Webinar: Upcoming PMBOK 8th Edition and Artificial Intelligence (AI) – A Comprehensive Introduction

 

In two articles written in early January, 2025, I’ve briefly outlined how Artificial Intelligence has been introduced into the new and upcoming PMBOK Guide, 8th edition. Currently, the PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition is in draft form and was made available for public comment in December, 2024.

Artificial Intelligence and its usage in project management are beginning to take shape. A number of small to large AI projects are being launched. It's not just by large organizations that will provide the AI “electricity” for everyone, similar to cloud computing.

Rather, as I’ve observed and experienced with various AI tools, mostly large language models (LLMs), AI will also be powered by smaller companies that have their own AI “electricity supply.” I’ve noted it in another recent article on the upcoming PMBOK guide, 8th edition and AI. 

In AI projects, project managers will play an important role. Many areas of project management such as schedule management, cost management, risk management, and resource management etc. can benefit from the support of AI.

The Project Management Body of Knowledge or the PMBOK Guide from the Project Management Institute is one of most widely used guides for project management. If you are a PMP, an aspiring PMP or a project management practitioner, this upcoming event on April 30, 2025, is a must-attend.

In the PMBOK Guide, you not only have Artificial Intelligence as a specific tool and technique (AI) but also related ones.

In my upcoming webinar, we are going to cover many aspects of PMBOK and will see the entry of AI into the guide. It’ll be a comprehensive introduction. This will be conducted by Master Projects for Unlimited Growth (MPUG). 

Join us in this webinar to know more on PMBOK Guide, 8th edition and its integration with AI related content.

The links are noted below. Registration is closed. 

Webinar: The New PMBOK Guide and Artificial Intelligence – A Comprehensive Introduction

• Date: April 30, 2025
• Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST/EDT, US
               09:30 PM - 10:30 PM, IST, India
• Duration: 1 hour (60 minutes)
• Registration: https://mpug.com/event/the-new-pmbok-guide-and-artificial-intelligence-an-introduction/

You will learn the followings:

• The Upcoming PMBOK Guide, 8th edition - What's New?
• PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition – Principles 
• PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition – Performance Domains
• PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition – Process Groups
• The New Process Map in the PMBOK
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• PMBOK and AI - How do they fit together?

It’ll have face-to-face question and answer (Q&A) session. 

Quick Note: The image at the top-left of this teaser was generated by an AI model using a recent photo of mine. The model created the image in the Ghibli style.

Join us for this webinar on the PMBOK Guide, 8th Edition and Artificial Intelligence. It's the first such webinar in the world.

References

[1] The New PMBOK Guide – 8th Edition, Project Management and Artificial Intelligence, by MPUG.com 

[2] Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide, 8th edition draft, by Project Management Institute (PMI)

[3] Article: PMBOK8 – First View and Analysis: Process Groups, Performance Domains and Addition of Artificial Intelligence (AI), by ManagementYogi.com

[4] Article: PMBOK8 – First View and Analysis on Agile, Hybrid and More of Artificial Intelligence (AI), by ManagementYogi.com

PMBOK Guide 8th Edition – ManagementYogi’s First View and Analysis on Agile, Hybrid and More of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

 

The PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition, draft version has been made available on the Project Management Institute’s (PMI®) website. Like process group related processes and performance domains, the content for Agile has also seen changes. 

First and foremost, parts of the Agile Practice Guide (APG) have been directly included in the PMBOK Guide, 8th edition. The APG may remain as one of the reference sources. In some areas, it has good content and explanations with respect to certain situations.  

This post is in continuation of the earlier post on PMBOK Guide, 8th edition:

PMBOK, 8th edition:  Process Groups, Performance Domains and Artificial Intelligence

While the above linked post is more with respect to the guide part of the PMBOK Guide, this article is about both – the standard and the guide. 

Overall, the PMBOK guide (6th, 7th and 8th editions) can be seen as a human – with a head (the standard part), body (the guide part) and legs (the terms, definitions etc. on which the head and body stand). This is shown in the figure to our left. 

Again, do note that it’s a draft edition and hence the approved one will have additions, removals and modifications. A number of new contents can also be added. 

Now, let’s see the changes briefly with respect to Agile, Hybrid and related content. 

Development Approaches

The spectrum of development approaches remains the same in the PMBOK, 8th edition:

• Predictive:  It’s at one end of the spectrum. It’s used when requirement churn is low. 
• Adaptive: It’s at the other end of the spectrum. It’s used when requirement churn is high. 
• Hybrid: It sits in the middle and is a combination of predictive and adaptive.

