In order to meet an organisation’s investment objectives, project teams are being asked to complete initiatives more rapidly than ever and often with reduced levels of resources. The mandate is for projects to “do more with less”. This cry has not been limited to times of economic hardship. Over the years the words have evolved to become a de facto mantra chanted in the halls occupied by project investment governance groups.

In order to be effective when “doing more with less”, a project needs to have the capability to manage increasing levels of risk. It is neither feasible nor possible to eliminate all project risk; the key is understanding how to manage risks at an acceptable level.

Empirically, to do this, projects need to answer base questions, such as:

• What is a project risk?
• What is an acceptable level of project risk?
• How do you manage project risks?
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