The 'Pivot' Theory to Practice

How many of us have been in PMO meetings where the topic of risk is discussed, and there is an uncomfortable pause in the room?  I believe that this pause is because we all are relatively adept at identifying risk, but after that identification we are uncertain of how to handle it.  Sometimes the plan is either only partially completed or can be executed only with extreme difficulty.  We tend to have trouble regarding the next steps to accomplish and grasping what it means regarding those risks/opportunities. 

- Who do we talk to about them?

- At what interval do we discuss them?

- Who is responsible?

- How long should we keep them on the register? our risk matrix?...our minds?

A Matter of Perspective

Before we can talk about uncertainty management (risks and opportunities) let's review some definitions and frameworks.

Individual uncertainty in a project or program is "a specific event or condition that might have an effect on project objectives" (Standard for Risk Management, 2009, p.10)

Overall project uncertainty "represents the effect on the project as a whole."  It is "more than just the sum of individual uncertainties on a project, and "represents the exposure of stakeholders to the implications of variations in project outcome(s)"  (Standard for Risk Management, 2009, p.10)

In other words, each individual risk (or opportunity) is an entity for management that combine in a complex fashion to shape the overall uncertainty management framework for the project.  "Framework" is also a key concept.  I've studied and practiced one (or a combination of both) of these in my career.

1.  Project Uncertainty Management Process (PUMP), (Chapman & Ward, 2011)

2.  PMBOK Risk Management Knowledge area

The PUMP framework emphasizes an early identification of risks in the process, but what to do about them is deferred until later.  During identification a tracking interval and series of metrics should be established so trends can be tracked for proper monitoring and impact analysis of risk. 

The PUMP structure follows (Chapman & Ward, 2011).

• Identification phase
  • Search—Using a range of techniques find sources and techniques regarding uncertainty
  • Classify—Aggregation and de-aggregation of the items found in the search portion to provide a structure for management
  • Clarify—Proactive and reactive potential response should be outlined here
  • Consider—Secondary effects responses of uncertainty management
  • Iterate—Identify items for further study and create a risk watch list
• Structure phase
  • Develop the order of sources and responses—provide order from chaos for future resource allocation
  • Characterize interactions—understand the additive and clustering of potential uncertainties
  • Classification refining—after more information is known, realign groups of uncertainties
  • Restructure appropriately—this is an iterative process that continues throughout the project lifecycle
• Clarify Ownership
  • Every element of the PUMP must have a person or team responsible for monitoring/controlling that uncertainty. Otherwise it could get lost in the structure, and remain a passive task that comes back to cause problems in the project (Chapman & Ward, 2011).

The PMBOK risk management (Project Management Institute, 2017) procedure includes the following:

• Plan risk management
  • Align with project charter
  • Identify stakeholders
  • Align resources & register stakeholders
• Identify the risks
  • Uses a variety of inputs from other processes to make a list of risks
• Perform quantitative & qualitative risk analysis of impacts
  • Leverages the risk management plan created in the first step above to mitigate each risk
• Plan responses
  • Updates the project management plan with appropriate risk response
• Control risks
  • An analysis of trends and strategic reserve are evaluated periodically
  • Updates to the project plan are derived

Pivoting from Theory to Practice

Now for the pivot--the flowchart below is a framework that has been working for me.  Note that blue denotes what to KNOW and orange denotes what to DO.

Posted on: January 07, 2019 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)