Preparing for the Exam with PMBOK Guide—Fifth Edition (Part 10): Risk Management

Following 20 years at a large Canadian telecommunications firm, Bruce established the project management consulting firm Solutions Management Inc (SMI). Since 1999, he has provided contract project/program management services, been a source for project management support personnel and created/delivered courses to over 7,000 participants in Canada, the United States and England.

  Career Development   Risk Management   Using PMI Standards  

Feedback from PMP exam writers often reflects their surprise regarding the number of questions they faced related to risk management (and quality). My interpretation is: 1) The Project Management Institute knows proper risk management is not deployed on projects as frequently as it should be, and therefore pokes at that vulnerability; and 2) anything we do that is uncomfortable feels as if there is a lot of it (think in terms of cleaning or paying bills).

Continuing my theme of relating PMP exam preparation to raising personal fitness levels, I’ll provide a simple example. The Toronto marathon will take place every year. The best runners don’t just focus on the grueling pre-race training--they think about how to prepare for what could go wrong, they think about ways to avoid problems and take advantage of opportunities, they analyze the impact of the event happening and then they take action to try to prevent the negatives events from happening. As the race proceeds, some risks pass and new events arise. Without even thinking about it, a solid athlete follows project risk management. By doing so, they increase the chance of their “four-hour project” success significantly.

As with most knowledge areas, the first process is simply “plan.” Plan Risk Management is about preparing to engage in full risk management. It ensures [as stated on …

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