The Risk of not implementing Risk Management in a project

Risk management is a widely used term today. If you think you can manage a project successfully without risk management, you are absolutely wrong! Not implementing risk management is a risk by itself, and implementing a poor one is a higher risk.

In this article, I will highlight the risk of not implementing a proper Risk Management process.

Let’s start from here… Definitely, you have heard about a project that was never completed or has experienced unexpected issues even with the investment of time, effort, and budget. Well, this is an expected result of a "poor" Risk Management process that leads most of the time to project failure.

So, how to incorporate the proper risk management process in your project controls to have an early warning of potential risks? 

First, projects are not equally risky, and your risk management process should be scalable and adaptable to match the degree and types of risk your project may encounter. Unfortunately, some project managers think of risk management as a task that is started and completed as part of project planning. Others consider risk management as the only dominant task in the project implementation, and this is a risk by itself that can lead to overwhelming the team with extra activities.

Second, identifying risk is just the start, where periodically monitoring them is the alert that triggers you and the team to respond to this risk to keep the project under control. Without monitoring your risk systematically, you are putting your project at a higher risk by having a mechanism (risk response) without a starting point. 

Third, losing opportunities. How many times have you heard about "lost opportunities"? Most project managers develop plans to deal with threats, and very few of them plan for opportunities. Project managers should plan to take advantage of these opportunities to empower your business continuity.

Fourth, the risk management process is the essence of the lessons learned activities. Similar projects usually have common risks and share the same characteristics. By sharing the risk findings with other teams in the organization gives the future projects a library of best practices to call on.

The key point is risk management is ONE of the main on-going processes over the entire life of the project. Risks can kill a project’s benefits overnight, or they could be slowly eaten away through inefficient management practices. However, risk management doesn’t have to be complex; When you right-size your processes and have the support of your team, it’s easy to see how a risk management approach fits right into your existing business.

Finally, risk management is an essential element of organizational success. And the secret of implementing successful projects is closely linked with the ability to take risks and correctly manage them and communicate results. Otherwise, your practice became a risk by itself.