Do note that the development approach is completely different from the project life cycle. Many confuse the two. The below three are distinct and separate in the PMBOK Guide, 8th edition. 

1. Project Life,
2. Development Approach, and
3. Scheduling Approach. 

Nevertheless, additional content has been put into various development approaches. 

Predictive

This approach is mainly plan-driven. While going for the fully predictive approach (remember it’s a spectrum), one can follow the Inputs, Tools and Techniques, and Outputs (ITTOs) of the earlier mentioned 40 processes.

In the PMBOK 6th edition, there are 49 processes. You can watch it here. If you have understood the processes clearly in PMBOK6, it won't be very hard for you in PMBOK8. However, the most important part is the sequencing, flow of project management activities and understanding of the key ITTOs. 

Now, considering PMBOK7 and PMBOK8, there have been big changes in the performance domains, which are governed by a set of principles. As noted in my earlier articles on PMBOK Guide, 7th edition (Part – 1 and Part - 2), the following one is still valid.

Principles guide the behavior. Performance domains are broad areas of focus to demonstrate that behavior.

In addition, there have been changes in the ITTOs. Completely new T&Ts are added for the first time. For example, new T&Ts have been added such as:

• Artificial Intelligence (AI) 
• Machine Learning (ML), which is part of AI
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)

The advantage with AI is that it can use vast amounts of project data/information, past data such as historical information, and can also take current, real-time data to make informed decisions, or can augment your ability to make decisions. 

In addition, schedule optimization, resource optimization (supply and demand), schedule compression, detecting overallocations etc. can make use of Artificial Intelligence.

Adaptive (Agile)

Agile is both iterative and incremental. It’s a change-driven approach. 

As you go through the PMBOK, 8th edition, you will find a number of tools and techniques (T&Ts) to manage Agile project. These are explicitly mentioned in the ITTO tables of the processes, which was not the case earlier. Examples are:

• Daily Coordination Meetings,
• Retrospective Meetings,
• Project Canvas (yes, can be used in Agile too!).
  [In fact, the concept is used in Lean approaches.]
• Backlog Management, 
• Backlog Refinement, among others

Coming to the inputs and outputs (I&Os), a number of them are newly introduced, such as:

• Backlog,
• Skill Matrix (in my view, can be used in all approaches), 
• User Stories, among others.

Hybrid (Adaptive and Predictive)

This is a combination approach using both predictive and adaptive, but is used across industry verticals. In one of my earlier articles in 2024, I noted the following:

As per PMI report, Hybrid usage (31.5%) is more than Agile (24.6%) among project professionals.

Now, the PMBOK, 8th edition (with the standard) outlines four popular hybrid-agile methods:

• Agile Development Followed by a Predictive Rollout
• A Combined Agile and Predictive Approach Used Simultaneously
• A Largely Predictive Approach with Agile Components
• A Largely Agile Approach with a Predictive Component

Launched in 2021, the Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP) course provides a large number of hybrid models. The certifications is hands-on, practical and in-depth following all three: Hybrid-Scrum, Hybrid-Kanban and Hybrid-Scrumban. 

CHAMP is the only such hands-on, hybrid-agile certification in the world.

Conclusion

As the PMBOK Guide changes and brings in new content, of course, there will be an impact on the future Project Management Professional (PMP) exam. It takes time to build on the new exam, which is effectively based on the exam content outline (ECO).

I’d also strongly recommend that you take the PMP exam as soon as you can, if you’ve prepared on the earlier editions of the PMBOK guide and APG. That way you don’t have to go through an entire set of new content. 

References

[1] Article - PMBOK, 8th edition:  Process Groups, Performance Domains and Artificial Intelligence (AI), by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] Certified Hybrid-Agile Master Professional (CHAMP) course - Unique hands-on, practical certification, by Management Yogi

[3] PMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Full Money-Back, by Satya Narayan Dash

[4] PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course, Full Money-Back Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash

[5] Book, I Want To Be A PMP – The plain and simple way, Second Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash

PMBOK Guide 8th Edition – ManagementYogi’s First View and Analysis on the Process Groups, Performance Domains and Addition of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

 

The PMBOK® Guide, 8th edition is currently available on the Project Management Institute’s (PMI®) website. It’s a draft version. There has been a complete overhaul when you compare the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide 8th edition with the 7th edition or the 6th edition. Nevertheless, commonalities remain. One fresh introduction has been with respect to Artificial Intelligence (AI).  

