Solving for Project Risk Management: Understanding the Critical Role of Uncertainty in Project Management

CHAPTER 9

Summary and Conclusion

Reaping the Rewards of Risk Management

Satirical cartoonist Walt Kelly was best known for his syndicated comic strip Pogo, which ran from the early 1940s until the early 1970s. The title character was Pogo Possum. A poster for the first Earth Day in 1970 features Pogo and his friend Porky Pine walking in a forest, the floor of which is covered with litter. This situation leads Pogo to proclaim, “We have met the enemy and he is us!” Like Pogo, projects are their own worst enemy when it comes to risk management.

When everything is going well, people ignore risk. Only after a significant bad event do people regain a fleeting appreciation for it. Between 2000 and 2020, a major event that reminds us of the dragons ...