DesignRisk does something that we have not seen on any other template of its type: Besides analysing and evaluating a specific set of risk conditions, it tells you what you need to do to mitigate the risk.
That is, you see that with many risk scenarios, you can actually change the risk profile by how you respond to it – particularly in likelihood of incidence, but also to some degree in severity.
For example, if you have a novice client with little understanding of design & construction process and issues, assigning a project manager with superior communication skills will provide confidence to the client, help him/her better understand the processes, and greatly reduce over-reactions when the inevitable problem emerges.
Of course, that may seem like common sense – but insurance company statistics show that between a quarter and a half of all claims against architects are caused by inadequate communication.
What this means is that by the way you anticipate the risks, you can control the risk profile. So – if a first pass at risk assessment shows the project is moderately risky, you can review the mitigation strategies, implement them, and re-run the assessment, which will give you a revised assessment based on these changes.
