Clean Up, Aisle Five

Despite all efforts to avoid it, the boat collided with the iceberg, and the captain and his crew are in deep water. 

You don't have to be a boat captain to understand this sentiment -- most project managers have been in deep water (or close to it) before.  If you are one of the lucky ones who has never been in a situation like this -- to you I offer my compliments, but I also offer this caveat -- according to Murphy’s Law, sooner or later you, like the captain of the Titanic, may have to face the fact that things didn’t go as planned.

All projects are prone to risk. As a project manager, it's your responsibility to be aware of risk and manage it. The risk management theories you've learned, which describe ways to predict and prepare for for traps during your project, are very important and here's why: Although no one wants to admit it, important pieces of a project can easily slip through your fingers faster than you realize. Something that seemed unlikely may still happen and cause damage to your project. For example: Those nice delivery dates you set, they've passed, weeks ago; the budget you allocated has been exceeded halfway through the project; quality specifications have become unrealistic. You get the point.

So, how do you get a grip and avoid letting these pieces slip through the cracks?  These five rules of thumb can help you avoid …