Earlier this month, the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L) signed out an updated January 2017 version of the “Department of Defense Risk, Issue, and Opportunity Management Guide for Defense Acquisition Programs.” According to the Undersecretary in his cover memo, “the guide provides practical advice to programs as they work to identify, analyze, and manage risks, issues, and opportunities.”

Additionally, the document goes on to say “this guide seeks to advance the ability of DoD programs to plan for and manage risks, issues, and opportunities. The quality of thinking and judgment applied to these areas often will determine whether a program meets its objectives throughout the life cycle. Managing these areas requires strategic thinking and begins with early decisions on program structure that take into account the program’s unique uncertainties and risks. The analysis and informed judgment needed to identify and control risk are fundamental to effective program planning and management.”

To clarify the meaning of the three key terms, “for the purposes of this guide, the terms risk, issue, and opportunity are defined as follows:

·         Risks are potential future events or conditions that may have a negative effect on achieving program objectives for cost, schedule, and performance. Risks are defined by (1) the probability (greater than 0, less than 1) of an undesired event or condition and (2) the consequences, impact, or severity of the undesired event, were it to occur.

·         Issues are events or conditions with negative effect that have occurred (such as realized risks) or are certain to occur (probability of 1) that should be addressed.

·         Opportunities have potential future benefits to the program’s cost, schedule, and/or performance baseline.”