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The Risk Register is a table that tracks the project risk management activities.
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Quick reference
Risk Register
The Risk Register is a table that tracks the project risk management activities.
When to use
The Risk Register is used whenever you are conducting any aspect of project risk management. The Risk Register documents the results of the activities that have occurred and normally tracks the status of risk response implementation.
Instructions
The Risk Register is a table that tracks the risk management activities on a project. It is normally created using a spreadsheet application such as Excel although there are several commercially available applications. When using Excel, I maintain two worksheets. One worksheet is the open, or unresolved, risks. When a risk resolution has been implemented and verified, I move that risk to a second worksheet of resolved risks. At the end of the project, all risks are resolved. The “open risk” worksheet is empty and the “resolved risk” worksheet is a record of all the risks and what was done. This is ready to be placed in the project archives and used for discussion during the Lessons Learned session.
Risk Register column headings
The exact names for column headings vary widely among organizations. There is no required format, if your organization has a template – use it.
Typically the column heading can be separated into three categories. The first category is the headings that describe the risk. There is often a risk number assigned to each risk. In addition, there is usually a column that is the risk name or description. I also like to include the task or phase in which the risk will impact the project.
The second category of columns is the analysis columns. These will often have a column for probability and another one for impact. These columns may be descriptive in nature (high, medium, low) or numeric values for probability or cost and schedule impact. These are often combined into a risk ranking or priority. I also include a column for urgency in the analysis section to help prioritize the risk response development activities.
The final category of columns addresses the risk response. They normally include a column for a description of the response, the status of the implementation, and possibly a trigger if the need for risk response implementation is uncertain.
Additional columns are often used based upon the procedures or preferences of the organization or stakeholders.
Definition
Risk Register: “A repository in which outputs of risk management processes are recorded.” PMBOK® Guide
This definition is taken from the Glossary of the Project Management Institute, A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, (PMBOK® Guide) – Sixth Edition, Project Management Institute, Inc., 2017.
Login to download- 00:04 Hi I'm Ray Shane.
- 00:05 I'd like to talk to you now about a great tool to help with project risk management.
- 00:09 That's the risk register.
- 00:11 >> The project management body of knowledge, the PIMBOK guide,
- 00:15 defines a risk register as a repository in which the outputs of risk management
- 00:20 processes are recorded.
- 00:21 The risk register is used to organize the steps for project risk management.
- 00:26 It's often in the form of a spreadsheet or database.
- 00:29 If using a spreadsheet,
- 00:30 each column represents a step in the project risk management process.
- 00:34 Every organization has a slightly different risk management methodology, so
- 00:39 use columns that align with your approach.
- 00:42 Typically there will be several columns associated with describing the risk,
- 00:46 several columns associated with analyzing each risk and several columns associated
- 00:51 with responding to the risk, with a risk response implementation plan and status.
- 00:56 Since the risk register guides us through the project risk management process,
- 01:00 let's review the steps of the process.
- 01:03 First, you must identify risk factors on the project, risks to scope,
- 01:08 schedule and resources, both positive opportunities and
- 01:12 negative risk threats, both product risk and project risk.
- 01:16 The second step is to analyze and prioritize these factors.
- 01:20 This must be done for the specific project at hand.
- 01:24 A risk may be high impact on one project and
- 01:26 the exact same risk turn out to be irrelevant on another project.
- 01:31 We discussed how to do this in another lesson.
- 01:34 If the risk is significant, the next step is to create risk response plans.
- 01:38 Again, other lessons discuss the different strategies for
- 01:42 risk response to both positive and negative risk.
- 01:45 Finally, the project team must actually implement risk response plans in order to
- 01:50 avoid the negative risk and take advantage of the positive risks.
- 01:54 I've been in project reviews on several occasions where project leader has
- 01:58 described a project risk that was now creating a problem on their project.
- 02:03 And in the course of the description they state, and
- 02:06 we knew this was going to happen.
- 02:08 I'll admit this makes me angry.
- 02:09 They identified the risk.
- 02:12 They analyzed it to the point where they knew it was going to happen,
- 02:15 but they did nothing about it.
- 02:17 And now they act like they are a victim of something outside their control.
- 02:21 They're not a victim, they're an incompetent project leader.
- 02:24 It is their job to manage risk, and that includes doing something about it.
- 02:30 So what does the typical risk register look like?
- 02:33 This isn't an example I pulled from my files.
- 02:35 The first three columns are all associated with risk identification.
- 02:39 There's a risk number and a risk description.
- 02:42 Also, I like the approach of identifying what part of the project is impacted by
- 02:46 the risk.
- 02:47 Notice risks two, three and
- 02:49 four are the same risk that is occurring at three different times in the project.
- 02:53 They also have three different risk responses.
- 02:56 The next three columns are analysis of the risk in the project.
- 03:00 First, there is the impact and then an assessment of the priority or
- 03:04 urgency of the impact.
- 03:05 A common technique for priority is to use the red, yellow, green stop lights.
- 03:10 I'm finding more and more risk registers include the urgency column.
- 03:14 This is especially useful for iterative and
- 03:16 incremental project life cycles like Agile Scrum.
- 03:19 Some risks cannot be adequately addressed until a later time or
- 03:23 sprint in the project.
- 03:25 The final three columns are associated with the risk response and implementation.
- 03:29 We have the response plan, and if needed a trigger for when to implement it,
- 03:34 finally, the current status of the implementation or the trigger.
- 03:38 Another use of the risk register is a project documentation tool.
- 03:42 Once a risk is resolved, I remove it from this list by just cutting that line and
- 03:47 pasting it into another sheet in my spreadsheet that is titled resolved risks.
- 03:53 By the end of the project, all the risks are resolved, and I have a record of both
- 03:58 what risks we faced on the project and what we did about them.
- 04:01 This is then reviewed in the project post mortem or lessons learned session.
- 04:05 The risk register is a living document during the project.
- 04:09 I recommend reviewing it regularly at project meetings, both for
- 04:13 updating on the implementation plan status and to add newly identified risks.
- 04:17 When I'm managing a small project that only has a few people and is focused on
- 04:22 just one or two major deliverables, I only use two or three project management tools,
- 04:28 a project schedule, a WBS dictionary or a task list and a risk register.
- 04:33 That's all that you need.
- 04:35 >> Whether on a small project or a large project, a predictive project or
- 04:40 an adaptive project, a risk register is an essential part of day to day
- 04:44 project management and communication.
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