You can give your comments by visiting this page within the timewindow: 

https://publiccomment.pmi.org/ 

If you are a Project Management Professional (PMP®) from my sessions and/or have used my courses and books on project management, portfolio management, risk management, agile management among others, I’d strongly suggest that you go through it and give your review comments. PMI has been a pioneer in the field of project-program-portfolio management for decades and has made enormous contributions towards it.

Do note that it’s a draft edition and hence the approved one will have additions, removals and modifications. A number of new contents can also be added.

Now, let’s see the changes briefly on the Process Groups and Performance Domains. 

Process Groups (PG)

The Process Groups (PGs) have made a comeback in the PMBOK 8th edition, draft version. Yes, indeed! In the PMBOK 7th edition, it was completely removed with the exception of a few lines in one of the Models-Methods-Artifacts (MMA) sections. 

In fact, a note in the PMBOK8 draft is as follows:

“This eighth edition reintroduces the ITTOs and process descriptions within the organization structure of the project management performance domains.”

I agree with this approach and idea. It gives aspiring Project Management Professional (PMPs) to know what project management actually is, with more clarity, rather than high content in abstract. For a newcomer and even with experienced PMs, it’ll be much more useful. 

The process groups in the PMBOK, 8th edition, remain the same:

• Initiating
• Planning
• Closing
• Monitoring and Controlling
• Closing

However, the number, name, content, and sequencing of the processes are different. If you have used my PMP Course, you’d quickly capture and write down the processes on your own in a sequence.

A New Process Map

Following are the processes across the PGs in PMBOK Guide, 8th edition.

• Initiating = 2 processes 
• Planning = 19 processes 
• Executing = 9 processes
• Monitoring and Controlling = 9 processes
• Closing = 1 process

In total, there are now 40 processes:

= Initiating (2) + Planning (19) + Executing (9) + Monitoring and Controlling (9) + Closing (1)

= 2 + 19 + 9 + 9 + 1

= 40

Earlier, in the PMBOK Guide, 6th edition, there were 49 processes:

= Initiating (2) + Planning (24) + Executing (10) + Monitoring and Controlling (12) + Closing (1)

= 2 + 24 + 10 + 12 + 1

= 49

In my sessions, books and courses, I explain the importance of the processes and how they interact. It’s a must-know for anyone aspiring to be a PMP. The sequencing of processes should be on your finger-tips to really know and understand project management. 

In addition, if you understand the process map and the flow as well as interactions of the processes, it’s much easier to understand the PMBOK Guide. 

Performance Domains (PD)

Performance Domains (PDs) are completely changed in the PMBOK Guide, 8th edition. Earlier in the PMBOK Guide, 7th edition there were PDs such as Stakeholders, Team, Development Approach and Life Cycle (DALC), Uncertainty, Measurement, among others.

The PMBOK8 resembles more like the PMBOK, 6th edition. I agree with this approach, as real-world project managers need to know what actually happens on ground. PMBOK6, in fact, was more suitable in this regard.

The knowledge areas (KAs) in the PMBOK6, 6th edition final approved version, were:

1. Integration Management
2. Scope Management
3. Schedule Management
4. Cost Management
5. Quality Management
6. Resource Management
7. Communication Management
8. Risk Management
9. Procurement Management
10. Stakeholder Management

The performance domains (PDs) in the PMBOK Guide, 8th edition draft version, are:

1. Governance
2. Scope
3. Schedule
4. Finance
5. Stakeholders
6. Resources
7. Risk

Do note that the two top changes are:

1. It’s not called a knowledge area, but a performance domain.

2. There is no “management” word involved in the PDs, but simply the name of the PD. For example, inplace of Schedule Management, it’s simply called Schedule.

What Happened to Quality, Communication and Procurement?

The first thing (again if you have followed my courses and books or sessions), you’d have noticed are the following:

• Integration Management is not there.
• Quality Management is not there.
• Communication Management is also not part of the list.
• Procurement Management, too, is not part of the list.

So, what happened to them?

Again, as I went through, these are the changes:

• Integration Management is now Governance PD.
• Quality Management content (significant aspects) has been moved into Scope PD.
• Communication Management is moved into Stakeholders PD.
• Procurement Management content (some aspects) has been moved into Schedule PD.

For the performance domain, you also have these additions:

• Key Concepts
• Processes
• Tailoring considerations (in many places). 

I find these to be very important and useful. 

