Risk Doctor Columns

David Hillson writes a regular Risk Doctor Column for Project Manager Today Magazine (ISSN 1366-6851) presenting insights, tips and guidance for those interested in applying risk management effectively to their projects. You can read or download these columns from this page.

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Column title	Date/page	File size	Summary	Click
"Training: Necessary but not sufficient"	July/August 2010 page 31-32	307 KB	Many organisations expect training to produce competent staff. But training is only a small part of the solution. The PEAKS competence model provides a broad framework for developing competence in a range of roles, including managing risk.
"Eyjafjallajökul - A personal view"	June 2010 page 14	133 KB	The recent Icelandic volcano eruption raised questions about whether the official response was appropriate. This was an example of the precautionary principle in action - what can we learn to help us manage our daily risks?
"Managing future DANGER"	April 2010 page 30	330 KB	Risk management offers a forward-looking radar to scan to future and help us get ready for what it might bring. This article suggests six reasons why the future might be particularly risky.
"The two faces of risk management"	Jan/Feb 2010 page 29	144 KB	The New Year is a time for reviewing the past and considering the future. Risk management should also look back to learn lessons from the past, and look forward to get ready for the future.
"Staying SAFE at sea - and in projects"	November 2009 page 20	107 KB	A recent safety campaign promoting safety at sea for young sailors provides inspiration and insights for projects. Discover four simple steps for ensuring that your project stays afloat and reaches harbour safely.
"Risk management 20 years on"	October 2009 page 30	135 KB	Much has changed in the world of risk management since the Risk Doctor started his first Risk Register in 1985. This article looks back over the past two decades and discovers that some things have changed - and some have not!
"Weight management for risk-takers"	September 2009 page 24	98 KB	This article uses the analogy of risk obesity to discuss ways of dealing with taking on too much risk without suffering from the equivalent of eating disorders. Find your ideal risk-weight!
"Don't make the same misteak twice"	August 2009 page 47	344 KB	We all want to do better, and businesses aspire to become "learning organisations". Despite this it seems that the same risks appear repeatedly in Risk Registers. Why do we not learn from our past experience? This article explores the reasons and presents a simple checklist to help us learn from the past to benefit the future.
"Problems with probability"	July 2009 page 29	162 KB	Discover the four reasons why risk practitioners, management and project teams experience repeated difficulty in assessing the probability that a given risk might occur, and explore possible solutions. In particular the limitations of natural language are outlined. It is very likely that you will learn something new from this article!
"Swine flu and risk perception"	June 2009 page 18	119 KB	Ten factors affecting public perception of risk are outlined, explaining why we may be over-reacting to the current swine flu outbreak. Surprisingly, most of these factors are not purely rational - and they also affect our businesses and projects. Understanding them should help us to respond more appropriately to the real risks we face.
"Risk management isn't hard"	May 2009 page 25	109 KB	It's a mistake to label risk management as "hard", for two reasons. Firstly because risk management is easy - it's just structured common sense. And secondly because risk management involves the use of soft skills alongside hard techniques.
"Innovative risk management"	April 2009 page 10	99 KB	Some people think that risk management hinders innovation because it stops people trying things that are new and potentially risky. This column explains the misconceptions behind this view and shows how proper risk management is truly innovative.
"Better safe than sorry?"	March 2009 page 10	104 KB	The precautionary principle encourages us to prepare for the worst. This leads to over-reactions and unnecessary levels of contingency, and can lead risk management into disrepute. This column proposes antidotes to the precautionary principle to help us take the right risks safely.
"What is your biggest risk?"	February 2009 page 20	186 KB	The Probability-Impact Matrix (PIM) is the most common technique to decide which are the biggest risks. This article discusses the problem with relying solely on the PIM, and suggests some alternative approaches to sizing and prioritising risks.
"Happy Risky New Year!"	January 2009 page 30	150 KB	Many current definitions of "risk" include both threat and opportunity. Some people don't understand this, and so they are resistant to putting it into practice. This column describes three main reasons why risk should include opportunity alongside threat, and why the risk process should seek to manage both opportunities and threats proactively.
"Risk management and Maslow"	December 2008 page 10	153 KB	Most people agree that risk management is "A Good Thing", but it is still widely practised with a lack of enthusiasm and commitment. This paper uses Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of needs" to explain how to motivate people and organisations to treat risk management more seriously.
"Learning from counter-terrorism"	November 2008 page 18	120 KB	CONTEST is the UK Government's counter-terrorism strategy, describing what is being done to address this major challenge. This column explains how project managers can take a similar structured approach to dealing with project threats.
"Lessons from the UK National Risk Register"	October 2008 page 20	105 KB	The UK Government recently published their first National Risk Register, explaining what could cause a catastrophe in the UK and what they are doing about it. What can we learn from this ground-breaking document?
"Boom, bust and risk management"	September 2008 page 14	112 KB	In difficult times, should we treat risk management as an avoidable cost, or as part of the solution?
"Managing the future"	July 2008 page 18	240 KB	How to tell the difference between Possible Futures, Probable Futures, and Preferable Futures; and the role of risk management in getting to the right one!
"What drives risk attitudes?"	June 2008 page 26	98 KB	The "triple strand" of conscious, subconscious and affective factors are described, explaining why individuals and groups choose to respond in a particular way to risk.
"Proving the value of managing risk"	April 2008 page 22	98 KB	How can we demonstrate that our efforts to deal with uncertainty are working?
"Maturity - good or bad?"	March 2008 page 14	193 KB	Everyone assumes maturity is "A Good Thing", but perhaps not. Maybe we should be like Brigitte Bardot or Madonna?
"Assume nothing, challenge everything!"	February 2008 page 35	110 KB	Using Assumptions & Constraints Analysis to identify risks.
"Risky Resolutions"	January 2008 page 12	118 KB	Four New Year’s resolutions to improve your management of risk.
"Unknown-Unknowns and Risk"	December 2007 page 22	137 KB	From that infamous Rumsfeld quote to practical guidelines – how to deal with what you don’t know.
"To quant or not to quant"	November 2007 page 30	114 KB	Explores the problems, prerequisites and benefits of using quantitative risk analysis.
"The three tenses of risk identification"	October 2007 page 18	133 KB	Exploring three types of risk identification techniques: reviewing the past, assessing the present, and predicting the future.
"Exploring patterns of risk exposure"	September 2007 pages 28-30	201 KB	Using hierarchical frameworks to understand risk (including the new Risk Impact Breakdown Structure, RiBS).
"Risk management: The longer view forward"	August 2007 page 44	113 KB	Surveying the risk management futurescape: three possible futures.
"Risk management: The long view back"	July 2007 page 14	102 KB	Tracing the history of risk management through the ages.
"The benefits of managing risk"	June 2007 page 15	89 KB	This second part of a risk management cost-benefit analysis outlines the multiple benefits available. (Part 1 in May 2007)
"The cost of managing risk"	May 2007 page 30	108 KB	The first part of a cost-benefit analysis to calculate ROI for risk management. (Part 2 in June 2007)
"Get the frogs off the log"	April 2007 page 17	130 KB	How to ensure that risk responses are implemented.
"Yes but will it work?"	March 2007 pages 14-15	148 KB	Seven tests for effective risk responses.
"Silver linings in every cloud"	February 2007 pages 27-28	134 KB	How to find opportunities and avoid scope creep.
"When is a risk not a risk?"	January 2007 pages 15-16	306 KB	The need to be clear about what risk management is supposed to be managing.