1st Edition

Proactive Risk Management Controlling Uncertainty in Product Development

By Preston G. Smith, Guy M. Merritt Copyright 2002
    250 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    248 Pages
    by Productivity Press

    Listed as one of the 30 Best Business Books of 2002 by Executive Book Summaries

    Proactive Risk Management's unique approach provides a model of risk that is scalable to any size project or program and easily deployable into any product development or project management life cycle. It offers methods for identifying drivers (causes) of risks so you can manage root causes rather than the symptoms of risks.

    Providing you with an appropriate quantification of the key factors of a risk allows you to prioritize those risks without introducing errors that render the numbers meaningless. This book stands apart from much of the literature on project risk management in its practical, easy-to-use, fact-based approach to managing all of the risks associated with a project. The depth of actual how-to information and techniques provided here is not available anywhere else.

    Preface
    Introduction

    Chapter 1: What Is Risk And How Is It Managed?
    Chapter 2: Using Project Risk Models
    Chapter 3: The Risk Management Process
    Chapter 4: Step 1 - Identifying Project Risks
    Chapter 5: Step 2 - Analyzing Risks
    Chapter 6: Step 3 - Prioritizing and Mapping Risks
    Chapter 7: Step 4 - Planning Resolution of Targeted Risks
    Chapter 8: Step 5 - Monitoring Project Risks
    Chapter 9: Risk Management Toolkit
    Chapter 10: Risk Management Approaches and Strategies
    Chapter 11: Implementing a Project Risk Management Program Successfully
    Chapter 12: Case Studies from Allied Fields
    Summary
    Supplementary Reading
    Glossary
    Index

    Biography

    Preston G. Smith (Author) Guy M. Merritt (Author)

    "The authors present an easy-to-understand model and an easy-to-implement set of steps to successful risk management. This book should be required reading for project and product managers. I believe you can read it one day, implement it the next, and begin seeing results immediately. The model and approach presented here navigates the knife-edge between the obvious babbling and the philosophical musing that seems to dominate the risk management literature."



    Patrick Neal, Ph.D., PMP, Manager, Project Management Network, Agilent Technologies 06/01/04


    "In our fast-paced environment, there is ever-increasing pressure to bring successful new products and services to market faster than before. This means that risk management is strategically important to the success of your project or venture. Proactive Risk Management provides proven techniques for assessing and avoiding risks before they hinder the results of your project. This excellent manual will be my standard reference on the subject from now on."



    Dr. Peter Maddern, Product Development Manager, Kimberly-Clark Europe 06/01/04


    "Successfully managing complex product development projects - and keeping effected customers, stakeholders and team members connected - requires clear communication. In my experience as a leader of projects and project managers — in Defense, Aerospace, Commercial Consumer Electronics and Medical Devices/Bio Pharmaceuticals — the most effective basis for that communication is risk identification and management. Proactive Risk Management provides an extremely practical guide to the tools, techniques and strategies that best enable that risk-based communication. It is clear that identifying and accepting the "right" risks within a project can be a powerful competitive edge. Keep a copy of this book on your desk and in the hands of your teams — I will."



    Mike Shires, Vice President, Global Program Management, Baxter Healthcare 06/01/04


    "This book clearly communicates the challenges of risk management in product development and provides simple, proven methods for addressing them. The authors' experience with managing risk in product development is clearly evidenced in their practical treatment of the subject. They take a holistic view of product development and illuminate the cross-functional nature of risk in product development. They then offer a straightforward procedure for managing risk and suggestions for implementing techniques in the real world."



    Kent Harmon, Director, Prod. Dev. Imp., HPA Division, Texas Instrument 06/01/04