What are the most common risk management roles for project managers?

Think of a risk manager as the weather forecaster for a hiking trip. They have tools, like a meteorologist does, that show potential challenges (risks) that the team might face on their journey.They can use these tools, like "risk dashboards", to predict challenges, much like a forecaster uses instruments for upcoming storms. If a challenge appears, they quickly discuss plans with the team. Maybe it's finding a different path or getting new tools. They may also run "Risk Training Camps," like mock drills, to prepare for real challenges. This training ensures the team is always ready for surprises. Through all this, the risk manager's goal is guiding the team safely to its destination.

As organizations rely more heavily on innovations in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, and machine learning, the nature and focus of many professions will begin to shift. A risk Manager analyses the risk of any given project however the perspective on this is changing as technology continues to evolve. However, the core foundation of a risk manager still remains the same, analyzing risk, and putting notes or standard policies in place to mitigate those risks.

Discussing risk management, it is helpful to distinguish between internal projects and Project Business. An internal project is a cost center. The team and its target stakeholders are in the same organization. Uncertainties stem from its temporary and unique nature. Risk management addresses risks inside the project, but also unwanted impacts of a project on the organization. In Project Business, a project is a profit center for one or more contractors that work for a paying customer. Project Business is high-risk business for all parties involved. In addition to the ever-present project risk, risk managers must also address business risk (e.g. a party‘s insolvency) and legal risk, as disputes may require final remedy at a court of law.

Let’s say our team plans an offsite camping trip and we decide to rent a big bus. What all risks can happen? Just few examples below: 1: Flat tire 2: Bad Weather 3: Ticks/Mosquitoes Bites 4: High Traffic Risk manager is a person who will work with the team to identify those risks, prioritize those risks and come up with a planned response so that when those risks actually happen, we know what needs to be done so that we all can enjoy our camping trip as planned.

A skilled risk manager not only uses tools to forecast risk, but also helps develop them! One of the keys to risk management success is the ability to identify acceptable risk and then to mitigate unacceptable risk. The serenity to accept that not all risk should or can be mitigated is paramount. A risk manager’s job is not complete with mere risk identification. There must be a plan in place to mitigate identified risk, continuously confirm successful mitigation and new risk identification, as well as corrective action plans for the same.

In my experience, risk analysts help their organizations in a variety of ways, including compliance, strategic planning, business continuity, and disaster preparedness. Individuals in these roles help maintain operations during disruptions, all while identifying vulnerabilities and preparing for unforeseen events, ensuring enterprise resilience.

Premortem analysis: Unlike risk analysis, in which project team members are asked what might go wrong, the premortem operates on the assumption that the “patient” has died, and so asks what did go wrong. The team members’ task is to generate plausible reasons for the project’s failure. Premortem has two main advantages: * Overcomes the groupthink that affects many teams once a decision appears to have been made. * Unleashes the imagination of knowledgeable individuals in a much-needed direction. Premortem is not a panacea and does not provide complete protection against nasty surprises, but it goes some way toward reducing the damage of plans that are subject to WYSIATI (what you see is all there is) biases and uncritical optimism.

Do meu ponto de vista, o gerente de risco deve se comprometer com cenário e o domínio do layout estrutural. Ter método que garanta especificidade dos sub sistemas e revisão sistêmica dos procedimentos adotados. Sob tudo ter clareza e comprometimento nos treinamentos de equipe e da interdependência de resultados

A risk analyst in project management is someone who identifies and evaluates the potential threats and uncertainties that may affect a project's objectives, such as scope, time, cost, and quality. They also propose and implement strategies to prevent or mitigate these risks and monitor their status throughout the project life cycle. A risk analyst in project management uses various tools and techniques, such as risk registers, risk matrices, risk exposure formulas, and qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, to assess the likelihood and impact of project risks. Collaborates with project stakeholders, such as sponsors, managers, team members, etc, to communicate and report on the identified risks, their status, and contingency plans.

Before doing risk assessment, PM will have already obtained a list of risks from previous project experiences. These will be assessed and discussed at the beginning of the project as a way to identify some common risks. This will also give an insight to the staff with any possible risks. Many methods are used for identifying risks, the Crawford Slip method is very common and effective. Each risk point identified and discussed should be classified in a complete sentence which states the cause of the risk, and the effect that the risk has on the project.

Risk specialists play a crucial role in risk management, focusing on specific risk types or project phases. They identify, document, and analyze risks, aiding in the implementation and evaluation of risk responses. Their expertise ensures comprehensive risk management, making them invaluable contributors to project success.

A risk specialist should be curious about every factor that can have impact on the prospective and function , when you assess all the parameters then you can sort and give value to risks . So it can give a decent vie and hand to a project management

In my experience in Africa, a risk specialist who is involved in Engineering and Infrastructure projects plays a crucial role in managing potential risks and ensuring the successful completion of such projects. An example of this would be a risk specialist who focuses on technical risks, such as construction delays or equipment malfunctions, during the execution phase of a project. By identifying and documenting these risks, conducting research and analysis on their sources and impacts, and providing feedback and recommendations, the risk specialist helps to minimize the negative consequences of these risks and improve overall project performance.

