Project risks can be very detrimental to your company, irrespective of the size of the risk. Even a simple risk can put your company out of business if not handled well. On the other hand, when you minimize risks in your projects, everyone in your company wins and the rewards can significantly propel your company forward, especially if large or important projects are successful. It is therefore imperative to analyze your projects on time in order to come up with ways to deal with the risks – or at least to minimize them – before it is too late. The core question that is often raised by many project managers is how to achieve this. Here are a few tips:
1. Identify the Risk
Basically, every project risk is a choice between many options or several paths. There may be issues at the executive level which appear to require more strategic choices; issues at the departmental levels which require resources to be sorted out; or issues at the project development stage which require material, design, and technology to solve. These might be very challenging, especially if they are minor issues which may be assumed.
However, to effectively minimize the risks associated with such issues, it is important to identify the risks so that you are aware of every choice that you need to sort every issue. This will also give you an opportunity to understand the decision that you want to make for each choice, as well as its intent and purpose.
2. Have an “Insurance Plan”
One of the vital yet often ignored ways to minimize project risks is to have a plan of the actions to take if risks occur in the course of a project. This should not be confused with any discussion on plans that nobody remembers after a meeting – it should be a solid fleshing out of some of the most probable outcomes and forethoughts on the actions to take in case of project risks.
3. Prioritize Implementation
Many project managers fear going down alternative paths, especially after investing a tremendous amount of resources into a project. When it comes to hitting an alternative implementation button, the decision feels very raw, personal, and may look like a failure. However, to minimize risks that can result from such situations, it is important to prioritize your implementation strategy to regain the momentum in your project development team. Sometimes, it even calls for abandoning a new vendor or promising technology in favor of a stable, simpler, proven, and less risky path that would enable the project to move forward.
4. Quantify the Impact of Probable Risks
Another vital way to minimize project risks is to quantify the impact of every issue. Impact can be quantified by determining the time, expense, and opportunity that is associated with every issue that arises in the course of project development. Quantifying the impact of every issue may in turn require a fresh “insurance plan” or alternative implementation details. This will significantly help in maintaining evolving strategies and will go a long way in helping minimize project risks.
Generally, project risks can be minimized with some simple strategies. Therefore, choosing the right strategies removes the fear of failure and fosters the confidence that your project will be successful in the face of any setback.
