6 Project Risks That Can Lead to Sabotage
Risk is a certain fundamental element of every project. No matter how hard you try to avoid it, it will rear its ugly head time and again. The key is looking at the big picture at the outset of a project, however, and identifying these risks up front so you know exactly what steps you have to take to avoid them. There are six key project risks in particular that you need to be aware of at all costs or you could be setting yourself up for sabotage.
6 Project Risks To Watch Out For
1. Resources
When it comes to project management, one sad fate that you should always plan for involves what you’re going to do if certain key resources leave. Even if you think that a particular member of your team isn’t quite as important as everyone else, for example, you should still have a concrete plan in place regarding what you will do if they aren’t around anymore.
2. Strategy
The only thing that is shifting faster than the strategy of a project itself is the strategy of your business as a whole. When setting up a strategy for a particular project, you should always take care to think about what you will do if that strategy suddenly has to change for whatever reason.
3. The Budget
One key point of doing business is the fact that most projects are under severe financial constraints essentially at all times. As a result, you shouldn’t ask yourself “What will I do if my budget is cut?” but “What am I going to do when my budget changes?” at the outset of a project to avoid deep issues later on.
4. The Scope
Regardless of the type of project you’re running, you will likely have to deal with a change at some point. The issue is that unconsidered scope changes will have a huge impact on the success of your project, so you should try to plan for all eventualities up front.
5. Quality
When you’re focused on so many other things like productivity, budget and even scope, it can be easy to forget one simple fact: if you miss project quality targets, you’re in serious trouble. As a result, you need to always be carrying out regular testing, establishing plans in case quality targets are missed and review and revise these plans on a regular basis to help stay ahead of the curve.
6. The Weather
Finally, think about the way the weather could potentially impact your project at the worst possible moment. What happens if you have a massive snow storm on delivery day? What happens if a torrential downpour screws up your supply chain? These are all important questions that demand answers sooner rather than later.
Risk isn’t something that you’ll be able to get away from. The key is to understand exactly what you’re facing before it actually arrives. By taking a look at the bigger picture and breaking down the six project risks that lead to sabotage in every project, you’ll put yourself in a position for bigger successes than ever.
Key Takeaways:
- One of the risks that applies to every type of project has to do with resources leaving.
- Changing a strategy is great – when it happens unexpectedly, however, it could lead to sabotage.
- Regardless of how well you try to plan, your budget will always be in flux before, during and even after a project.
Risk isn’t something that you’ll be able to get away from. The key is to understand exactly what you’re facing before it actually arrives. By taking a look at the bigger picture and breaking down the six project risks that lead to sabotage in every project, you’ll put yourself in a position for bigger successes than ever.