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

Ask the question “What worries you about this project or your piece of the project / what opportunities do you see” to team members?.individually or in a group setting

Pick 3-5 projects that you think are likely to have a big impact for a short project.

These can be expressed as “Given [situation] there’s a possibility?of [event] leading to [impact].”

Prioritize these risks and identify the owner. Then figure out 1) how you can mitigate it if possible and 2) what to do if it happens.

To hold the risk owner accountable for their actions, follow up with them as often as possible (at least weekly in your one on ones).

You can report the status of the continuous risk management process to your project status reviews.

If it was a short-term project, I wouldn’t spend too much time managing risk. While it’s essential, it should be reduced in scope. If the project is too long, this could be done monthly. On a short project, I would consider the PM to be the “risk board” along with the technical lead or sponsor. It all depends on the project’s size and environment. What do you think? What are your thoughts on managing small project risk?

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