Also, in every performance domain, you’ll have:

• Interactions with other domains: For example, how Governance PD interacts with Scope, Risk, Resources PDs, among others.
• Check Results (Outcomes): This is another important aspect. You need to know when the respective PD will be considered to be successful.

Knowledge Areas and Performance Domains are two different concepts. You can read these two articles to learn more.

• PMBOK 7th edition: Principles, Performance Domains and Artifacts - How They Plug and Play Together (1)
• PMBOK 7th edition: Principles, Performance Domains and Artifacts - How They Plug and Play Together (2)

Introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A key and important addition in the PMBOK Guide, 8th edition is the direct addition of rapidly evolving Artificial Intelligence (AI) related content. For example, in Schedule PD, there is a section on AI and ML (machine-learning) based schedule optimization. 

PMBOK8, in fact, has a dedicated section on it – X3: Artificial Intelligence.

Among others, this section covers AI in project management context, strategies for AI adoption, and above all, usage of AI in various PDs such as Governance, Risk, Schedule, Stakeholders.

Conclusion

If you are a keen learner of project, program and portfolio (PPP) management, I’d strongly recommend that you go through the new draft for the PMBOK Guide, 8th edition. 

References

[1] PMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Full Money-Back, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course, Full Money-Back Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] Book, I Want To Be A PMP – The plain and simple way, Second Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash

[4] PMBOK Guide 8th Edition – ManagementYogi’s First View and Analysis on Agile, Hybrid and More of Artificial Intelligence (AI), by Satya Narayan Dash

Understanding PMI Exam Score Reports

While preparing for Project Management Institute (PMI) related exams, it’s highly important to know how the scoring happens and what basis the scoring happens. It’s equally crucial to know when and why you will be considered to have passed or failed the exam. 

PMI provides a number of certification exams. Some of them are:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam,
• Risk Management Professional (RMP) Exam,
• Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) Exam,
• Portfolio Management Professional (PfMP) Exam,
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) Exam.

In this article, we will know the importance of ECO, how the exam rates your performance and dissect the PMI Exam Reports. Going forward, I’ll be using scores from varieties of PMI exams, including PMPs because I’ve seen hundreds of them personally. This is also important to know for you as an exam taker. 

In all my PMI exam related books and/or courses, including Agile, I’ve consistently emphasized on the Exam Content Outline (ECO), on which every PMI exam is based upon. For example, the PMP Exam as popularly believed is actually not based on the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide, but on the ECO! The RMP Exam is also not based on the Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs and Projects, but again on the ECO for the RMP Exam. Similarly, it’s applicable to all other exams such as PfMP or others.

Importance of the ECO

The ECO is important because you will be evaluated on the domains of the ECO. For example, in the PMP Exam, there are 3 domains:

• Domain I - People
• Domain II – Process
• Domain III – Business Environment

You will be evaluated on these domains, the associated tasks and enablers. 

For the RMP exam, there are 5 domains:

• Domain I – Risk Strategy and Planning
• Domain II – Risk Identification
• Domain III – Risk Analysis 
• Domain IV – Risk Response
• Domain V – Monitor and Close and Risks

Again, each of the above domains will have tasks and enablers. You will be evaluated on each domain. 

Now you might be thinking, how do you know you have passed or will pass the exam?

For that, you have to understand the performance rating categories. 

Performance Rating Categories

There are four performance rating categories:

• Above Target (AT): Your performance exceeds the minimum requirements for this exam.
• Target (T): Your performance meets the minimum requirements for this exam.
• Below Target (BT): Your performance is slightly below target and fails to meet the minimum requirements for this exam. Additional preparation is recommended before re-examination.
• Needs Improvement (NI): Your performance is far below target and fails to meet the minimum requirements for this exam. Additional preparation is strongly recommended before re-examination. 

The targets are expressed in ranges. It helps you to see how you scored in the exam with respect to the performance domains. It’s overall performance across all the exam domains. 

A sample exam report has been shown below, where the candidate has passed the exam.  

As you’d noticed in the above figure, it’s clearly written on top: PASS. It means the candidate has passed the exam. 

But then there are multiple zones (ranges) mentioned for the performance categories with multiple color coding. What are they?

Let’s take a real exam report to understand.

Some Real PMI Exam Reports

The below snippet is from a real PMP exam. Here the candidate PMP has successfully cleared the exam and is a certified PMP. You can read the PMP Success Story.

