| [developing a customer base] | [inconsistent use] | [competitors] | [privacy] |
| [evolution of technology] | [security] | [pricing] | [training] |
| [resistance to technology] | [damage] | [vendors] |
Probability: High
Impact Level: High
Product Life Cycle: Early
Mitigating Strategy: Aggressive Marketing and Lobbying from Health Care Professionals
The most threatening risk to our product is the development of our customer base. The customers are the reason why we created our product in the first place. It is essential to cater to our customers and to appease them with our product. In order to go appease our customers, we will use aggressively marketing. Aggressively marketing means that we will advertise, through ads and other means, to rally support for our products. Also, we will have healthcare workers, i.e. physicians, lobby for the usage of our device by stressing how helpful our device is.
Inconsistent Use
Probability: Moderate/High
Impact Level: High
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: We will send advertisement and reminders to our patients and promote its usage by participating facilities.
Another important risk to consider is the inconsistent usage. If facilities and patients use our product inconsistently, then this will pose problems with the up-to-date information on the MMS. As a result, inconsistent use is necessary to mitigate.
Our strategy to mitigate inconsistent usage is by sending reminders and advertisements to our patients. They will then aggressively seek the usage of the memory device by participating facilities.
Resistance Against Additional Technology
Probability: Moderate/High
Impact Level: High
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Easy-to-Use Interface and Integration of our interface with current technology.
Another important risk to take in to consideration for our product is the resistance to new technology. Many people resist changes because of the additional technical know how that is involved. They think that it will be difficult to adapt said technology. Along similar lines, they resist new things because they don’t believe that new products will be able to integrate current technology.
In order to combat this line of thinking, our mitigating strategy is to make our product have an easy-to-use interface and provide integration with current technology. Our product is designed with the current medical standards today. For example, it will integrate HL7 and other current standards held today.
Evolution of Technology
Probability: Moderate
Impact Level: High
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Evolve and adapting our product from customer feedback
Technology often evolves at a rapid rate per year. The cost of items decrease and even better technology comes out to replace current technology. It is important to adapt to the current environment in order to remain competitive and remain a factor to the market. Thus, the evolution of technology is a key risk to our product.
Since we understand technology often evolves at a high rate, we will send customers surveys to provide feedback to our product. Feedback will provide us with items that our product needs to address or what items our product needs to change. Our button-memory, for example, might evolve if newer and better technology becomes available. As a result, we will make enhancements to it so that it will remain viable and will remain state-of-the-art in our market. Thus, we will make changes to our current product via feedback from our customers.
Privacy Concerns
Probability: Moderate
Impact Level: Moderate
Product Life Cycle: Early
Mitigating Strategy: Promote HIPAA Compliance by providing a traceable record of system activity and obtain HIPPA certification from third party companies.
Since we are using transporting patient records with our MMS system, privacy concerns is a valid risk. Under the guidelines of HIPPA Privacy Requirements, we must follow certain standards set by these laws. Thus, the impact to our product is moderate.
To mitigate this risk, we will incorporate a traceable record of all system user activity, which can meet the healthcare facility’s obligation to document access by individuals to PHI. Also, we will obtain a HIPPA certification from any of the following third-party companies: Claredi, Edifax, or Foresight.
Security
Probability: Moderate
Impact Level: Moderate
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Data Encryption and Validation Server
Security is a considerable risk for our product. Without security, our online database will leak information to any cracker who wishes to learn information on their victim/victims. Also, our actual memory software and mechanisms must be secure to prevent unauthorized access to medical information or changes to it.
In order to bypass any problems with security, we plan to incorporate data encryption on files going to the medical memory. Along with incorporating data encryption, we will provide long-term services in the form of a Validation Server that will make sure that the software being used is by appropriate organizations. As for the physical security, the patients or owners of our devices will be responsible for the Memory Medical physical security.
Competing Products
Probability: Moderate
Impact Level: Moderate
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Provide both unique products lines and adapt to customer demands
Competition is often healthy for the consumer market. As a result, competition is a known risk to our product. Like many other markets, the strongest product will always win over its competition.
Thus, we shall mitigate our competition by both providing unique and identifiable product lines and adapting our product to customer needs. It is much easier for the consumer to distinguish between our product and the competition by being more unique than others. Also, we will provide ways for our customers to provide feedback, i.e. customer service rating forms and other such methods, for our product. This feedback will allow us to adapt our product to the needs of our consumers.
Pricing
Probability: Moderate
Impact Level: Moderate
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Aggressive Marketing will lead to bulk sales and purchasing
The price of our software is an important risk for us. Ideally, the best way to earn profits is to provide a competitive price that will both reap profits and keep the cost low for the customer. As a result, we take the price of our software seriously.
To mitigate price issues, we shall implement an aggressive marketing approach that will work similar to mitigating an issue concerning the development of our customer base. We will commit resources to advertisement of our product and promotion of its benefits to our customers. Once the competition comes to the market, we will adjust the price of our product to be competitive to our competitors. That way we shall reap profits, while keeping our cost per unit low for our customers.
Training of Personnel
Probability: Moderate
Impact Level: Low
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Easy-to-use interface and easy-to-understand guides
It is important to mention training as a risk. It is necessary for doctors and everybody involved in our service to understand how to use our product. The easier usage of our product, the easier for it to be establish itself from other products. Along similar lines, it is important to train all transcribers of medical information thoroughly. They must keep medical information accurate and reliable.
Fortunately, we will be able to mitigate the risk of training. We will provide an easy-to-use interface, i.e. guide on CD, to train personnel included with our software package. Also, with the addition of graphical and technical guides, included in the package, any risk concerning training shall be mitigated.
Damage
Probability: Moderate
Impact Level: Low
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Units will be made to withstand the elements
Damage to our product is a risk. If our memory unit gets damage easily, it will show to consumers that our product is not worthy of buying. Also, if it damage to easily, our competition will be able to capitalize by promoting their products better and less damageable than ours. As a result, we will lose revenue and profits.
Because our memory unit shall be carried on patients chosen method, i.e. jewelry, it is important to create our unit with sturdiness in mind. We will make the jewelry sturdy to withstand everyday usage and damage. Also, our button-sized memory is able to withstand almost all forms of problems that often plague memory units, i.e. polarization and heat. Thus, we will insure that any damage that does happen will either be minute or even prevented.
Loss of Vendors and Suppliers
Probability: Low
Impact Level: Low
Product Life Cycle: Entire Cycle
Mitigating Strategy: Multiple companies will manufacture and supply our product.
Manufacturing is the way in order to make our service work. We must have units to sell to the consumer. Without the creation of units to meet consumer demand, it will lead to the loss of business. In order to complete our timetable, we must subcontract manufacturing to other companies. As a result, the loss of vendors and suppliers can lead to loss of business.
To mitigate the risk of loss of vendors and suppliers, we will let our product be manufactured by numerous companies. This will prevent one company to be solely responsible to manufacture our products. Also, our product is not so unique that only one company will manufacture our product. Our product is adaptable and is able to be manufactured by other companies.