Book By: Tom Kendrick
Reviewed By: Russell Parker
Identifying and Managing Project Risk
Publisher: Amacom Books
Pages: 573
Edition: 4th
Overview of Identifying and Managing Project Risk
This book is 500+ pages and consists of 14 chapters.
Each chapter covers a vital aspect of project risk management, consisting of:
Why Project Risk Management?
Planning for Risk Management
Identifying Project Scope Risk
Identifying Project Schedule Risk
Identifying Project Resource Risk
Managing Project Constraints and Documenting Risks
Quantifying and Analyzing Activity Risks
Managing Activity Risks
Quantifying and Analyzing Project Risk
Managing Project Risk
Monitoring and Controlling Risky Projects
Closing Projects
Program, Portfolio, and Enterprise Risk Management
Conclusion
Scope of the Book
Tom starts this book with an account of nuclear plants in a 2011 Japan earthquake. During this quake two different power plants had drastically different experiences.
One plant failed
One plant had no damage (even while being closer to the actual epicenter of the earthquake).
They key difference – the one without damage prepared for this event. They saw the risk, planned against it with drills, and ended up reacting appropriately to the new threat. While the other plant ended up destroying not just itself, but the surrounding area.
This book focuses on project risk management by focusing on the on project risks like:
Resource Risks
Activity Risks
Schedule Risks
But also puts a focus on documenting risks.
These concepts are all delivered through detailed explanations and an example of the Panama Canal projects over the years. This case study shows just how managing risk can create either failure or opportunities for success!
Who Should Read?
This book is for project risk managers and project managers who want to understand the holistic picture of project risk management.
Honestly, if you want to be in and grow in the project management field, you need to read this book on project risk. From the introduction to the appendix, these 500 pages are full of useful and applicable knowledge.
And it awesome that this book is on the list of resources used to build the PMI-Risk Management Professional exam.
What I Enjoyed About The Book:
From the introduction, I knew this would be a good book. Tom got me with the second paragraph:
“current projects are mor time-constrained, pose greater technical challenges, and rarely seem to have enough resources. All of this leads to increased project risk — culminating too often in an “impossible project” that seems overwhelmingly likely to fail.” (Introduction, Paragraph 2)
Throughout my time in the Marine Corps and my short time in the civilian world, this concept of time constraints, technical challenges, and resource issues hit home. It seems crazy that we continue to experience these problems project after project. However, project managers push organizations to grow, so risk will always exist.
I liked how each chapter delves into a specific concept. Tom’s ability to explain even complex subjects in a simple way makes me crazy that I didn’t read this while studying for the PMI-RMP exam.
I liked the use of graphs, charts, and illustrations throughout the book. Each of these helped with understanding the concepts, bringing a higher level of clarity of each chapter.
This book is full of quick and detailed lessons, from the risk matrix to decision trees and critical paths. It was an enjoyable book on a tough subject.
What I Didn’t Enjoy About The Book:
This is another book that I have to say there is not much I don’t like about it. “Identifying and Managing Project Risk” hits the spot on with explaining the risk management process.
It’s long at 500+ pages, but flows.
It can be dry at times, but risk management is not always the easiest topic to make overly exciting.
Overall Rating:
About the Author
Tom Kendrick
Tom lives in San Francisco. An awardee of the 2010 PMI David. I Cleland PM Literature Award for “Identifying and Managing Project Risk”.
Tom has working within project and program management for over 40 years, teaching at events and universities along the way.
Tom’s book is on the Exam Content Outline for the PMI-Risk Management Professional exam.
Other Book By Author(s)
The below are Amazon affiliate links. Using these links get you directly to the below books and, If you buy one, I get a small percentage without any additional costs to you.
PMI Contributions:
Kendrick, T. (2015). Project opportunity: risk sink or risk source? Paper presented at PMI® Global Congress 2015—North America, Orlando, FL. Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
Link to Author Website:
The Risk Blog
Thank you for checking out this book review for: Identifying and Managing Project Risk
I highly recommend you pick up this book, take notes, and apply some of its contents in your daily life and projects!
Comment below and don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter!
The Risk Blog is reader supported. All funds provided assist with the operating costs of the website and this blog. Thank you!
