Monitor Risks 101

What Does Monitor Risks Involve and When Do You Perform It in a Project Life Cycle?

• WHAT Monitor Risks Is. Monitor Risk implies ensuring that the implemented project risk management activities are in accordance with the risk management plan and the information contained within the risk register.
• WHY Monitor Risks Is Important. By constantly going over all the project data, a project manager is able to react quickly either in case of new risk or if a response strategy has to be set in motion.
• WHEN Monitor Risks Is Executed. Monitoring and controlling risks is an ongoing concern that span throughout the entire life of the project and is carried out during the day-to-day work.
• HOW Monitor Risks Operates.

Source: PMBOK® Guide, 6th ed., Chapter 11, section 11.7, p. 453.

Monitor Risks Key Terms

What Are the Key Terms to Fully Understand the Process of Monitoring Risk?

• Reserve Analysis. An analytical technique that takes care of uncertainty by adding extra time – also called buffers or time reserves – to the schedule or extra cost, as either contingency or management reserves.
• Risk Audits. An analysis of the effectiveness of risk response strategies conducted by a third party.
• Risk Reassessment. An ongoing process, led by the project manager and involving the project team, which reviews the information recorded in the risk register to make sure that identified individual risks, their probability and impact, and the prepared risk responses are still current and appropriate. Likewise, risk assessment uncovers any new risk that may have arisen.
• Status Meetings. Meetings scheduled regularly throughout the entire project that focus upon a particular project status metric, such as risk management activities.
• Technical Performance Measurement. A tool that compares the actual performance of the project with the predetermined parameters, to initiate particular risk strategies in case of deviance.
• Trend Analysis. A statistical forecasting technique for identifying any trends and observed data and predicting from this a likely future outcome.
• Variance Analysis. A tool to spot and analyze the differences between what somebody planned to do against what somebody is actually doing.

Monitor Risks Tips

What Are the Best Tips to Answer Correctly the PMP Certification Exam Questions on Monitor Risks Process?

• Assumption Reassessment. Besides the risk register, a project manager needs to review the assumption log. The process of reassessing project assumptions tracks new assumptions, verifies existence and validity of existing factors, and closes assumptions no more true, real, or certain.
• Flow of Work Performance Measurements. Work performance data becomes work performance information, which turns into work performance reports.
• Reallocation of Reserves Not Used. A project manager must return time and cost reserves associated with identified risks that did not occur to the company, rather than use them on other issues arising from the same project.

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