OCRM Workshop prep…let’s go!

During this workshop, we will be reviewing the steps involved in the Objective Centered Risk Management (OCRM) methodology and introducing you to the analysis and tracking tools. We will primarily focus on the analysis tool during the workshop, and will discuss the tracking tool towards the end.

This workshop will allow your team to participate in a worked example using a real objective from your organisation. On average, the workshop will take two hours but could be longer or shorter depending on the specific needs of your team and organisation which have been identified earlier in the process.

Step 1 - Watch this video

(It’s less than 5 minutes 👍)

If you’d like a resource to read and reference, feel free to download this reference paper on OCRM as well.

Step 2 - Review the objective(s)

Prior to the workshop, you will receive an email with more detailed instructions and a link to a collaboration platform (usually Miro but possibly a different platform). The email or the platform will also contain an objective (or more than one) that will be used for the worked example. Starting from the objective, ask yourself the following questions (feel free to take personal notes or just have some ideas in mind when you arrive at the workshop):

  1. Does the objective make sense? Is it in plain language? Does the terminology mean the same thing to everyone? Are you aware of the key results/indicators that will be used to measure performance?

  2. What are the threats that will prevent the achievement of the objective? What are the opportunities that will enhance the achievement of the objective?

  3. What are the causes that will trigger a particular threat? What are the indicators that will let you know that an opportunity is on the horizon?

  4. What are the preparation elements that your organisation can put in place to mitigate or actively monitor the causes and indicators? (NOTE: You will identify mitigation for the things you have SOME control over and active monitoring for everything else.)

Based on the results of the analysis, your team will develop something that looks like this:

It will likely be much messier and less organised, but it will contain invaluable nuggets of insight that will help your team refine your objective(s), build a more accurate budget, and engage with decision makers using evidence and data.

Step 3 - Refine the analysis, conduct the budgeting exercise, and gain approvals

Your team will likely not be able to complete the OCRM analysis during the workshop, so it will need to be concluded outside of the workshop space. I am usually available to follow up with key leads, provide feedback, and answer questions you may have as you conclude the analysis portion of the methodology.

The budgeting step (the pricing of the preparation elements in the red circles above) is essential to ensure organisational commitment to the risk management element of the endeavour. If the resources aren’t available to properly mitigate/monitor, then a decision will need to be made as to how to proceed with the objective.

Once the analysis and the budgeting step are completed, the full objective approval proposal can then be presented to decision makers for a Go/No Go decision. This provides decision makers with an evidence-based presentation and data for the team to advocate for the necessary resources to achieve the objective.

If the decision makers say ‘Go’… great! 🎉

If the decision makers say 😲, you have several options: (1) find the additional resources available to support the objective as designed, (2) rewrite the objective to fit within the parameters available, (3) accept the risk/gaps identified and move on.

Step 4 - Upload the objective(s), preparation elements, and implement the objective certainty rating

Once your objectives are approved, you will build your Objective Certainty Rating tool. The framework for this tool can be built using a simple Excel spreadsheet or, if you have a little bit of a budget and some know-how,