How do you assess and manage risks when starting a new project?

Example answer

At the start of a project, I connect risks to the outcome, constraints and assumptions in the proposal. I involve people who understand delivery, operations and the affected workflow, then identify what could prevent the project from being useful or supportable. I record evidence and uncertainty rather than pretend the first assessment is exhaustive.

I consider likelihood, consequence, detectability and when a decision must be made. A severe low-frequency risk may need specialist review or a stop condition even if a simple likelihood-times-impact score looks small. I also examine dependencies between risks: a late external interface can affect testing, staffing and the launch date together.

For each material risk, I name an owner, an early warning signal, a response and a review point. I distinguish prevention or mitigation from a contingency used if the problem occurs. For example, before funding a full integration, I might propose a small compatibility test with the external system. Its acceptance criteria should determine whether we proceed, narrow the scope or stop.

I put those checks and their cost into the plan. The accountable owner decides whether the remaining risk is acceptable within their authority, with qualified review where needed. I revisit the assessment as evidence changes, retire risks that are no longer relevant and communicate unresolved ones before the next irreversible commitment.

Follow-up to practice

Which assumption would you test first, and what result would change the decision to proceed?