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Risk Analysis Was Limited In Depth - Project Management Mistake # 8

August 31, 2008 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: Risk Management, Risk Quantification & Analysis

Risk Analysis Was Limited In Depth - Project Management Mistake # 8 (#8 in the series 15 Deadly Project Management Mistakes Government Agencies Make Which Cost Them Revenue, Time & Efficiency)
By Keith Mathis - PM Expert Live

Project risk must be examined and planned for in order to prevent untimely delays. Project teams fail to discuss the risk of a project many times due to the thought that it is focusing on negativity. Conducting a risk analysis on a project is needed to help build a solid contingency plan to prevent the project from running across delays which could cost large chunks of time and money.

The lack of a risk analysis seems to come about due to many projects never examining the performance, risk, or implementation of previous projects and compare those results this one. This means that the project team is not learning from past performance and has to make the same mistakes themselves. When discussing a risk analysis, one should be examining two issues. What can go wrong in the project? What is the impact if it does go wrong? The following will examine both of these issues.

No discussion on what can go wrong

Project planning should be filled with a detailed examination of what can go wrong in each phase of the project. This means engaging your team to think outside of the box and in terms of what has the highest possibility of malfunctioning. In many cases, individuals on your project team who are more negative in nature can assist in creating this list the fastest.

Do not think this is just a time to be negative about the project. This is a time to spend looking at those areas that have the highest potential for failure, while building and planning time for preventative measures to keep that from happening. Unless a project team is willing to discuss these issues, they will constantly run from crisis to crisis or be exposed to planning on the run.

Crisis plan was left out

Crisis planning is very important once a project team has examined risk. This means that the project team has itemized each risk and has provided a detailed way of solving or reducing the risk from taking place. You will notice on many projects that there is a detailed crisis plan for those areas which have a severe amount of devastation if it goes wrong. An example of this would be the nuclear power plants that have thought through every possibility and have made provisions for either solving the crisis or reducing its effect. Some project teams feel that this is not necessary since their project is not as critical as previously discussed.

Making this change is extremely hard in many cultures since project teams often plan on the run. To do this correctly the project team must spend time and effort thinking through each critical point of the project in determining the risk, its criticalness, and ways to reduce its effect.

Dr. Keith Mathis, founder and CEO of The Mathis Group, specializes in Project Management, Management Leadership, and Marketing training for private businesses and government agencies of all kinds. He offers 33 Project Management courses, is a Project Management Professional, is certified by the Project Management Institute and will customize every training session to your individual company’s needs. The Mathis Group also sponsors www.pmexpertlive.com, which is a powerful project management resource with free reports, podcasts, videos, and a monthly newsletter. He also offers customized management training and coaching on any subject with prolific communication and professionalism.

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