How to Create a Project Risk Management Plan

If you're a project manager, one of the things you need to do when developing a project is to create a risk management plan. A project of any size can face risks: financial, physical or even legal. Having a risk management plan in place before the project even begins can help to anticipate these risks and minimize or eliminate them before they can damage the project.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Make a list of the potential risks. Start by making a list of the categories of the project, and then assess each category for risks. For example, you might have a budget category; determine what factors might increase the budget and list them.
2. Determine the high-priority risks. Prioritize the risks: list them in order of their likelihood and how much of an impact on the project that risk will have if it happens.
3. List the actions you must take if a risk occurs. Have plans in place that can reduce the chances of a risk happening as well as actions that can ease the damage of a risk should it occur.
4. Assign tasks to specific people or departments to undertake the planned actions in the event the project runs into one of these risks. Create a timeframe to complete these actions.
5. Create a clearly-defined risk management process that you can implement should the project become at risk. Explain how you can apply the actions and timeframes you created earlier. Make sure all those involved in the project understand the risk management plan, how it's utilized and each person's function in the risk management process.

Tips & Warnings

• Take project risk management courses offered by some management institutes such as the Learning Tree Management Institute.
• Project risk management plan templates are available online.
• Always prioritize the risks involved in each project. Much time and money can be wasted on a risk management plan that concentrates on risks that are unlikely to occur.