Evaluate All Risk Response Options in the Risk Plan

Since risks are generally perceived as bad, it makes sense that the first instinct of a project manager would be to eliminate them. Mitigation is a risk response that tries to minimize the probability of a risk occurring (down to 0 percent, which would eliminate it entirely) or to minimize the impact of the risk on your project (down to zero impact, which would make the risk irrelevant). However, there are a number of other options for responding to a risk, including: Leave it: This option is appropriate if you recognize the risk but don’t have any practical way to deal with it. This is also a good option if the cost of managing the risk is greater than the risk impact on your project. Monitor the risk: This is a good option if the risk event is quite a ways in the future. You may have enough time to monitor the risk to see if it will go away on its own. The project manager can create a risk plan later when the risk event is closer if the probability and impact of the risk are still too high. Avoid the risk: You may be able to isolate and avoid the condition causing the risk. For instance, if there is risk associated with a new model of equipment, you may decide to use the older equipment model. In this case, the entire risk was avoided by changing the nature of the project. Move the risk: In some instances, the responsibility for managing a risk can be removed from the project by assigning the risk to another entity or third party. For example, you may have risk associated with the lack of a key skill in your organization. You may outsource this work to a third party. The risk is still there but it is now the responsibility of the third party.