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Project Management Orientation

What Is a Risk Management Plan?

In the risk management plan, you document the risks you have identified, the response plans for each of those risks, and the actions required.  This document changes during the project as risks change, as you execute the response plans, and as conditions change.

As the project manager, you should look at this document regularly to determine whether any new risks should be added or old risks removed.  You should also determine whether any of the response plans require change.

Your risk management plan is one of the key documents that a project reviewer checks for content and for evidence of updated activity.


Completing a Risk Management Plan

Various pieces of information exist for each risk event.  In addition, a variety of formats are used to create the risk management plan.  The following page shows a completed risk management plan in table form.  To fill out this simple example, you would list the risks in the following columns:

You should use the more comprehensive plan format that WPMM provides.  This plan is available at the WWPMM Web site.

  • Rank. Enter the priority rating for the risks in this column.  The most severe risk (that is, the risk that poses the greatest danger to the project) is ranked number 1.
  • RIN. To help track the risks, assign each risk a risk identification number (RIN).  As the project proceeds and new risks are identified, the priority ratings change but the RIN number remains the same.
  • Source of Risk. Enter when and where the risk was identified.
  • Risk Event. Provide a description of the risk in this column.
  • Response Strategies. Use this column to document the response strategies that you have defined to reduce the severity of the risk to the project.  After completing the column, consider whether these strategies could be used together or if they are mutually exclusive.

  • 1: Getting Started
    2: Define the Project Team
    3: Team Management
    4: Identify and Validate Requirements
    5: Create Decomposition Structures
    6: Risk Management
    7: Project Estimates
    8: Project Schedules
    9: Change Management
    10: Project Control and Execution
    Defining the Project
    11: Project Management Review
    12: Project Closeout
    13: Project Management Tool Suite
    14: Self-Assessment and Final Exam
    Fast Points
    Concepts
    Seven Keys
    Case Study
    WWPMM
    Mentor
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