 

As shown above:

• The exam report is divided into two zones: Failing Zone and Passing Zone.
• The final score pointer (the black vertical line with the marker 'YOU' on top) is showing the final result. 
• If the pointer is falling in the failing zone, then you have failed. If the pointer is falling in the passing zone, you have passed the exam. 
• Sometimes the pointer is exactly in the middle! But again, it will still be in the passing or failing zone. 

For the above one, the pointer is in the AT zone (Above Target) and obviously the candidate has scored AT in all PMP exam domains. 

I just informed you that the pointer can be exactly in the middle. Did you read that line? If you have, again note that scoring will still happen! 

The below score report is from a real PMI exam. The candidate was very unlucky here. Just one or two questions correctly answered and the candidate would have been a certified RMP. Sigh! I felt very sad to see this report. 

In the above figure, you can see the pointer is exactly in the middle, but it’s touching the far-end border of the Below Target (BT) zone! If it would have been the near-end border of Target zone, then the candidate would have passed the exam. Good news is that in the 2nd attempt, the candidate did clear the RMP exam and is a certified RMP today.

There are others like the two shown below. Again, these are from real PMI exams. As seen, candidates mostly fail because they follow the wrong providers or coaches. Your provider and coach matter. Both will be instrumental for your successes in the exams.

Another one is shown below from a PMI exam.

Again, notice the statement in the above figure with a pointer in BT zone: The performance is slightly below target. With additional preparation, you have a high chance to clear the exam. 

Now, while for the first one, the pointer is in the Needs Improvement (NI), for the second one the pointer is in the Below Target (BT) zone. 

Also, did you notice the color coding?

If not, re-look at them again. This is typical Red-Orange(Yellow)-Green color coding. 

• If it’s in the NI zone, the color coding will be red.
• If it’s in the BT zone, then the color coding will be orange/yellowish.
• If it’s in the T zone, then the color coding is blue. 
• If it’s in the AT zone, then the color coding will become deep blue. 

At this stage, another question comes-up:

How does this overall performance rating category relate to individual domain related rating categories? 

Let’s take an example to understand. 

This the expected segregation of questions as per the ECO.

Domain Based Segregation

In this case, I’ll take the Risk Management Professional (RMP) Exam. In this case we have five domains and any of the above four performance categories can come for these five domains. 

Let’s say a candidate has scored the following: 

• Risk Strategy and Planning: T 
• Risk Identification: AT
• Risk Analysis: BT
• Risk Response: AT
• Monitor and Close Risks: AT

In this case as the candidate has scored AT and T in most of the domains, except one. Obviously the candidate has passed the exam. And of course, the score pointer will be under the passing range. 

The individual domain related scoring for the above case is shown below. 

As shown above, each domain has a performance rating category and they are color coded. This comes with a pie chart, whereas the overall performance rating category will be in the bar chart.

Various Possibilities 

Now, one of the most important parts is to know if you have passed or failed the exam. In other words, what are the possible combinations in which one can definitely say to pass or fail the PMI exams. 

With absolute certainty, one can say the following:

• If you are scoring Above Target (AT) and/or Target (T) in all exam domains, then you’re definitely going to the exam. Mark the word ‘definitely’. 
• If you are scoring Below Target (BT) and/or Needs Improvement (NI) in all exam domains, then you will definitely fail the exam! Again, mark the word ‘definitely’. 
• If you can score AT in the vast majority of the domains (4 out of 5) and not fall under NI for any domain, then you will pass the exam.

Conclusion

Other than the above ones, nothing can be conclusively said, except the following.

• Never ever fall into the Needs Improvement zone. It will pull your overall score down and highly likely that you will fail the exam. 
• Considering 5 domains, if you have 2 or more NI ratings, then you’d definitely fail the exam!

In other words, don’t leave any domain unprepared (not underprepared). Go through each domain, learn as much as you can, practice as many questions as you can before you appear for the exam. 

I hope you understood the importance of ECO, related domains and how you should target to prepare for PMI related exams.

I wish you all the very best for your PMP, RMP, ACP, PfMP and/or other PMI related exams.

References:

• PMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back
• RMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back
• ACP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back

Unknowable-unknowns Vs. Unknown-unknowns in Risk Management with Emergent Risks and Novel Risks

Want to master Risk Management? Become a RMP, a specialized PMI certification.

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As I frequently interact with project and risk management practitioners, the below two questions on unknowable-unknowns and unknown-unknowns come up. They are quite confusing for many. The existing literature doesn’t help as they are written with complicated language and/or complex explanations. The questions are:

• What are the differences between Unknowable-unknowns and Unknown-unknowns? 
• Where does emergent risk actually fit in (in the above context)?

