When planning a project, we know the relationship between Assumption, Risk, and Constraint. However, their concepts are quite distinct! Therefore, it is not always easy to distinguish an Assumption from a Risk, or a Risk from a Constraint.
Want to know more about each concept? This post will present each concept and an easy way to distinguish when each one should be applied.
What is an Assumption, Risk, or Constraint?
To help you better understand, let us look at the definitions of Assumption, Risk, and Constraint according to PMBOK:
- Assumption: Factors that, for planning purposes, are considered true, real, or certain without proof or demonstration.
- Risk: An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on one or more project objectives.
- Constraint: The state, quality, or sense of being restricted to a given course of action or inaction. An applicable internal or external restriction or limitation to a project that will affect the performance of the project or a process.
What are examples of these concepts in a project?
The concepts of Assumption, Risk, and Constraint are essential for project management. To illustrate, let us imagine building a house. When outlining this project, we can consider that:
1) Assumption:
The permit to build the house will be approved by the city hall. We are assuming the permit will be approved; we are not considering the hypothesis that it will not be approved.
Tip: Every Assumption generates a Risk! IF the permit is not approved, the project cannot be executed as planned (for example, starting on the scheduled date).
Question: Now, why do I need to establish Assumptions? Wouldn’t it be enough to just manage Risks?
Assumptions are used to establish the initial conditions to make a project viable. A project with no initial conditions, where anything can happen (risks), is prone to getting out of control.
2) Constraint:
In the region where the construction is located, we are only authorized to work on the site between 08:00 AM and 06:00 PM. We are conditioned to execute the project this way. There is no “IF” in this case, we cannot escape it: it is a constraint that the project must obey.
Tip: Constraints help avoid Risks.
Question: Do constraints help avoid Risks? Yes. If the team works on the site outside the permitted hours, the project could receive a fine from the city hall. So there is a Risk of being fined, which would affect the project budget.
Assumption, Risk, or Constraint? In this case, the Constraint of working only during the permitted hours prevents the Risk of a fine from happening.
3) Risk:
If it rains more than 5 days a month, the house delivery deadline will be delayed. How can we be sure of how much it will rain during the project? Impossible! No one can be sure of that. At most, we can know the probability of it happening based on weather forecasts, but it is still uncertain. IF it happens, it could affect the project.
Tip: Risk management involves identifying probability, understanding impact, and ways to prevent the Risk from happening or to reduce the impacts if it does.
Therefore, Assumptions are fundamental to enabling project execution. Constraints establish the limits for executing the project, and Risks prepare us to deal with events that may affect the project’s progress.
Thus, these factors of Assumption, Risk, or Constraint are important in the planning and execution of projects in any area, and in IT it is no different. By applying the above concepts, the chances of the project failing or not being executed are small, ensuring the company’s integrity and customer satisfaction.
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