Risk Management for Small Projects. I know that I have neglected to manage small/simple projects in the past. However, the need for risk management becomes evident when managing large/complex projects. This topic was the subject of a recent discussion in pmStudent.e-Learning. I’ll share some of my thoughts and welcome your comments. Scaling it down photo by Soggydan Dan Bennett via flickr. My basic principle when managing small projects is to scale back the critical project management processes to fit the environment, not eliminate the need. Although I didn’t feel this way in the beginning, my perspective changed after managing larger projects. I see the value of thinking about even the smallest projects in an organized way. Sometimes, distinct activities can be combined on smaller projects. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that this is not optimal. Respecting the boundaries between discrete projects management processes is key to clarity and thought. This helps you get better results and preserves the integrity of your process. Intuition: The simpler a project is, the easier it will be to intuitively grasp the risks involved. If your project is two weeks long, you will need to think about the risks when planning the project. Because it is a short time frame, you will probably be quite proficient at it if your team has done similar projects before. How valid is our “gut feeling” in identifying and assessing risk? The longer a project takes, the more involved it becomes. Continuous risk management is essential for a long-term project. This will ensure that you identify and assess all risks throughout the project’s life cycle. Even if a project is only for a month, it is possible to only do this activity once or twice. It’s not going be a 2-hour discussion. It should be a 5-minute conversation. Steps to manage risk in small projects