HKSM

Ongoing oversight to track risk conditions and response actions, spot new risks, verify effectiveness, and keep stakeholders informed through updates, issues, and change control.

Purpose & When to Use

Monitor Risks keeps risk information current and actionable. It confirms that planned responses are carried out, checks whether they work, identifies new or changing risks, and triggers issue and change management when needed.

• Use throughout the project, starting after planning and continuing at a set cadence or when major changes occur.
• Support proactive decisions on reserves, scope, schedule, cost, and quality based on risk trends and triggers.
• Provide clear visibility to stakeholders through updated logs, reports, and lessons learned.

Mini Flow (How It’s Done)

• Prepare: Review the risk management approach, thresholds, latest risk register, response plans, baselines, and performance data.
• Hold risk reviews: Check early warning indicators and triggers, confirm risk owners have acted, and verify response implementation status.
• Assess effectiveness: Reevaluate probability, impact, and trends; compare actuals vs. expected outcomes; perform reserve analysis and trend/variance checks.
• Decide actions: Continue, adjust, or close responses; identify and log residual and secondary risks; escalate risks beyond project authority.
• Record and communicate: Update the risk register and dashboards; move realized risks to the issue log; submit change requests when baselines or plans must change; share updates with stakeholders.
• Repeat at cadence: Schedule the next review and maintain watchlists for low-priority risks.

Quality & Acceptance Checklist

• Risk register updated with current status, dates, triggers, owners, and next review dates.
• Evidence that planned responses were implemented or formally deferred with rationale.
• Measured effectiveness recorded, including metrics and trend observations.
• New, residual, and secondary risks captured with preliminary analysis and ownership.
• Realized risks transferred to the issue log with actions, due dates, and assignees.
• Appropriate change requests raised for needed plan or baseline adjustments.
• Contingency and management reserve usage tracked and forecasts updated.
• Escalated risks documented with recipients and outcomes.
• Stakeholder communications sent per the communications approach.
• Lessons learned for risks and responses captured and shared.

Common Mistakes & Exam Traps

• Confusing monitoring with implementing responses. Implementing executes the plan; monitoring tracks results and decides adjustments.
• Treating a realized risk as a “risk.” Once it occurs, manage it as an issue and consider change control if plans must change.
• Ignoring opportunities. Monitor both threats and opportunities and act on upside triggers.
• Failing to define or track triggers and early indicators, leading to late reactions.
• Not engaging risk owners or following up on assigned actions.
• Changing scope, schedule, or cost without integrated change control.
• Closing risks too early without evidence that the response worked, or missing secondary risks created by the response.
• Overreacting to low-priority watchlist items and creating churn instead of following thresholds and cadence.

PMP Example Question

Midway through a project, a threat’s response was implemented, but recent performance data still shows delays tied to that risk. The risk owner says the plan is in place. What should the project manager do next?

1. Close the risk since the response has been implemented.
2. Immediately submit a change request to add more schedule buffer.
3. Conduct a risk review to evaluate response effectiveness, update the risk register, and decide adjustments or new actions.
4. Escalate to the sponsor and replace the supplier at once.

Correct Answer: C — Conduct a risk review to evaluate response effectiveness, update the risk register, and decide adjustments or new actions.

Explanation: Monitoring verifies whether responses work and updates records. Changes or escalation should follow analysis and the change process, not occur automatically.