Risk Response Planning

Guide to Risk Response Planning in PMI-RMP

Why Risk Response Planning is Important

Risk Response Planning is a critical component of project risk management that determines the actions needed to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to project objectives. Its importance lies in:

1. Providing structured approaches to handle identified risks
2. Improving project outcomes by addressing risks proactively
3. Increasing project success rates through deliberate risk handling
4. Optimizing resource allocation for risk management
5. Building stakeholder confidence through demonstrated preparedness

What is Risk Response Planning?

Risk Response Planning is the process of developing options and actions to enhance opportunities and reduce threats to project objectives. It follows risk identification and assessment, focusing on prioritizing risks and determining appropriate response strategies.

Key components include:

- Response strategy selection for each risk
- Development of specific action plans
- Resource allocation for implementing responses
- Assignment of risk owners responsible for implementation
- Timeline development for response implementation
- Documentation of contingency and fallback plans

How Risk Response Planning Works

For Negative Risks (Threats):

1. Avoid: Eliminate the threat by eliminating the cause (changing project plan, clarifying requirements, etc.)
2. Transfer: Shift impact and ownership to a third party (insurance, warranties, contracts)
3. Mitigate: Reduce probability and/or impact to acceptable threshold
4. Accept: Acknowledge the risk but take no proactive action (passive or active with contingency reserves)

For Positive Risks (Opportunities):

1. Exploit: Ensure the opportunity is realized (assign better resources, changing scope to align with opportunity)
2. Share: Allocate ownership to a third party best able to capture the opportunity
3. Enhance: Increase probability and/or impact of the opportunity
4. Accept: Take advantage if it occurs but not pursuing actively

Implementation Process:

1. Review prioritized risks from risk assessment
2. Select appropriate strategies for each risk
3. Develop specific action plans with clear steps
4. Assign ownership and resources
5. Establish timeline and triggers
6. Document in the risk register
7. Incorporate into project plan
8. Communicate with stakeholders

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Risk Response Planning

1. Know the response strategies cold - Be able to distinguish between strategies for threats (Avoid, Transfer, Mitigate, Accept) and opportunities (Exploit, Share, Enhance, Accept)

2. Understand contextual application - Questions often present scenarios where you must select the BEST response strategy based on context

3. Remember secondary risks - Be prepared for questions about risks that emerge as a result of implementing a response strategy

4. Focus on ownership and responsibility - Know who typically owns risks and who is responsible for different aspects of response planning

5. Consider the timing - Response planning occurs after assessment but before implementation; understand the sequence

6. Connect to other knowledge areas - Risk responses often impact schedule, cost, scope, and quality

7. Watch for scenario clues - Time constraints, budget limitations, and stakeholder preferences often hint at the preferred strategy

8. Remember reserves - Understand the difference between contingency reserves (for "known unknowns") and management reserves (for "unknown unknowns")

9. Practice applying multiple strategies - Some risks require a combination of response approaches

10. Focus on documentation - Know what belongs in the risk register regarding response plans

When answering exam questions, read carefully to identify if they're asking about threat or opportunity responses, and pay attention to subtleties that might make one strategy more appropriate than another in the given context.