The Risk Management Process in Project Management

The Risk Management Process in Project Management

Project risk management is the process of identifying, analyzing and responding to any risk that arises over the life cycle of a project to help the project remain on track and meet its goal. It should be part of the planning process to figure out the risk that might happen in the project and how to control it if it does. Strategies can help identify and track risks, and if they become realities, they become classified as "issues" that must be addressed with a risk response plan. Risk management is the process of identifying, categorizing, prioritizing and planning for risks before they become issues. It is important to start with a clear and precise definition of what your project has been tasked to deliver, write a project charter, engage your team early in identifying any and all risks, and get more than just your team involved to identify and prioritize risks.

To better plot project risk, get the entire project team, client's representatives, and vendors into a room together and do a risk identification session. With every risk, log it somewhere and create a risk management plan to capture the negative and positive impacts of the project and what actions you will take to deal with them. Transparency is critical.