We plan our projects based on tasks that must be done, without so much as a nod of the head toward tasks that might have to be done. Such plans reflect how the effort would proceed if nothing ever went wrong. No wonder we're plagued with time and cost overruns and quality shortfalls. Something always goes wrong. Since projects never run exactly to optimal plan, we also need Risk Management.
Risk Management is project management for adults.
It focuses your attention constructively on the very aspects that, ignored, could lead to project debacle. Strategy A strategy of risk aversion leads us to become more and more efficient and doing things that are less and less worth doing. The projects that deliver real benefit are bound to be full of risk. Instead of running away from risk, we need to school ourselves to run toward it . . . Since high benefit endeavors are always risky, we have to develop ways to discover the lurking risks, estimate their impact, optimize our response, and monitor for change.