Project Owner: Project Risk Management, Essay Example

Risk and uncertainty management make up a very important part of project management. Whereas there are other key factors to successful implementation of a project, the interaction between the project owner(s) and the project management team is indispensable for effective management of the various risks.

Project managers and project owners tend to exhibit a variation of attitude and interests towards project risks. For instance, a manager is usually more risk averse due to his or her shorter and narrower perspective for measuring success. On the other hand, the project owner is less averse to the risk thanks to magnitude and the number of project he or she could be handling at the same time. Evidently, operational risks are given a higher priority as compared to both the short-term strategic and long-term strategic categorization of risks. In addition, it is worth noting that the operational risks are of much interest to the project manager whereas the latter two are of interest to the project owner. This variation of perspectives is responsible for the uncertainties and conflicts in the implementation of most projects. Therefore, there is need for alignment of these diverse interests to guarantee success in risk management.

In conclusion, cooperation and interaction between the project manager and project owner offers is crucial for the success of any project. This is because it offers an enabling environment for open discussion and attitude to the question of what are and should be the high priority risks. It also allows for quick response to the dynamics in the project environment. However, for such an environment to exist, the stakeholders must be proactive, willing, and trust each other.