Risk Management

Risks must be analysed and managed throughout the life of  the project.

 

Risk analysis is not a one-off ‘tick in the box’ exercise and should form part of the complete management process. A clear understanding of the risks and mitigating actions are vital to the project’s success. An escalation route for identified risks should be communicated to all the project team and risk reviews should be a standard item on Project Board agendas.

 

Project Managers and board members do not have the monopoly on identifying risks. Consultation with service providers and users of the product or service will provide a different perspective and may reveal more. The Project Board and Sponsor should not let the project continue until they are satisfied that proper risk analysis has been carried out.

 

At this stage you should take an opportunity before the submission of the Full Business Case to update the risk log. New risks may have emerged, not just within the project but also within the wider programme.

 

As stated above, Risk Analysis is not a one off exercise. Should your project successfully pass Review 3 you will be actively delivering the project. It is easy, when you are busy carrying out your daily project management tasks, to forget to keep the Risk Log up to date and add new risks. However, you should make time to do so as it will remind you of the threats to your project so that you can stay mindful of them in your activities.

 

The next section introduces a place where you can store valuable lessons that you have learned during the delivery of your project; The Lessons Learned Log.