Identifying Project Risks

Project risks should be documented in the risk register, a list of all of the identified risks, their root causes, categories and responses. Because the assessment of risk is an ongoing activity, the risk register will be updated continuously throughout the life of the project.

All project team members should be encouraged to identify risks and this is an iterative process because new risks may become known as the project progresses. The process of identification should involve the project team so they can develop and maintain a sense of ownership and responsibility for the risks and associated risk response actions.

The risk plan defines the level of risk that is considered tolerable for the project, how all this will be managed, who will be responsible for them, what time and cost is needed for each, and how risk will be communicated. The stakeholder register lists all of the project stakeholders as well as describing and classifying them. This information will be useful in soliciting inputs for identifying risk, as it will ensure that key stakeholders participate in the process.


Other elements of the overall project plan that describe how cost, schedule and quality are to be managed and implemented will have a bearing on project risk, as will information on how project human resources are going to be defined, staffed, managed, and eventually released. The scope of the project in terms of the products to be created and the activities required will be a source of risks.

Any estimates of cost and duration are useful in identifying risk as they provide a quantitative assessment of the likely cost to complete scheduled activities. Reviewing these may indicate that the estimate is insufficient to complete the activity and hence poses a risk to the project. These include, assumptions log, work performance reports, earned value reports, network diagrams, baselines, and other project information proven to be valuable in identifying risks.

Identify Risks: Tools and Techniques

If the project requires buying-in of resources, procurement documents become a key input to this process. The complexity and the level of detail of such documents should be consistent with the value of, and risks associated with, planned procurement.

Laws and regulations governing the creation or use of the projects products need to be taken into account along with the operational environment within which the project is taking place. The views of the project stakeholders and their willingness to accept risk must also be taken into consideration.

Risks can be identified directly by experts with relevant experience of similar projects or business areas. These should be identified by the project manager and invited to consider all aspects of the project and suggest possible risks based on their previous experience and areas of expertise, and there are several techniques that can also be used to identify project risk.

Documentation Reviews
These are structured reviews of all project documentation up to this point in time including plans, assumptions, previous project files, contracts, and other information. The quality of the plans, as well as consistency between those plans and the project requirements and assumptions, can be indicators of risk in the project. Missing, inaccurate or incomplete information may hinder the identification of risks and may itself be a source of risk. You can also use the risk breakdown structure (RBS) developed either from this project or from a previous project to help ensure that all significant risks or categories have been identified.

Assumptions Analysis
Every identified project risk is based on a set of hypotheses, scenarios, or assumptions. Assumptions analysis explores the validity of assumptions as they apply to the project. It identifies risks to the project from the inaccuracy, inconsistency or incompleteness of assumptions.

Fishbone Diagrams
Risk diagramming techniques include cause and effect diagrams, also known as Ishikawa or fishbone diagrams, and are useful for identifying causes of risks.

Flow charts can also be used to show how various elements of a system interrelate, and the mechanism of causation, as can influence diagrams, which show causal influences, time ordering of events, and other relationships among variables and outcomes.

SWOT Analysis
This technique looks at the project from the perspective of its internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities, and threats. SWOT analysis is a useful approach to risk assessment and you can learn more about this technique from our free SWOT Analysis eBook.

Identified risks should be documented in a risk register that consists of the list of all the identified risks, their root causes, categories and responses. This information may be used to update the risk breakdown structure.

Risk Register

Because of risk is an ongoing activity, the risk register will be updated continuously throughout the life of the project and it is a key tool to aid in the management of risks within a project. The risk register ultimately contains the outcomes of the other risk management processes as they are conducted, resulting in an increase in the level and type of information contained in the risk register over time.

You may also be interested in:
Project Risk Management | Creating a Risk Management Plan | Identifying Project Risks | Performing a Risk Analysis | Planning and Controlling Risk Responses.


Key Points

  • The risk register is a list of all of the identified risks, their root causes, categories and responses.
  • All project team members should be encouraged to identify risks and this is an iterative process because new risks may become known as the project progresses.
  • Risks can be identified directly by stakeholders with relevant experience of similar projects or business areas.
  • There are several tools and techniques that can be used to identify project risk including: fishbone diagrams, documentation reviews and SWOT analysis.

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