A new installment of Dr. David Hillson’s “Managing Risk in Projects” series has been published at PM World Today this month. In this article, Dr. Hillson focuses on the problems that can arise to hinder effective project risk management. He groups these into 3 categories: problems with process, problems with people and problems with persistence. In the first situation, project risks that are identified are not always addressed. If no action is taken, then the exercise was in vain.

Regarding problems with people, Dr. Hillson writes, “Risk is managed by people, not by machines, computers, robots, processes or techniques. As a result we need to recognise the influence of human psychology on the risk process, particularly in the way risk attitudes affect judgement and behaviour. There are many sources of bias, both outward and hidden, affecting individuals and groups, and these need to be understood and managed proactively where possible.”

Finally, problems with persistence includes the fact that risk management “must be an iterative process, requiring ongoing commitment and action from the project team. Without such persistence, project risk exposure will get out of control, the project risk process will become ineffective and the project will have increasing difficulty in reaching its goals.”