A Risk is a definable, but unknowable event that we presume WILL occur where as an Assumption is a definable, unknowable event that we presume will NOT occur.
The distinction between "WILL" and "will NOT occur" is the extent that we need to increase our project activities and budget to put in place the monitoring & mitigating resources & responsibilities associated with the risks (WILL occur). A comprehensive Risk management approach - linking risks to opportunity, activity, resource & responsibility is to use a RAID log.
The RAID log is a key programme & project management tool that allows the organisation (& if appropriate it’s external stakeholders) to see the progress of the project and issues impacting on the successful implementation from a practical “action and resolution” perspective. It is a structured, consistent tool that facilitates daily programme & project management decisions and sets the agenda for the management/stakeholder meetings that will provide oversight for the programme/project
Risks: Any external element that may influence the success or failure of the programme or project and element within it. Each risk must have mitigating action(s) set against it – that action that will reduce or pre-empt the risk should it materialise
Assumptions: Understandings of aspects of the programme, organisation or situation at a point in time that are understood to be fact or finite at that point in time. As with risks, assumptions must have mitigating action(s) set against it should the assumption prove to be incorrect.
Issues: Changes in the day-to-day activities of the programme/project that must be tracked and addressed to ensure the continued progress of the programme. Every issue should be assigned an action, owner and completion date to ensure that it is addressed so that it does not escalate to being a risk to the success of the overall programme
Dependencies: These must be identified and tracked as they impact on people’s ability to undertake tasks and address issues. Dependencies form a key part of workload prioritisation during the programme and are a basic agenda item for any meetings and decision-points and as such must be consistent with all other aspects of the plans, projects and programmes.