To understand, let’s simplify. 

The Fundamentals

First, let’s understand, what is the difference between unknowable and unknown?

• Unknown: You really don’t know. It’s definitive. 
• Unknowable: You are not likely (or unlikely) to know. It’s probabilistic. 

When we say definitive, it’s certain that you don’t know. For example, it’s possible you don’t know some new technologies, design or frameworks.

When we say probabilistic, a chance factor comes in. There is a chance (usually high) that you don’t know. For example, when disruptive technologies start to pervade, you are unlikely to know the impact. 

Simply put:

• When we say unknown, it means there is a lack of knowledge or untapped knowledge.
• When we say unknowable, it means there is not only lack of knowledge, but also exploration is not probable. In this case, it’s untappable knowledge. 

Now, let’s see what are emergent risks and novel risks? 

Emergent Risks

As per PMI’s Standard for Risks in Portfolios, Programs and Projects, this is the definition of emergent risks:

“A risk that arises which could not have been identified earlier on.”

I agree with this definition, but not the subsequent explanation of PMI on emergent risks in the context of the unknowable, though I’ve adopted them in my books and courses. In this case, one can say these risks could not be identified because they were unknown at that time, but later on, the risks emerged.

When one says “emerge”, a pattern is forming, but not clear. It’ll emerge. 

Novel Risks

I provide this definition for novel risks:

“A risk that arises which was not probable (improbable) to be identified earlier on.”

Here you can say, these risks were improbable to be determined and later it came-up unexpectedly, hence the term “novel” or completely new – not emerging! 

When one says “novel”, there is no pattern formation at all. It is completely new. 

Also, did you notice the distinction in the definitions?

For an emergent risk, we could not have identified earlier, which can be due to many factors such as lack of knowledge, understanding or considering various scenarios. 

For a novel risk, we have a probability factor coming into play. It was improbable to be identified earlier because exploration of such a risk was improbable. 

Unknown-unknowns Vs. Unknowable-unknowns

Now, let’s see the difference between these two:

• Unknown-unknowns: You don’t know that you don’t know. This is pure ignorance. Knowledge wise, it’s untapped knowledge. It’s part of the Complex domain.
• Unknowable-unknowns: You are unlikely to know that you don’t know. This is not pure ignorance. Knowledge wise, it’s untappable knowledge. It’s part of the Chaos domain.

The emergent risks are actually unknown-unknown risks or simply unknown risks, whereas novel risks are actually unknowable-unknown risks or simply unknowable risks. Again, do note that my explanation differs from many, including PMI. The figurative representation is shown below.

I’d also strongly recommend that, you read the followings articles:

Cynefin Framework, Risks and Agile: Known-unknowns, Unknown-unknowns, and Unknowable-unknowns

Risk Classification: Known-knowns, Known-unknowns, Unknown-unknowns, and Unknown-unknowns

Conclusion

Combining all that I've explained:

• Known-known is conscious knowledge or facts. You know that you know.
• Known-unknown is conscious ignorance. You know that you don't know.
• Unknown-unknown means unconscious ignorance. You don't know that you don't know.
• Unknowable-unknown means unexplorable and unconscious ignorance. You are unlikely know that you don't know.

Another question that comes-up is this: How about Black Swans? Is it related to unknowable-unknowns or unknown-unknowns? To a certain extent, black swans are unknowable-unknowns. Because these result in chaos. More specifically, black swans are distinguisged with their very low probabilities, but catastrphic impact. In other words, black-swans comes with a chance factor (very low), but with tremendous effect (very very high).

If you have understood so far in this article, then you have understood the difference between unknowable-unknowns, unknown-unknowns and the associated risks such as emergent risks and novel risks. 

References: 

[1] RMP Live Lessons - Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] RMP 30 Contact Hours, with Full Money Back Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] Book - I Want To Be A RMP: The Plain and Simple Way To Be A RMP, Second Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash 

[4] The Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs and Projects, by Project Management Institute

Risk Register and Risk Report: What Are The Differences?

  

Risk Register and Risk Report are two key artifacts in Risk Management. Risk Report has been introduced for the first time in the PMBOK Guide, 6th edition and continues to be there in the PMBOK Guide, 7th edition. Also, the Risk Register will be used in projects, programs and portfolios as well as in Agile management.

In fact, in the latest PMBOK Guide, 7th edition, Risk Report is informed to be one of the commonly (and frequently, emphasis mine) used reports, if you are really doing risk management. The commonly used reports noted in the PMBOK 7th edition are:

• Risk Report, 
• Quality Report, and 
• Status Report. 

