HKSM

The process of carrying out approved actions to address identified threats and opportunities. It assigns owners, secures resources, integrates risk actions into project work, and tracks outcomes so risks are reduced or benefits are realized.

Purpose & When to Use

This process turns your risk plans into action. The goal is to reduce the likelihood or impact of threats and to increase the likelihood or impact of opportunities. Use it after risk responses are approved and anytime a risk trigger occurs or new risks are found.

• Execute agreed responses for prioritized risks to protect objectives and capture upside.
• Activate contingency or fallback actions when triggers are met or when a response underperforms.
• Keep the risk register current, closing risks, re-planning, or escalating as needed.
• Apply continuously throughout delivery, during iterations, phase gates, and after significant changes.

Mini Flow (How It’s Done)

• Confirm response details from the risk register: owner, actions, timing, success criteria, and trigger conditions.
• Integrate actions into the schedule or backlog, assign resources, and secure the required contingency budget.
• Communicate responsibilities to owners and stakeholders, clarifying decision authority and escalation paths.
• Execute the selected strategy: avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept (for threats); exploit, enhance, share, accept (for opportunities).
• Monitor triggers and leading indicators; when activated, implement contingency plans, and if needed, fallback plans.
• Capture actual results and costs; update the risk register, issue log (if a risk becomes an issue), and lessons learned.
• Report status in routine meetings; raise change requests if baselines, reserves, or contracts must be adjusted.
• Review response effectiveness through risk reviews or audits and refine future actions.

Quality & Acceptance Checklist

• Each risk has a named owner, clear action steps, start/finish dates, and measurable success criteria.
• Risk actions are in the schedule or backlog with assigned resources and approved contingency funds.
• Triggers, contingency plans, and fallback plans are documented and monitored.
• Contract, insurance, or partnering arrangements are in place for transfer or share strategies.
• Changes to scope, cost, or schedule go through the change control process when required.
• Communication to affected stakeholders is timely, targeted, and recorded.
• Work performance data, status updates, and closure notes are captured in the risk register.
• Lessons learned and updated risk responses are fed back into ongoing risk reviews.

Common Mistakes & Exam Traps

• Starting responses without approval or funding; proper authorization and access to reserves are required.
• Assigning a response to “the team” instead of a single accountable owner.
• Confusing strategies: mitigation and transfer are for threats; enhance and share are for opportunities.
• Using management reserve for known risks; use contingency reserve for known risks and request change for management reserve access.
• Failing to integrate actions into the schedule or backlog, leaving responses as “intent only.”
• Ignoring triggers or not activating fallback when contingency fails.
• Escalating risks that are within the project manager’s authority; escalate only when beyond scope or control.
• Not updating the risk register after execution, leading to stale data and repeated issues.

PMP Example Question

A key threat’s trigger just occurred, but the risk owner says the response cannot start because funds have not been released. What should the project manager do first?

1. Start the work using management reserve and inform the sponsor later.
2. Submit a change request to release the approved contingency and update the schedule.
3. Escalate the risk to the steering committee immediately.
4. Mark the risk as an issue and stop the related project work.

Correct Answer: B — Submit a change request to release the approved contingency and update the schedule.

Explanation: Implementing responses requires authorized funding and integrated planning. Use the change process to access contingency and align the schedule before execution.