Considering the project manager’s responsibility for delivering a successful project that meets the defined objectives and satisfies the stakeholders’ expectations, it is essential to be actively engaged in all aspects of the risk management process, while also monitoring and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of this process. The project manager should also promote senior management support for risk-related activities, and proactively escalate identified risks that are either beyond the project manager’s authority, outside the scope of the project objectives, or require action from outside the project, thus these risks are shifted to a higher level of the organization where they are managed more effectively.

Project manager is one of the toughest managerial roles considering you own no specific function and have to make all functions work in collaboration towards achieving a common objective. The responsibility is not limited to meeting the deadlines, it includes an end to end life cycle of designing, implementing and making the project a reality with the need of the highest level of engagement from all possible functions that any organisation can have.

The Project Manager plays a critical role in ensuring that risks are identified, assessed, and managed via mitigation techniques to increase the likelihood of project success while minimising the impact of potential issues and uncertainties. Effective risk management contributes to better decision-making and the successful completion of the project.

This is the most challenging role in a project and most satisfying too. The PM needs to wear multiple hats during the project, to ensure that the project is well designed, appropriately sourced, well executed with quality, delivered to client exceeding expectations - while trying to keep the schedule and cost variances to the minimum. As team leader, he needs to motivate the team members to deliver their best to meet the project requirements; also not to hesitate to bring in additional or external resources when the internal resources are inadequate. All the pains and sacrifices in terms of long work hours will vanish when the project is successfully delivered and become fully operational, giving the satisfaction that of a mother.

In my experience, completing a project on time and within budget is a fundamental aspect of Project Manager(PM). PMs play a vital role in the project's ability to identify and address risks. When unforeseen situations crop up in a project. A proactive project managers quickly respond to these issues, minimising their effects and ensures the project continues on schedule. Since these factors might have a big impact on the project's success, it's important to account for potential slippage due to unanticipated project delays. To properly handle risks outside the purview of the PM, I would add that, it's critical to have a well-defined risk management plan in place from the project's inception, with clear escalation procedures.

A project team member needs to proactively identify risks throughout the project, with the aim of either avoiding or minimizing the impacts of negative risks (threats) or triggering or maximizing the impacts of positive risks (opportunities), by planning and implementing a set of possible response strategies should these risks occur. The PMBOK® Guide – Seventh Edition outlines five alternative strategies for managing each of the two types of risks: threats and opportunities. The strategies for dealing with threats encompass Avoidance, Escalation, Transfer, Mitigation, and Acceptance. In contrast, the strategies for dealing with opportunities include Exploitation, Escalation, Sharing, Enhancement, and Acceptance.

A project team member is a functional specialist - not to be a project generalist. So, the focus should be to collate the data and information from them on the risks associated with his speciality, ways to manage the same and devise a plan to implement the same. On consolidating the inputs and recommendations from various project team members, the project engineers and project manager are to work to assign the criticality for the overall project objectives. On finalising the risk assement and risk management plan, the same needs to be explained to project team members - especially highlighting the areas and reasons for assigning lower criticality for the specific risks when compared to the one recommended by team member.

In my Experience in the realm of project management, the spotlight often shines on the project manager, but behind every successful project, there is a team of dedicated individuals who make it all happen. Project team members are the unsung heroes, putting their skills, expertise, and teamwork to the test. They collaborate, execute, and adapt, ensuring the project's success. These individuals bring life to the project plan and turn vision into reality. Let's celebrate the invaluable contributions of project team members in making projects thrive. #ProjectManagement #Teamwork #ProjectSuccess

A project team member actively engages in risk management activities, including identification, analysis, and response planning. They are responsible for implementing and reporting on risk responses and must remain vigilant about potential risks and their impacts on the project. Clear communication and prompt reporting of any changes or issues affecting project risks are essential. By supporting the project manager and risk manager, project team members contribute significantly to achieving project objectives and ensuring its overall success.

If you are a team member, I have some great advice: 1- place your energy to work to the same level as your expectations 2- don’t wait to be promoted to start doing your best. Act now!!! 3- exercising both steps above, people around you will start noticing you in a new level of professionalism 4- don’t follow leaders, it is a big mistake. Instead, follow the best characteristics of different ones. Leaders are not perfect and you don’t want to follow their bad side!

One of the most important part of risk management is to have the risks bubble up as early as possible, all the way from the execution level. This will only be possible with a high level of trust and a safe environment created within the team. Thus a project manager's role is also to ensure that this safe environment exists.

Mitigating project risks is essential for Project Managers, involving systematic steps. Firstly, a detailed risk management plan is created, outlining procedures, tolerance thresholds, tools, categorization, and stakeholder roles. Next, potential risks are documented in a risk register, including causes, likelihood, and impacts. Qualitative and quantitative analyses prioritize and score risks, guiding decision-making. Response plans are developed within tolerance thresholds, enhancing opportunities and mitigating threats, embedded in the project strategy. Continuous monitoring and timely actions ensure threats are minimized, preserving project objectives and maximizing opportunities, aligning with business goals.

Stakeholder Engagement: Project managers should engage stakeholders to identify and evaluate risks, and help risk owners develop risk response plans.

Project Mangers, Team members, Risk Managers, Analysts and Specialists all have to collaborate together. Working in silos thinking my work does not affect the other person just does not work to have a successful project

Risk Owner, the person responsible for particular risk, they should monitor the trigger as potential risk will happen. Then they should implement the Risk Response Plan based on agreements on the Risk Register