On Time! On Track! On Target! Managing Your Projects Successfully with Microsoft® Project

Chapter Eighteen. Managing Risk

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

— Winston Churchill

Projects are often tied to opportunities, everything from bringing a new product to market to improving your home for more enjoyment or resale. But opportunities invite risks—large and small—and risks can threaten a project’s budget, schedule, and the quality of its results. Some risks are more likely to occur than others, and some risks have a greater effect, in terms of time and money. Risk management is about identifying risks, estimating the effect each risk could have, reducing the chances that risks will happen, and planning actions to take in response if they do. Like cutting costs ...