10 Deadly Risks in Project Management

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226346Running a project is a serious business and anyone who tells you otherwise is building you up for a fall in the long run. However, as long as you are aware of the main risks involved in the work then you stand a much better chance of making it through to completion without any serious problems.

An Incomplete Project PlanDrawing up the project plan is one of those tasks which some people love and others hate. If you are in the latter group then there is a chance that you decide to try and brush past this task as quickly as possible. This is a deadly risk because you cant expect to meet all of your milestones if you dont know exactly what they are.

Not Having the Team on BoardThere are some very good reasons for making sure that your project team is on your side and working away at full capacity during the piece of work. First of all, it is highly unlikely that you will be able to do all of the work on your own. Even relatively minor projects have phases in which a lot of man hours need to be put into them. You also need to think about the atmosphere in your office and the image you give off to outsiders.

Not Getting the Stakeholders InvolvedThis is possibly an even more deadly risk than the previous one. The stakeholders are the people who need to sign off your project and you dont want to leave them sitting on the outside looking in.

Losing Sight of the ObjectivesWhen the project is long and complicated it can be easy to forget what the main purpose of it was in the first place. In this sort of situation you can end up spending far too much time on irrelevant matters without getting down to the business at hand.

Overworking the Project ManagerAs a project manager you will know that a lot of responsibility rests on your shoulders. This means that you will be working hard throughout the duration of the project. However, what it doesnt mean is that you need to do everything on your own. If you take on too much work then your efficiency is probably going to suffer. Delegation is the way forward if you want to maintain your high levels and have a life outside of work as well.

Repeating MistakesAs every new project you take on is likely to be different from the last one it is possible that you dont realize just how much can be learned from past mistakes. We all make mistakes but one of the keys to being a top project manager is learning from them and avoiding making them all over again on different projects.

An Out of Control BudgetControlling the project budget is another one of those tasks which appeals more to some project managers than to others. However, if you dont take the time to keep this firmly under control then there is a good chance that you will end up with problems.

Not Considering the RisksWhat we are looking at here are deadly risks, which are the common risks which can affect any type of project at any time. Next we need to think about the project specific risks which need to be understood and addressed. If you dont take care of these on an ongoing basis then one of them could ruin all of your good work. Every project has risks so if you cant think of any for your piece of work then you need to sit again and carry on thinking.

Scope CreepThis is one of the deadly sins of project management which you will hear a lot about. Scope creep occurs when the original scope of the project is gradually increased. If it happens then it can end up making the entire project unworkable. It is something you need to avoid at all costs by sticking to the original scope and ensuring that any proposed changes are thoroughly analyzed before being accepted.

Lack of SkillsYour team needs to have a good balance of project skills, people skills and knowledge of the business processes you are dealing with. This isnt usually very easy to achieve and if you dont get the right skills then the project will become an uphill battle from the very beginning. It is worth taking time at the start to fully consider how well balanced the team really is.

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