Decluttering your Risk Register

It's common to hear grumbles about overly detailed Risk Registers. These documents, designed to log potential project threats, often become cluttered with every imaginable problem, many of which are routinely handled by standard project operations. The unintended consequence? An unwieldy, cumbersome register overflowing with potential mishaps that are part and parcel of the expected project journey. 

At its core, every risk embodies three fundamental qualities:

  • It occurs in the future.

  • It is uncertain.

  • Its impact will be significant if realized.

It's crucial to acknowledge that while certain project events may exhibit these characteristics, their routine occurrence in similar projects equips us with standard procedures to address them. 

For instance, consider a software development project. Routine risks encountered in such a project include coding errors, hardware compatibility issues, and poor performance. Though these challenges embody the three core qualities of risk (future occurrence, uncertainty, and consequential impact), years of experience in similar projects have equipped us with standard methods to address them. These aren't unexpected hurdles but rather anticipated parts of the journey.  

Does including such routine risks in the Risk Register add any value? Typically not. The risks themselves simply get recorded and closed off as everyday project activities take care of them. Meanwhile, real project threats are in danger of being neglected, lost in the clutter caused by these "routine risks." 

Risk Registers should only contain those risks that lie outside the boundaries of our standard procedures—those unexpected threats or opportunities that may blindside us. The Risk Manager, responsible for overseeing the risk process, plays a pivotal role here. This gatekeeper holds the key to the Risk Register, discerning which proposed risks warrant inclusion. An in-depth understanding of both risk management and the local context will empower them to effectively filter out routine risks, freeing up resources to record the real challenges and opportunities facing our projects and organizations.

Risk Register by ProjectBalm is a proven tool that helps you record and manage your risks.

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Can We Afford to Manage Risk?

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The Power of Futures Thinking