| Risk management and assessment of | | | | processes need a high degree of careful risk |
| sub-contractors and suppliers must start early in the | | | | management.Next down the chain in terms of risk |
| life of a bid. As soon as the need for bought in items | | | | are specialist items of proprietary hardware. Again, |
| is identified and a list of potential sub-contractors | | | | this is likely to be a sole-source item, which in itself |
| created, the risk management process kicks in.Risk | | | | carries risk.Alternatively, the risk involved in buying |
| assessment of sub-contractors becomes more | | | | standard commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) items of |
| essential, the more complex the item of supply and | | | | either hardware or software where there are various |
| the fewer suppliers there are to choose from.The | | | | similar products to choose from, is fairly low, but still |
| amount and importance of risk management goes in | | | | exists and management will be required.In a nutshell, |
| this order, starting with the most difficult:If the | | | | the order of risk, starting with the highest is:Sole |
| system requires a complicated piece of modified | | | | source software development |
| software based on an existing proprietary software, | | | | Multiple source software development |
| then due to copyright issues, only the original owner | | | | Sole source complex COTS software requiring |
| of the code can be approached to change it as | | | | system integration |
| required. This is a sole source supply involving | | | | Sole source hardware development and manufacture |
| software development, which is notoriously difficult, | | | | Multiple source hardware development and |
| and needs to be micro-managed in order to | | | | manufacture |
| succeed.Equally, if a complicated bespoke software is | | | | COTS Software supply |
| needed, even given that there are a number of | | | | COTS Hardware supplyEach of these scenarios |
| sub-contractors capable of doing the work, it is a | | | | carry different types and quantities of risks, making |
| very risky business and needs careful | | | | individual plans for their management absolutely |
| management.Items of hardware which will be | | | | essential.In our next article we'll look and the |
| designed and manufactured specifically for this | | | | management of risk associated with selecting |
| project or which require special manufacturing | | | | potential sub-contractors. |