Page 145 - Global Project Management Handbook

RISK IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT 6-13

FIGURE 6.2 IPRA risk matrix.

importance need to be mitigated by the project team. Major project dangers and/or
irregularities should become apparent to the project team as the assessment proceeds,
and this prospective view should prove to be useful in the project’s risk monitoring,
control, and mitigation measures.
The IPRA gives the assessment team a process to gauge the relative importance
of the project’s risk. It should be noted that the relative importance of a specific risk
may change during the life cycle of the project, and therefore, mitigation methods
may need to be adjusted accordingly. Using this guidance, the assessment team
determines the type and level of mitigation for the individual elements. Elements
with high relative importance need to be further addressed.

A risk register can be used to track and ensure that mitigation occurs. The intent of
using the risk register is to systematically identify and track specific high-priority
risks that result from an IPRA assessment. A high-level methodology to identify and
track individual risk issues was undertaken by the research team, and further details
are provided in CII Implementation Resource 181-2 (CII, 2003a).

PHILOSOPHY OF USE

Ideally, the project team conducts an IPRA evaluation at strategic points in the
project. Engaging a neutral facilitator familiar with the process, along with appro-
priate members of the project team, improves the assessment and limits in-house
biases. The facilitator also provides objective feedback to the team and controls the
pace of the assessment meeting. When this arrangement is not feasible, the alterna-
tive approach is to have key individuals evaluate the project separately and then
come together for consensus. Although personal reviews can be biased, using the