Project planning is risky business that takes understanding of the subject area and the risks to completion. The Project Manager is responsible to see that the project completes on-time and on-budget. This is a weighty responsibility, since there are always things that happen beyond the Project Manager’s control. So how does a Project Manager succeed? Sounds like it could be a setup for failure, right?
We here at eNthusaProve have developed a tool for project team development to help teams understand their risk tolerance and learn where to accept risk or mitigate it. This exercise works well as part of developing your project team in the preparation phase of the project. It is adaptable to your organization risk policies. It utilizes group dynamics theory to create a realistic project environment, but keeps it lighthearted with the characters and tasks. Your capability could come in the form of a Handyman, Field General, McGilver, or the unfortunate McGoober. These capabilities work on the project tasks, which as any Project Manager knows, can be Squirrely, a SideSwipe, a SureThing, or the challenging Can-o-Worms. By performing risk mitigation, a great project team can successfully complete the tasks and manage their resources to be called a SlackMaster!