Needless to say, reporting is an important aspect of management.

Also, if you are preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP) exam or Risk Management Professional (RMP) exam, you have to clearly know the contents of both the register and report. Specifically for the RMP exam, from 2022, the PMBOK Guide 7th edition (and tacitly 6th edition) will be one of your reference sources. 

In this article, we will see the differences between these two key project and risk management artifacts in an exercise format. We will also see in which processes the content of these two project documents are populated. 

Content of this article have been taken from the following video courses, where in-depth explanation and guidance are available:

• RMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Moneyback
• PMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Moneyback

Now, let’s start with the differences between Risk Register and Risk Report. 

Differences (Exercise): Risk Register and Risk Report

As shown below, we have a table with Risk Register in the second column and Risk Report in the third column. Try to note down the differences between the Risk Register and Risk Report on your own first, before checking the answers. 

Were you able to find out at least five differences?

Scroll down to see the answers.

. . .

. . .

. . . 

In the below table, we have the differences noted.

Next, let’s try another exercise. 

Processes (Exercise): Risk Register and Risk Report

In this exercise, we have the Process Name(s) noted in the third column. You have to inform in which process (or processes), the content of the Risk Register and Risk Report are noted.

Following are the processes in Risk Management:

• Plan Risk Management
• Identify Risks
• Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis (Perform QLRA)
• Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis (Perform QTRA)
• Plan Risk Responses
• Implement Risk Responses
• Monitor Risks

I believe you have tried it first on your own, before checking the answers.

Scroll down to see the answers.

. . .

. . .

. . . 

In the below table, we have the process names noted for the contents of the Risk Register and Risk Report.

A Sample Risk Register

Below is a sample of a real risk register.

As shown above, in the Risk Register, we have Risk ID, Risk SWOT value (threats or opportunities), Risk Title, Risk Pre-mitigation parameters such as probability, impact on schedule, cost, performance etc., and risk score.

A Sample Risk Report

Below is a sample of a real risk report.

As shown above, in the Risk Report, we have information about overall project risk, the project chances of success with respect to schedule and cost with probabilistic analysis, sensitivity analysis, summary information about individual project risks, risk audit information and a summary conclusion.

You can learn more on the flow of risk register and risk reports, and how they are populated as they pass through the risk management processes in the following article.

Fundamentals of Project Risk Management Framework

Conclusion

In my interactions, few managers, who understand the value of risk management, use Risk Register! On the other hand, Risk Report is almost unheard of, because organizations don’t take risks seriously. It creates problems later with many change requests (CRs) or issues overwhelming the projects, programs or portfolios. Do also note that issues are risks, which have already occurred. I’ve seen many such instances and projects running into real trouble. 

When you clearly know the content of these two project artifacts and know how they are prepared, it’ll help you immensely in not only managing the risks, but also scope management, schedule management and cost management aspects of a project. 

PMP Live Lessons and RMP Live Lessons:

• PMP Live Lessons - Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back
• RMP Live Lessons – Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back

PMP 35 Contact Hours and RMP 30 Contact Hours:

• PMP 35 Contact Hours Online Course - Full Money Back Guarantee
• RMP 30 Contact Hours Online Course - Full Money Back Guarantee

PMP Book and RMP Book:

• Book: I Want To Be A PMP, The Plain and Simple Way, Second Edition
• Book: I Want To Be A RMP, The Plain and Simple Way, Second Edition

Strategizing for Project Threats and Opportunities in Risk Management

 

Over a decade ago, I was put in charge of a group of projects. One of the projects had been running for almost a year, but had never seen a single live release to the customer! I realized there were too many unresolved risks, and asked the concerned project manager to put risk management, a new concept in the organization, as a top priority. Post identification and qualification of risks, any risk above the risk threshold value had to be brought down. If that was not done, I advised him no one should be allowed to work on the concerned project tasks.

This touched a raw-nerve.

One day a senior executive dropped by and asked about the guidance I had given to the project manager. In his mind, risk identification, qualification, and addition of reserves et al are sufficient, and I should not have stopped people from working on tasks.

My response was: “When you know a cyclone is going to hit in five days, do you wait to act on the fifth day or do you start immediately working to mitigate the expected impact?”

