Since SMScom is an ambitious and far-looking research project, risks are part of its intrinsic nature and cannot be avoided. Risks, however, can be mitigated by adopting sound research management practices, which ensure continuous, careful assessment of the feasibility and progress of the various steps. The risks intrinsic in a project like SMScom can be summarized in three main classes, for which we identify possible contrasting strategies:
Technological risks. Advances in theoretical work can be slower than the actual evolution of computing and communication technologies. This problem is typical of engineering research in rapidly evolving areas, where the need for sound design methods is challenged by continuous changes in technology. Risks can be mitigated by adopting an iterative and incremental approach for the development of SMScom, and by a thorough evaluation of the obtained results against the advances in the technological context at the end of each iteration. In the proposal we chose 18-month iteration loops. The other important element is the adoption and release of open(-source) solutions, to always keep the project as open as possible and avoiding the adoption of specific solutions that might result in unnecessary constraints.
Integration risks. The necessary breakdown of research into manageable and measurable increments should not violate the conceptual integrity of the SMScom holistic approach. The risk is to work hard and deliver great single components that do not work together. Here we need to balance between the necessary freedom, which is intrinsic in visionary research, with the need of achieving the long-term goal, which is based on a holistic vision. Our plan is to mitigate risks by anticipating the integration plans of each iteration. They will be in charge of setting the technological and architectural constraints, but also of envisioning suitable test beds (case studies) to set the reference scenario for each research activity.
Reality risks. Often research solutions work great in limited experimental settings, but do not scale to realistic contexts. SMScom aims at delivering research whose transformation into realistically usable solutions can be convincingly demonstrated. SMScom will produce research prototypes, not products, but all the outcomes must be good enough at sufficiently demonstrating the innovation, soundness, and feasibility of the proposed solutions. Again, we plan to exploit the iterative and incremental approach introduced above to mitigate reality risks. The idea is to carefully plan each iteration by clearly defining goals, requirements, and metrics to evaluate them. Each iteration is supposed to end with the evaluation of obtained results, the identification of further requirements for the next phase, and the identification of corrective actions to keep the project on the track of "realistic" results and solutions.
