Sprint resource capacity planning sheet
February 28, 2023
The project risk management plan template excel spreadsheet is helpful for project managers in the identification, analysis, and mitigation of the potential risks.
So, it works as a guide to structure and performs a risk management strategy. Thus, a free risk management plan template excel is vital for creating a good risk management plan.
In this article, you can understand the basics of project management risk plan template XLS and free download the excel templates.
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A project risk management plan template is a document helpful in the implementation of the project risk management process. Also, the process of risk management includes risk assessment and risk mitigation.
A risk is anything that can harm the project quality, performance, or timeline. So, the identification of project potential risks and defining the risk response for mitigation are two important functions of the project risk management plan.
Thus, there are four sections of a risk management plan:
The project risk management plan template classifies the risk identification and analysis under the risk assessment matrix. While the risk response strategy and monitoring is a function of the risk mitigation plan.
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Project managers use a professional matrix for risk assessment during the risk analysis phase. It is a matrix that helps to analyze the potential of risk based on its severity of impact and probability of occurrence.
A 5-point scale is available on each severity and probability axis. Severity ranges from insignificant to catastrophic and probability ranges from rare to almost certain.
Thus, risk managers mark a risk with insignificant severity and rare probability as a low potential risk. While the risk with catastrophic severity and almost certain probability appears as an extreme potential risk.
Thus, its priority of risk-mitigating is set accordingly to avoid any impact on the performance and quality of the project during implementation.
Project managers consider a project with no extreme potential risk and mostly low potential risk as a safe project. While spend must more time in risk management planning of project with 1 or more extreme potential risk.
Risk identification is a creative, iterative, and disciplined process. So, its focus is to determine the potential risks that can realize and affect the project KPIs. Thus, there are several approaches used to find potential risks.
Project team brainstorming sessions are organized and 7W’s approach is implemented to identify the project potential risks.
Finally, the findings of the session are converted to a risk checklist. So, the project risk management team can use the risk checklist to identify risks.
Further, the proper research of the same type of projects is very helpful in the identification of potential risks.
Thus, the experience of project managers, project teams, and other stakeholders is the key to success for this phase of the project risk management process.
Also, a good approach is to focus on the categories to identify risks. So, separate brainstorming sessions with project stakeholders on technical, schedule, financial, environmental, and political categories proves a success to the risk identification phase of the project risk management process.
Furthermore, a risk breakdown structure (RBS) must be created for potential risk categories. So, it helps to figure out details of potential risks associated with the project risk category.
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The project risk management plan template excel is not limited to project risk identification. Also, it’s not enough to just identify the risk and go for mitigation. The most important thing is to find out the criticality of a risk.
It is important to know the probabilities of risk occurrence and possible impact on the project quality, performance, schedule. So, the risk management team performs quantitative and qualitative risk analysis.
This analysis helps to understand the impact and severity of potential risks on the project functions. Thus, risk response and mitigation strategies are implemented accordingly.
Further, the risk managers define a risk score to potential risks keeping in view their probability of occurrence and impact on the project quality, budget, and timeline.
So, the risk response strategy follows the risk score as a risk prioritization factor. Although, there are several approaches and analyses for the risk analysis. The risk assessment matrix is one of the best tools in this regard.
However, the project risk management plan template excel motivates the risk management team to use the 80/20 rule or Pareto principle.
So, those 20% minor risks or vital few that create an 80% impact on the project functions are identified and resolved at priority. While the remaining 80% with 20% impact is pushed down in the priority list.
So, a risk analysis or risk evaluation part of the project risk management plan template Excel XLS focus on understanding the potential risks based on their impact, severity, and likelihood of occurrence.
The risk response planning or risk mitigation is the third and most important part of the project risk mitigation plan template.
Its focus is to develop and devise strategies to reduce the impact and minimize the likelihood of risk occurrence.
The main focus is to make the probability of risk occurrence equivalent to zero. However, it isn’t possible all the time. So, the risk team makes an action plan to minimize the impact of potential risks on the project key performance indexes.
Therefore, the risk response planning focus on implementing the strategies to make sure risk don’t get realize during the project execution phase.
Further, the creation of the project contingency plan is also important. So, if anything goes wrong during project execution. The project contingency plan should be there to help in the dying situation.
Thus, risk mitigation planning and contingency planning are two main functions of the risk response planning part of the project risk management plan template.
Furthermore, risk response planning is also an iterative approach that keeps on working during the project execution stage as well.
So, the project manager’s key focus is to work on a critical few potential risks during the project planning stage.
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There are several risk response strategies. However, the project manager must identify the type of risk. If it’s an opportunity or a threat? So, the risk response is relevant to the nature of risk.
Thus, the project risk management plan template XLS helps to adopt the following threat or negative risk response strategies:
This strategy focus to reduce the likelihood of risk occurrence to zero.
This strategy focuses on minimizing the severity and impact of potential risks if the risk probability can’t be eliminated.
