from your mind, here is the guideline for you to know how the RAID log can help you to handle the risks of the project by collaborating with your team.

Managers can quickly catalog the information

The most important fact about RAID I like is the cataloging of important information. As the project manager is involving his team by getting everyone on a single platform, he collects all important information on a central page very quickly. He is best at brainstorming and has a solution for each expected risk. So, he can jolt the problem quickly as he has decided on it before time.

Managers are also planning the future

By using the RAID log, the managers are not only working on the present projects but are also documenting the future risks and their solutions. A professional, skilled, and experienced project manager does not neglect his team but considers their ideas and adds reforms. He documents the expected risks and their solutions represented by his team members. As the projects of a company have the same origin and theme, the risks and solutions of the present can be helpful for the future.

RAID log saves the manager's time

RAID log provides templates for managing the risks of the project so, the RIAD is saving the time of the project manager. They can invest this time in some other important tasks.

The manager takes control of data immediately

When you are working on the RAID log, you are taking control of it by preparing the record that you can show to stakeholders when the need arises. RAID log allows the project managers to access the data he is looking for specific problems immediately.

Managers can clearly communicate

As project managers are working on RAID proactively and believe in teamwork so, they make their team part of every decision. They communicate every perspective to their team by elaborating on the expected risks and their solutions. When everyone in the team knows what he is going to do and by when then, everything gets easier and is achieved on time.

What can be the part of RAID?

When you are willing to know everything about what is RAID in project management then you must have an idea of what should be part of a RAID. There can be some input and some author or maintainer parts of the project. While going through the RAID log, you must make the following part of this process for your ease and success in risk identifying, solution orienting, and keeping a record of all these events.

·   Stakeholder

·   The risk assessment process and team

·   Documentation

·   The company’s CEO

·   Project team

·   Project manager

What do you need to do for preparing RAID in project management?

As in this article, we are discussing every aspect that what is RAID in project management so, we should know how can we perform or prepare it. Following are a few important steps that a project manager needs to follow.

Call a meeting for auditing

First of all, when you are starting the RAID for your project you should plan a meeting and give a call to every part of this project either the team members or stakeholders. You should inform them about the meeting agenda so that they could know what you are going to discuss at in meeting. By doing so, you are preparing them to do brainstorming before the meeting.

Identify the expected risks with their severity

Now, get everyone on the board for a warm discussion and allow everyone to share his opinion openly. Have the guts to bear some pinching words which can be a part of the risk identifying process and help for risk tracking. Start a discussion with a warm welcome and keep moving forward by taking opinions from each member. Open every aspect of the project clearly in front of stakeholders so, they could have an idea of what you are going to do.

Involve the project team by assigning them specific tasks

The team of a project manager is his army with which he is trying to defeat the risks and make the project a smooth process. So, identify the skill of your team, assign them the task accordingly, and keep motivating them.

Track location of the expected risks

Then by sitting with your time after time, keep discussing the expected risks and the sites where they can occur. By doing so, you know the location and you can attack them when they try to damage your project.

Don't forget to document the RAID log

Lastly, do not forget to prepare documents for the RAID log. You will have immediate access to the meeting points, information catalogs, and their solutions.

RAID can be challenging for you sometimes, how?

While working on what is RAID in project management, I came to know about some challenges which are as follows.

·   Information overflows sometimes

·   Sometimes, RAID provides less information proving to clutter

·   You need to update it regularly

·   Time issues for risk management

Conclusion

As a project manager, you must know how to catalog the risks and manage them proactively. You must learn about what is RAID in project management and how you can effectively use it t get control over the risks causing hardships in running a project.