Project management is more than just managing the work. Your team is also your responsibility.
A resource management plan includes building the skills of your team. Usually, we think of this as the technical skills that they need to deliver the project. For example, taking a course on programming languages or improving their system maintenance skills.
You should also take into account how well they do the work of managing projects. You are responsible for overall project management. But, why not make it easier for your team by helping them understand how to do the job better?
One great example is risk management. It is a structured process that occurs on every project and outside of the project environment too. This skill can be used to enhance your career and broaden skills, regardless of your job title.
Here are some ways project managers can help their teams manage risks effectively so everyone benefits from risk management.
1. Identify project risks
2. Allocate risk owners
3. Analyze the risks
4. Prioritize the risks
5. Identify risk response strategies
6. Create a plan for risk management
7. Keep checking back
1. Identify project risks
Identify the project risks first. This is the first step in project riskmanagement. You’ll then conduct your risk identification activities (probably a workshop) as you would normally do.
It’s a good idea for other people to take over certain sections of the meeting. Technical workstream managers could lead the technical risk discussion by coming up to the front and recording responses on a flipchart.
This will give them experience in facilitation and help them think about how to get risk from a group. It gives everyone a break from hearing your voice.
They may also be involved in other ways to identify project risk, such as:
Documentation reviews
Interviewing
Preparing cause-and-effectdiagrams
Using risk identificationchecklists.
You can log the project risks on a risk diary. You can update it later with the actions you need to manage the risk.
2. Allocate risk owners
It’s sensible for the project manager to assign the owners for each identified risk based on their skills, knowledge, and experience. An inexperienced person might choose owners who aren’t a good match, so you should keep this task to yourself.
You can continue to coach your team by explaining why you chose those individuals to be therisk owners.
Pro Tip: Don’t assume the responsibility of managing everything. It’s impossible to manage every risk. It’s better to have others take on the responsibility. They also get to improve their skills. You win! One of these two positions could be the most skilled. On a low-impact risk, you might make the main owner the one with the least experience. This is the person you are trying upskill. They can be mentored by an experienced risk manager.
It is a better option to have the experienced risk owner overseeing high-impact risks and the inexperienced team member shadowing.
Your risk owner allocation may need to change later because you haven’t done a full analysis. It might be prudent to shift riskownership within the team (or provide additional support) once you have a clear understanding of the risks. This will ensure that the project is not exposed to unnecessary risk.
GroupThink can also be avoided by getting other people involved at this level.
3. Analyze the risks
Analyzing a problem can range from an aqualitative statement to a complete Monte Carlo analysis.