A project risk is simply ‘uncertainty that can affect outcome’.
And when we classify risks, we focus on the types of impact that they can have:
We rarely think of the differences in the kinds of uncertainties. Yet, differences there are. And they are important.
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We rarely think of the differences in the kinds of uncertainties. Yet, differences there are. And they are important.
The easiest classification is into:
Risks we know all about, but their occurrence remains random
Probabilistic risks – aka Aleatory risks
Risks that arise from gaps in our knowledge, which we are aware about
Reducible risks – aka Epistemological risks
Gaps in our knowledge about which we are wholly ignorant
Fog of ignorance, or ‘Black Swans’ – aka Ontological risks
For more about Black Swans, see ‘What is a Black Swan?’
Things we do have knowledge of – but that it has been lost or obscured
Hidden knowledge – aka Latent risks
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4 Types of Project Risk - Different Forms of Uncertainty | Video Click To TweetDr Mike Clayton is one of the most successful and in-demand project management trainers in the UK. He is author of 14 best-selling books, including four about project management. He is also a prolific blogger and contributor to ProjectManager.com and Project, the journal of the Association for Project Management. Between 1990 and 2002, Mike was a successful project manager, leading large project teams and delivering complex projects. In 2016, Mike launched OnlinePMCourses.
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