Learning Activity 11-14: Managing Project Risk

GOALS

The goal of this activity is to provide hands-on experience in identifying, quantifying, prioritizing, and developing strategies to manage risk.

MATERIALS

• Handout 11-5: Project Case Study (already distributed)

• Training Instrument 12-7: Risk Identification Worksheet

• Training Instrument 12-8: Risk Priority Worksheet

• PowerPoint slides 9-61 through 9-63

• flipchart paper.

TIME

• approximately 30 minutes

INSTRUCTIONS

Indicate that this will be a combination of individual and team effort. Distribute copies of Training Instrument 12-7: Risk Identification Worksheet and Training Instrument 12-8: Risk Priority Worksheet.

Slides 9-61 and 9-62 provide guidelines for listing, scoring, and prioritizing risks. Display slide 9-63 as reference. The instructions on the slide say:

• Individually identify and jot down four possible risk scenarios this project might face. (Try to generate more if possible, but each individual should have more than one risk identified to add to the pool of risks brainstormed at the table.)

• Share these within your group, and create a Risk Priority Worksheet of your pooled risks. (Let each group have a few minutes to share the items they came up with. Then they should use Training Instrument 12-8 to enter the risks they ‚ ve identified.)

• Score the risks. (If necessary, you can refer them to the example on slide 9-62.)

• For the top two, brainstorm at least one mitigation and one contingency. (The top two will have the highest scores. They can indicate how they might prevent the risk from occurring as well as what they would do if the risk occurred.)

• Use the Risk Identification Worksheet as a guide, but you do not need to complete one for this exercise.

Once the teams have completed the activity to this point, have each team put its top two risks on a flipchart page, along with their mitigation and contingency.

Have each team present their findings and similarities and differences. Ask for some additional risks that were identified in the process. Remind everyone that even the lower-priority risks should be maintained and periodically re-examined as the project progresses.