Running risk workshops for non risk practitioners

Running Project Risk
Workshops for Non-Risk
Practioners i.e. Project
Managers.
Ian Rich
9th May 2017

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 Why/Where?
 When?
 Scope?
 Attendees?
 Time?
 Pre-requisites?
 Objectives?
 Conduct?
 The Morning After?

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Why do Projects need to Manage Risk?
Compliance.
One of the many tools
of your profession.

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 http://www.risk-doctor.com/dh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLAEuVSAlVM

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1. What am I trying to achieve?
2. What might affect me?
3. Which are the important ones?
4. What are we going to do about it?
5. Did it work?
6. What changed?

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1. Get a room – Size, comfort, layout, amenities
2. Book it - sooner not later
3. Refreshments
4. Rules – phones/one at a time speaking/H&S
requirement
5. Privacy – confidential information/open & honest
conversation
6. Equipment -
Projector/screen/PC/Laptop/drawings/photographs,
etc, etc……
7. Admin – you can’t facilitate and type.

Good delivery requires the application of
good PM skills, one of which is RM.
As regularly as needs be throughout the
Project lifecycle.
Suggestion - at the beginning of project
phases as a minimum.
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 Is the workshop intended to cover the whole of project, or part
thereof, or is it intended to focus on a specific aspect?
 Understanding the scope of the intended workshop will define the
attendees list & the conduct of the workshop.
 Is this the first brainstorm or is it a risk review, are you maturing
current information or looking for new?
 Understand and ensure your attendees understand this is a RISK
workshop not an ISSUES workshop – if your project is already
suffering then those issues and their resolution are items for another
discussion separate from this risk workshop.

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1. Who do you need to invite in order to address the intended scope
of the workshop?
2. Only invite those persons who will be able to contribute in a
meaningful way, i.e. they have the knowledge required.
3. There is no minimum or maximum number of people, it’s about the
right people.
4. If key attendees cannot make the date you have proposed change
the date, there will be people who absence will make the workshop
meaningless.
5. Plan well ahead to ensure people can work it into their calendars.

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1. Few people like going to meetings
2. Even fewer like going to an all day workshop – especially a risk
workshop
3. If its on a Monday or Friday consider if attendees need to fly in or
fly out and the constraints this may put on your workshop
programme.
4. Mondays and Fridays are also get started and finish stuff off days
– avoid them!
5. Keep your workshop as short as is reasonable – and if its short
don’t waste time with rabbit holes, and side issues and social
chatter and time wasting – GET FOCUSED
6. Consider splitting the session up if there are multiple topics to be
covered in the same workshop – start with the topic that is most
important

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 Project Risk (and Issues) Register exists and you have control of it.
 Risk Management Plan exists, you have control of it and:
• Risk scoring system agreed and defined.
• Roles and responsibilities defined.
 Know your project, make sure you have read all the appropriate
background information necessary, you’re not there just to facilitate you’re
expected to know stuff too.
 Understand how to fill in the risk register – whether it is up on the screen
or hardcopy. Doing it wrong and having to change it later makes you look
dumb and wastes time and erodes confidence in the value of the
workshop and you as the PM.

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 Know your attendees – when no one is offering up information know who
to prompt. If you get the opportunity to speak to them before the
workshop - discuss the workshop and what you’re aiming to achieve and
why their participation is important (i.e. they are SME).
 Request your attendees to think about key risks well in advance of the
workshop, ask them to email you these, populate the risk register with
what you’re given – this gives you something to start with.
 Consider if there may be dominant personalities – you will need to manage
these people so that you remain in control and other attendees do not
clam up because of intimidation.

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 Issue the risk register with the collected information to date in it
to attendees.
 Ask attendees to bring to the workshop any information pertinent
to the key risks identified in the register they have reviewed and
anything new.

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Identify, or Mature or Review

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Establish the context – defines the scope for the
risk management process and sets the criteria
against which the risks will be assessed.
Risk Identification – the process of finding,
recognising and describing the risks.
Risk Analysis – Process to understand the risk
and determine the level of risk.
Risk Evaluation – comparing risks against risk
criteria to decide the approach to treatment and
prioritisation.
Risk Treatment – The process of modifying the
risk.
Monitor and review – critical examination of the effectiveness of treatment and the
appropriateness of the risk management process itself.
Communication and consultation – two-way sharing of risk information by stakeholders.

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prioritisation.
risk.

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prioritisation.
risk.

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 Ensure common understanding of project & objectives/deliverables.
 Identify key risks.
 Record risks in the Project Risk Register using Plain Language.
 Allocate identified risks to Risk Owners.
 Communicate expectations for risk management moving forward.

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 Ensure ‘continued’ common understanding of project &
objectives/deliverables.
 key risks - discussed and matured.
 Update Project Risk Register.
 Risk Owners still appropriate.
 New stuff?

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 Ensure ‘continued’ common understanding of project &
objectives/deliverables.
 key risks - discussed.
 Update Project Risk Register.
 New stuff (Identify/Mature)?

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 Introductions, inc;
• Attendee introductions;
• Clarity of workshop objectives;
• Clarity of facilitator role and attendees role.
 Project overview – ensure all on same page.
 Focus on key risks & consider those low likelihood/high consequence ones too. (Attendee
consensus when starting from scratch).
 Get Description – Cause – Consequence, in enough detail to mean the same thing to attendees
when they read it later!!!
 Do not get bogged down in one risk, get outline info – do not focus on precision.
 Keep the mood light, relax and help to keep the room relaxed – you’ll get better input if you can
make it as painless as possible and your next workshop with these people will be a better and
more productive experience.

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 Once Description, Cause and Consequence secured – get an Owner allocated.
 This is the person’ best placed to manage the risk’.
 They must take responsibility for the rest of the entry within the risk register.
 Q. Do the recently allocated Risk Owners know how to complete a risk register
– do they know how to complete your risk register?
 Set expectations for what happens next and timescales for action.
 Say lots of thanks you’s at the end, make a fuss about how great it was (as
long as it was at least acceptable) and what an important contribution they
made.

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 Project overview confirmed (any change?) – ensure all on same page.
 Focus on key risks (Low likelihood/high consequence ones?).
 Focus on getting maturity and clarity.
 Get rid of the rubbish!!!
 Anything new?
 You’re the PM, ultimately you take the blame if things go South, you
need to feel confident & comfortable about what ends up being the set
of risks that are going to be focused on moving forward.

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 Project overview confirmed (change?) – ensure all on same
page.
 Focus on key risks – treatment progress.
 Anything new?
 Remember its your reputation on the line, its YOUR Project.

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 Do not delay in following up – people will soon move on to thinking about other
things – act swiftly.
 If you need to follow up with individuals do so ASAP.
 Mature the data captured in the register.
 Issue it out for comment to all attendees – stipulate timescales for comment.
 Incorporate comments and issue out again advising Risk Owners what next, i.e.
• Complete the data for the risks they own - They must take responsibility for the
rest of the entry within the risk register…….
• Risk Owners need to start managing their risks and be prepared to report on them
as defined in …………
• Discuss the risk and the treatments implemented at upcoming risk review meeting,
scheduled for …………

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 Risk Practitioner says NO, why?
 That’s part of my job.
 Practitioner is independent from project has no vested interest and therefore no bias and
no opinion = no skew.
 Has done lots of them.
 When is it appropriate?
 When getting a facilitator is cost prohibitive.
 When lead-in time is an issue and practitioner unavailable.
 When your external PM consultant isn’t very good at facilitation/risk management.
 When the project is small/simple and the project team is small.
 When everyone in the delivery team gets on brilliantly and is one big happy family. 

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