What do puppies and projects have in common?
Like puppies, project risk assessments are for life
We all know ‘a puppy’s not just for Christmas’. It’s a long-term responsibility. Yet the sad reality is that people need an ad campaign to tell them this.
What’s that got to do with managing risk on complex projects, you ask?
Project risk assessment is often treated as a box-ticking exercise. Good teams will attempt to identify and quantify threats and devise mitigation activities. Too often, though, it’s a one-off event, conducted because the system demands it.
When the focus shifts to getting things done, the risk register is quickly set aside. Just like the unwanted puppy.
But risk profiles change. One-off assessments can’t identify all risks in advance. The initial appraisal is just the start of an activity that should run for the project’s duration.
Identifying threats and opportunities takes time and energy. And mitigation isn’t free. But the potential impacts dwarf the costs. Herein lies the responsibility.
Fortunately, baking risk maturity into your project strategy is far less costly than making the whole organisation resilient. ‘Project resilience’ beats ‘organisational resilience’.
But risk profiles change. One-off assessments can’t identify all risks in advance. The initial appraisal is just the start of an activity that should run for the project’s duration.
In the US, January is ‘National Train Your Dog’ month for obvious reasons. Ask us for an assessment and prevent your project from going to the dogs.