This strategy focuses on transferring risk management and cost of risk to some other party.
This strategy focuses on dealing with the possible consequences of risk realization.
Similarly, the following positive risk or opportunity response strategies are possible to implement using the project risk management plan template google sheets.
This strategy focuses on approaching the top management to take the responsibility of risk. As the lower team does not have the power to take steps and realize the opportunity.
This strategy is opposite to mitigation as the risk management team takes steps to increase the probability of risk occurrence. So, it can be realized.
This strategy focuses on ensuring the realization of risk. So, the steps to make sure the realization of opportunity is taken.
This strategy focuses not on taking any steps to realize the opportunity. So, if it realizes on its own, the project will take its advantage.
This strategy focuses on realizing the opportunity by teaming up with some other party.
Monitoring and control are one of the process groups of project management. It helps to ensure the accurate implementation of the project plan.
Thus, the project risk management plan template excel uses the monitoring and control function to ensure the execution of a risk management plan.
So, the risk management plan is implemented and monitored to ensure the efficiency of risk assessment and mitigation. Further, it’s an ongoing process that continues for the whole project life.
The project risk management plan template is useful for all types of projects. However, the most common risk management and risk mitigation plan templates are:
There is a compelling reason project managers should follow the advice to create a template for risk management plans. For the reasons given below, you should make a template for managing project risks before beginning a major project.
Using a risk management strategy template, you may prevent potential issues from arising without any more work. In addition, by designating one team member as the point person for keeping an eye on each risk, you can rest assured that it will get the attention it deserves.
Before approving a high-impact project, some groups must devise plans to lessen the adverse effects of those initiatives. The impact of high-risk projects on day-to-day operations is thereby mitigated. However, you may derail your project’s approval process if your team doesn’t have risk management strategies ready.
Nothing clarifies your team’s thinking, like a risk management plan template regarding contingency preparations. Even though it’s never fun to tell stakeholders that the project timeline could be impacted, it’s much simpler to calm their nerves if you and your team have already developed a plan for handling such an event. Risk management papers, such as a risk log, a risk assessment matrix, and other project documents, can be easily shared with team members using a collaborative work management platform like Asana.
When things go wrong, it can be difficult to accept responsibility for items that go wrong. But when risk is allocated to a specific person, that person has the additional responsibility of minimizing the impact of the risk in the event it materializes. By doing so, team members may gauge the potential damage of risk and prepare for how to deal with it if it appears. Each team member is responsible for figuring out how to implement the best action plan. They also know which team member to go to if any critical stakeholders have questions about that risk.
The construction projects are plagued with problems. Sometimes even a fine risk management plan of construction projects fails to perform.
Further, the construction project is more vulnerable to potential risks of technical, schedule, cost, people, and environmental categories.
So, a rigid construction project risk management plan template is necessary to implement, monitor, and control the project activities. Moreover, the use of construction risk logs is also common in construction projects.
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There are several types of project risk management plans. However, a basic risk management plan includes the following elements:
In conclusion, the project risk management plan template helps the risk management team to plan, implement, monitor, and control the risk strategies. So, it is useful for risk assessment, risk mitigation, and contingency planning of a project.
The risk management process is the same as explained earlier. You just need to follow a step by step approach to making a rigid risk management plan for your project.
The following are the key steps of the risk management process for any project.
The above steps may seem a little hard to implement but every possible aspect of each step is well explained earlier.
However, the project risk manager shouldn’t leave any stone unturned to avoid the eruption of issues during the implementation stage.
Thus, it is essential to consider technical, financial, environmental, and political domains during the identification of potential risks.
Project managers use a professional matrix for risk assessment during the risk analysis phase. It is a matrix that helps to analyze the potential of risk based on its severity of impact and probability of occurrence.
A 5-point scale is available on each severity and probability axis. Severity ranges from insignificant to catastrophic and probability ranges from rare to almost certain. Thus, risk managers mark a risk with insignificant severity and rare probability as a low potential risk. While the risk with catastrophic severity and almost certain probability appears as an extreme potential risk. Thus, its priority of risk-mitigating is set accordingly to avoid any impact on the performance and quality of the project during implementation.
Project managers consider a project with no extreme potential risk and mostly low potential risk as a safe project. While spend must more time in risk management planning of project with 1 or more extreme potential risk.
Adopting strategies for managing projects’ risks has many less obvious benefits for your firm, too, such as enhanced communication, higher levels of team participation, and greater transparency. Listed below are these and additional advantages:
There are many questions in the FAQ list of project risk management plan template [XLS]. However, the basic ones are:
A risk management plan is a document used by project managers for risk identification, analysis, mitigation, and control of a project.
There are four major phases of the risk management process. Risk Identification, Risk Evaluation, Risk Response Strategy, and Risk Monitoring and Control.
There are five major strategies of positive risk or opportunities management. Escalate, Enhance, Exploit, Accept, and Share.
There are four major strategies of negative risk or threats management. Avoid, Mitigate, Transfer, and Accept.
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