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Best Practices from the Group
- The project manager is responsible for reviewing, planning, and managing risks throughout the life of the project
- Start a risk analysis during the early project planning stages
- Once you have a list of potential risks, determine what the probability is of each happening (1-low, 2-medium, 3-high) and how much of an impact to the project will each have if they do happen (1-small, 2-medium, 3-large)
- Carefully review risks that have a medium to high probability and a medium to large impact. Each of these will need a plan that addresses how this risk will be handled if and when it occurs.
- Options for handling risks include
- Accept -- if the risk happens, accept the consequences
- Avoid -- adjust the project plan to avoid the identified risk
- Mitigate -- modify the project to reduce the impact that the risk will have
- Transfer -- shift the responsibility of the risk to another individual or team. This is most often through the use of a contract.
- Risks should be reviewed regularly, typically at the end of project phases or the completion of a milestone
General Discussion Notes
- A risk is a potential event that can have an adverse effect on your project. It can also be looked at as an "issue waiting to happen" or "something that keeps you awake at night" when thinking about your project.
- Training in risk analysis and management is available from a wide variety of educational vendors. Any company that provides project management training will have some risk-based coursework.
Reference Materials
- IS&T PSO's Risk Log
- Risk Management Process from the NGS3 team
- Kepner-Tregoe, a consulting firm that provides public class-room training in problem management and resolution