What is Risk in Project Management? An Easy Guide

“What is Risk in Project Management”- Project management risk includes unforeseen events impacting goals, deadlines, or budgets. Hence, it comes in various forms, such as technical, financial, environmental, or human factors. Identifying and assessing these risks is a project management fundamental step in the planning process.

Therefore, Risk in project management is the uncertainty that could have a positive or negative effect on a project’s objectives. Hence, through risk identification and mitigation, project managers enhance project success, inform stakeholders, and prepare for potential challenges that may appear.

What is Risk in Project Management?

Risk in project management refers to unexpected occurrences that might have a good or negative influence on projects. It can impact people, procedures, technology, and resources, among other project components.

To identify project management risks, examine these five components:

• Risk occurrence: What potential events could influence your project?
• Risk timing: When is it expected to occur?
• Probability: What’s the likelihood of it happening?
• Impact: What’s the anticipated result?
• Factors: Which events could signal or trigger the risk event?

Types of Risk in Project Management

Common types of risk in project management include:

• Scope Creep
• Financial Risk
• Technical Risk
• Stakeholder Risk
• Scheduled Risk
• Resource Risk
• Quality Risk
• Environmental Risk

S. No.	Types of Risk	Description
1.	Scope Creep	It is expanding project scope beyond the original requirements, leading to delays and increased costs
2.	Financial Risk	Financial risk related to budget and financial limitation, including cost overruns
3.	Technical Risk	This risk is associated with technology and system challenges that may impact the project’s success
4.	Stakeholder Risk	It is related to managing and meeting the needs and expectations of various project stakeholders, including clients, teams, and sponsors
5.	Scheduled Risk	Potential delays in project timelines due to unexpected issues, dependencies, or timeline adjustments
6.	Resource Risk	risks associated with insufficient or inadequate assets such as manpower or equipment, which can result in inefficiency
7.	Quality Risk	Risks related to maintaining specified quality standards during the project lifecycle
8.	Environmental Risk	Risks associated with the project’s impact on the environment and potential legal or regulatory issues related to environmental compliance

How to Identify Project Risk?

To identify what is risk in project management effectively, integrate risk management into your daily operations. 

Encourage project managers and teams to adopt risk-mitigation practices and be forward-thinking in recognizing potential issues.

Prior to commencing a new project, consider about the following:

• Have we faced similar risks in past projects?
• What unique circumstances might arise in this project?
• What’s the likelihood of each circumstance happening?
• How would these circumstances impact the project’s outcome?
• What measures can we take to minimize their impact?

Positive Risk in Project Management

Positive risk, sometimes called an opportunity in project management, is the possibility of beneficial outcomes or events that can raise the success of a project. When properly managed, these risks may result in reduced expenses, enhanced performance, or other positive outcomes.

To gain a better understanding of risk management, explore our PMI-Risk Management Professional Certification, which teaches you how to identify and handle risks efficiently.

6 Steps to Manage Risk in Project Management

The risk management process typically involves six key steps:

Step 1: Risk Identification

This step involves recognizing and listing potential risks that could affect a project, as well as understanding their underlying causes.

Step 2: Risk Assessment

It involves evaluating the probability and potential consequences of each identified risk to determine its overall impact on the project.

Step 3: Risk Prioritization

In this phase, risks are ranked or ordered based on their significance or the magnitude of their impact, allowing for focused attention on the most critical ones.

Step 4: Risk Mitigation

This step develops strategies and plans to reduce, control, or eliminate the identified risks, aiming to minimize their impact or likelihood of occurrence.

Step 5: Risk Monitoring

Continuous observation and assessment of risks throughout the project’s lifecycle to detect any changes, new risks, or shifting conditions.

Step 6: Risk Response

This step involves implementing actions and measures based on the findings from risk assessment, which may include risk avoidance, mitigation, acceptance, or transferring responsibility to others.

Frequently Asked Questions