Risk identification

Detecting risks is a precondition for managing them. Research shows that many risks known to team members or others involved in a project, remain unknown to the decision makers. This could potentially result in a project disaster.

Talking to people involved in the project is one of the most effective means to discover risks. Reading relevant documents is another one, as some risks are written down in (project) documents within and outside the company.

Risk criteria

Risk detection raises the question of “is something is a risk or not”? A risk fulfills the following conditions:

• occurrence is uncertain: a risk may or may not happen. The chance of occurrence is a number between 0 and 1.
• project objectives are affected: the project goals are at stake if a risk occurs. If the effects on a project are non-existent, there is no risk