introduction
The process of Implementing Risk Responses is the process of planning and implementing actions and plans in response to project risks.
The purpose of this process is to ensure that each of the identified risks on the Risk Register has appropriate actions or plans to mitigate or avoid a risk before it happens or to provide a response when a risk occurs and turns into a project issue.
Concepts
The Risk Response Process is used throughout the project lifecycle from the time that the risks are first identified and reviewed regularly to include new risks and also ensure that the response to existing risks remains relevant.
Deciding on a response to a risk utilises several project management techniques including input from experts in the risk topic, project team members and lessons learnt from previous projects. In some cases, a valid risk response could be to ignore or defer the response if it isn’t a significant risk to the project.
Responses can also be proactive and deal with the risk now, undertaking some activities to prevent or minimise the impact of it. In other cases, a risk response plan will only be executed as and when the risk materialises on the project. For some risks, there may be more than one risk response.
The results of the Risk Response Process should be documented in the project Risk Register. Depending on the response plan, Change Requests can be issued and updates to the project plan are made to reflect the Risk Response activities.
process inputs - techniques - outputs
Inputs
- Project Management Plan
- Project Documents
- Organizational Process Assets
Tools and Techniques
- Expert Judgement
- Interpersonal and Team Skills
- Project Management Informational System (PMIS)
Outputs
- Change Requests
- Project Documents Updates
process inputs
Implement Risk Responses: Inputs
Project Management Plan
- The particular component of the project management plan that is an input is, of course, the risk management plan. This should list the roles and responsibilities of project team members and other stakeholders who are involved in implementing risk responses.
- The risk management plan also specifies the risk thresholds for the project, which define the acceptable target that the implementation of risk responses is supposed to achieve.
Project Documents
- Lessons learned register–lessons learned during this process of implementing risk responses will be put into the register so that they can be applied in later phases of the project.
- Risk register–the risk register will contain the agreed-upon risk response strategy for the overall project, as well as for major individual project risks.
- Risk report–this contains an assessment of the current overall project risk exposure as well as the agreed-upon risk strategy, as well as for major individual project risks.
Organizational Process Assets
- The lessons learned repository from similar completed projects can be used to indicate the effectiveness of particular risk responses.
process - techniques
Implement Risk Responses: Tools and Techniques
Expert Judgment
- You should consider expertise from individuals who have specialized knowledge in how to carry out the risk responses in an efficient (doing things right) and effective (doing the right things) manner. Hopefully you will have already chosen that person as the risk owner.
Interpersonal and Team Skills
- Since you cannot as a project manager be everywhere on a project, that is why you assign risk owners to the various risks. You need to use your influencing skill to encourage risk owners to take the necessary actions needed, and you may need to facilitate the risk process. This is really no different than the influencing skill you need for people to get the underlying work done on the project for the process 4.3 Direct and Manage Project Work
Project Management Information System (PMIS)
- This is the computer software program, like Microsoft Project, used to monitor the schedule, cost and resources on a project. In the case of this process, it is to ensure that the risk response plans and their associated activities that have been agreed upon are integrated into the project alongside the other activities.
process - outputs
Change Requests
- If a risk response is implemented because the underlying risk has been triggered and it is a contingent risk response (meaning that it is only implemented if the risk occurs),
- then a change request may need to be done to update the cost and schedule baselines of the project management plan in order to account for the additional cost and/or expense.
- The scope management plan, particular the Work Breakdown Structure, may also have to be amended to account for the additional activities required in the risk response.
Project Document Updates
- Issue log–if issues are uncovered in the implementation of risk responses, then these issues are recorded in the issue log.
- Lessons learned register–if challenges are encountered when implementing risk responses, then information is added to the lessons learned register on how to avoid those challenges or on approaches that worked well when confronting them.
- Project team assignments–the resources associated with the risk response are allocated, including the personnel required to implement them.
- Risk register–if there are any changes to the risk responses made in the course of implementing them, these changes are recorded in the risk register used by the project team.
- Risk report–if there are any changes to the risk responses made in the course of implementing them, these changes are recorded in the risk report that is send to stakeholders.
