Project Management

Thinking Positive about Risk Management

• Traditional Classroom: 1-day
• Virtual Instructor-led: Two 3-3.5 hour sessions; Three 2-hour sessions

Project risk management planning is something that managers of many organizations believe to be important but often fail to actually implement. Implementing a risk management process within an organization or for a specific project is considered by many to be too costly and too time consuming and does not produce the value to justify the effort. Risk is therefore ignored until something unfortunate occurs.

When a risk event occurs the reaction is, in many cases, a series of heroic acts or desperate measures to get the project or the organization back on track. This lack of a risk plan and the risk reaction process is generally very costly, and many of the lessons learned during the recovery are not documented due to the fast pace at which the risk containment team operates.

This course provides a means for developing a strategy that will equip project teams and business managers with tools and techniques to prepare them for a wide variety of potential risks. The goal is to make project teams risk-aware and “contingency prepped.” This is an interactive and hands-on seminar focused on the application of practical tools that can be readily utilized by project teams as well as business managers.

This workshop focuses on the key elements of risk management, why proactive risk management is critical for project success, and how to implement a positive approach to identifying and managing risks. The main focus of the workshop is to provide project leaders with the skills and ability to encourage project team members to view risk management as a positive and important part of project planning. The workshop includes discussion and dialog among participants and introduces techniques for managing risk through hands on exercises, group activities and a unique and highly interactive Project Risk Game. This workshop includes a review of basic risk management terminology as described in the PMBOK^® Guide and provides techniques for practical effective risk management on most projects. Included in the workshop is a review of the relationship of disaster recovery and business continuity to risk management and actions and suggested approaches for enhancing existing plans or initiating a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity (DRBC) effort.

In this course, participants will experience:

• Hands-on exercises that help promote effective risk management
• How to leverage risk management tools and techniques that will improve team performance and reinforce team commitment
• Creative methods for risk identification and prioritization
• Practices and guidelines that create promote innovative thinking

Target Audience

Participants who will benefit from this course include project managers, project sponsors, team leaders, directors, supervisors, and employees at any level who desire to improve their ability to develop a strong risk management strategy and plan and create a positive, proactive attitude about managing and controlling project or organizational risk.

Learning Objectives

• Create the perception that risk management a positive and productive element of project planning.
• Provide risk identification processes that lead to real action.
• Gain experience in risk management techniques though actual application exercises.
• Ensure that teams are constantly and proactively identifying and responding to potential risk events.
• Shift team culture to view risk identification as “Good News.”
• Reinforce proven risk management methods.
• Introduce creative and effective risk management processes.

Key Takeaways

• Practice risk management techniques that can be quickly implemented in the project environment.
• Create a positive team attitude in which risk management is viewed as beneficial and considers the opportunities and consequences associated with risk.
• Discover new techniques for identifying and managing project risks.
• Encourage proactive thinking and forecasting of risk events.

Course Outline

Introduction

• Typical Views of Risk Management
• Risk Management Definition
• Planning for Risk management
• Objectives of the Session
  • Emphasize the Importance of Risk Management
  • Improve Overall Risk Management Effectiveness
  • Introduce Practical Tools and Techniques for Risk Identification and Response
  • Create a Positive and Proactive Attitude for Managing Risk

Round One — Project Risk Game

• Risk Game Debrief

Project Risk Management

• Definition of Risk
• Uncertainty Statements
• Risk Management Terminology
• The Nature of Risk
• The Risk Management Need

Common Issues That Lead to Project Risk

• Exercise in Identifying and Prioritizing Project Risks
• A New Method of Risk Identification

Round Two — Project Risk Game

• Risk Game Debrief

Risk Management — Reality

• Dealing with Resistance
• Stakeholder Management
  • Stakeholder Assessment Exercise
• Tolerance for Risk

Creating a Positive Thinking Team

• Why Projects Fail
• Shifting the Thinking
• Risk Management Processes
• Risk Management Plan
• Risk Analysis
• Identifying And Managing Issues — Exercise
• Team Based Risk Assessment — Exercise
  • Qualitative Analysis
• Risk Response
• Risk Monitoring and Control — Earned Value Management

Round Three — Project Risk Game

Closing

MDI1427 Course Code