Risk Doesn't Have to Be Scary

Janis is an award-winning journalist and editor who has covered many industries beyond project management, including health care, financial services, higher education and retail sales.

  ProjectsAtWork  

The word 'risk' can conjure up strong emotions in project managers. But pair 'risk' with 'management' and you've got a rational process for dealing with the unknown.

Risk management. What reaction do you have to the phrase? If you're like a lot of project managers, you might feel compelled to turn the page. But wait. Risk management isn't as unappealing and intimidating as you might think. It's not all about statistical goop such as probabilities and variances. It's really more about applying lessons learned and planning ahead.

Project managers who swear by the process say misconceptions keep many from employing the techniques. They estimate that more than half and perhaps as few as one quarter of projects embrace risk management.

"Risk management is one of, if not the most, poorly practiced disciplines in project management," says Charles Bosler, chairman of Project Management Institute's Risk Management Specific Interest Group (www.risksig.com).

Project managers say risk management can pay big dividends in terms of completing your project on time, on budget and with maximum quality. And who wouldn't want to do that?

Consider, for example, the value risk management provided to Rick Raymond. His project: Stop nuclear waste from overflowing its storage tank …

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