Plan Risk Responses
Plan Risk Responses is the process of developing options, selecting strategies, and agreeing on actions to address overall project risk exposure and to treat individual project risks.
Explanation
Plan Risk Responses takes prioritized risks from the risk register and determines the most appropriate response strategy for each. For threats, the strategies are avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept, and escalate. For opportunities, the strategies are exploit, enhance, share, accept, and escalate.
Effective risk responses must be appropriate to the severity of the risk, cost-effective relative to the risk exposure, realistic within the project context, agreed upon by relevant stakeholders, owned by a responsible person (risk owner), and timely. The response should reduce the overall threat exposure or increase the opportunity exposure.
The process also addresses overall project risk through strategies such as restructuring the project, adjusting scope or schedule, or communicating the overall risk position to stakeholders. Outputs include updates to the risk register (with response strategies, owners, triggers, contingency and fallback plans), updates to the project management plan, and change requests when responses require changes to baselines.
Key Points
- •Selects strategies for threats (avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept, escalate) and opportunities (exploit, enhance, share, accept, escalate)
- •Each risk response must have an assigned risk owner
- •Responses must be cost-effective, timely, and agreed upon by stakeholders
- •May generate change requests when responses affect baselines
Exam Tip
Every risk response needs a risk owner. On the exam, if a question asks what is missing from a risk response, check whether an owner has been assigned.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Topics
Risk Response Strategies for Threats
Risk response strategies for threats are the five approaches available to address negative risks: avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept, and escalate. Each strategy aims to reduce the probability, impact, or exposure of a threat.
Risk Response Strategies for Opportunities
Risk response strategies for opportunities are the five approaches used to address positive risks: exploit, enhance, share, accept, and escalate. Each strategy aims to increase the probability, impact, or both of a beneficial risk event.
Implement Risk Responses
Implement Risk Responses is the process of executing the agreed-upon risk response plans. It ensures that risk responses are carried out as planned, with the goal of minimizing threats and maximizing opportunities.
Risk Register
The risk register is a project document that records the details of individual project risks, including their identification, analysis results, response plans, and current status.
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