Have you ever given a serious thought about the importance of project risk management? Do you think that risk identification, analysis and assessment are important for project management?

I believe you will answer the above questions in affirmative. Before I share my opinion about significance of risk management, let me tell you a small story.

Proper Risk Identification, Analysis, And Assessment In Corporate Projects

Morpheus was the most experienced project manager of Zion Corporation. In past, he had successfully completed many technically challenging projects. Customers love him for his strong analytical skills.

In the recent years, Zion has sustained heavy losses due to poor risk management. They hired a new CFO named Lock to turn the corner. Lock was a micro-manager and looked at everything from financial standpoint. This had given him lot of success in the past.

To turn Zion around, Lock initiated a novel project of developing a complex new game system called Matrix. He assigned Morpheus as the lead project manager. He also assigned senior analysts Neo and Trinity to assist Morpheus.

Morpheus enjoyed a good working relationship with Neo and Trinity. They had worked together on many projects in the past. But Lock was a new commodity. Morpheus soon realized that it was very difficult to work with him. Lock had little understanding of the game development and always wanted to talk about finances.

As a diligent project manager, risk management was on top of Morpheus’ mind. He was ably supported by both Neo and Trinity in identifying, analyzing, and resolving risks. But Lock did not appreciate their efforts. On the contrary he was very critical.

Lock would say risk management is a complete waste of time. He thought that professionals should stick to their jobs and solve real problems. They should spend more time of execution and overcome the problems as they come.
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