The skillful project manager will use risk management to raise awareness of conditions that could cause the project to go down the tubes. Consider a project that begins with a fuzzy product vision and no customer involvement. The astute project manager will spot this situation as posing potential risks and will document them in the risk list. Early in the project’s life, the impact of this situation might not be too severe. However, if time passes and the lack of product vision and customer involvement are not improved, the risk exposure will steadily rise.

By reviewing the risk list periodically, the project manager can adjust the estimated probability and/or impact of these risks. The project manager can escalate risks that aren’t being controlled to the attention of senior managers or other stakeholders. They can then either stimulate corrective actions or else make a conscious business decision to proceed in spite of the risks. In this way we’re keeping our eyes open and making informed decisions, even if we can’t control every threat the project faces.