To elaborate a bit more, if a cyclone is about to hit, will risk identification help? Will risk qualification help? You know it won’t do much, though needed. How about quantification and adding reserves – say various cyclone shelters, food stock, etc. – will those help? Yes, but not fully. What is most needed in such a situation is risk mitigation. We can’t change the probability of the cyclone, but the first act of mitigation would be the evacuation of people. Risk mitigation is one risk response strategy.

In this article, I’d like to explore various such strategies.
At this stage, it’s important to note that risk response strategies are applicable in cases of both negative risks (threats) and positive risks (opportunities). You can learn more on individual project threats and opportunities here.

Risk Response Planning
The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK®) guide from the Project Management Institute (PMI®) has a specific process to develop various risk response strategies. It’s called Plan Risk Responses, and it’s defined as follows:

Plan Risk Responses is the process of developing options, selecting strategies, and agreeing on actions to address overall project risk exposure, as well as to treat individual project risks.

The goal here is to develop risk response options, strategies, and actions for both individual project risks and overall project risk. In other words, you are planning to minimize the threats (negative risks) and enhance opportunities (positive risks). With this process, the project manager allocates resources and inserts items and activities within the documents and the project management plan, in order to address said risks.

Obviously, both the Risk Register and Risk Reports are needed as inputs to address such risks (along with the Risk Management Plan). Remember, we are addressing both individual risks and overall project risk. See this depicted in the below flow diagram, with the highlighted process of Plan Risk Responses.

As shown, once you have the risk response strategies and associated actions, both the Risk Register and Risk Report have to be updated. You can learn more about the above flow diagram in this article on risk management framework.

Risk Response Strategies – What Happens?
In the Plan Risk Responses process, for the negative risks, we are trying to move the High Probability and High Impact risks to be of Low Probability and Low Impact, by taking response actions. The reverse is also true.

I’ve explained this in the below video [duration: 3m: 53s], the content of which has been taken from RMP Live Lessons, Guaranteed Pass. For the best experience, you may want to go full-screen in HD mode and plug-in your earphones.

Risk Response Strategies for Threats
Now, let’s look at various response strategies for individual negative risks or threats.

Escalate Response Strategy

The escalate response strategy is used when the project team or the project sponsor agrees that:

• The threat is outside the scope of the project.
• The project manager does not have the authority for the proposed response.

At this point, the risk is escalated to a program or portfolio or other suitable level. The project manager determines who should be notified. The escalated entity should be notified and the entity should also accept it. After escalation, the risk is not monitored by the team, but may be recorded in the Risk Register.

Example: A risk occurring in another project is impacting your project, so you escalate it to the level of a program or a portfolio.

Avoid Response Strategy
This response strategy is usually used for high priority risks, i.e., risks with high probability and a big negative impact. We can do two things here, either:

• Eliminate the risk completely, or,
• Protect the project from its impact.

Most of the time, the first (avoidance or elimination) is taken by changing the project management plan.

Example: You use a reliable technology platform for your project, instead of an unreliable, but cutting edge one.

Transfer Response Strategy *** UPDATED ***
Transfer of a risk is done by shifting the impact to a 3rd party, who will own the response. This method is usually best used for low impact risks. A risk premium has to be paid to the 3rd party.

Example: You go for an incentivized contract, such as Cost Plus Incentive Fee (CPIF), to transfer the risks to the buyer.

For more information about incentivized contracts, go to these articles of point of total assumption and range of incentive effectiveness. While the former is for Fixed Price Incentive Fee (FPIF) contract, the latter is for CPIF contracts. Do note that by transferring the risks, they are not gone! Rather, they will be addressed by the entity to which risks have been transferred.

Mitigate Response Strategy *** UPDATED ***
With a mitigate response strategy, you try to reduce the probability and/or impact of the risk. This is used for high priority risks (with high P and high I values). After reduction, the risk score should be within an acceptable threshold limit. You can learn more about the usage of risk threshold in this article on end-to-end risk management.

Example: You first build a prototype for a highly scalable product before going for full-fledged development.

Where mitigation is not possible due to probability, it’s best to look for mitigation responses which pull down the impact.

Accept Response Strategy *** UPDATED ***
In risk acceptance, no action is taken unless the risk occurs. Like transfer strategy, it’s used for low priority threats or used when it’s not possible to have a cost-effective solution which addresses the threat. The Project Management Plan is usually not changed in this case. A common risk acceptance strategy is to use contingency reserve.

Example: If there are frequent climate changes, you may accept such as a risk for your project.

Risk Response Strategies for Opportunities
Like threats, there also can be a number of risk response strategies for individual positive risks or opportunities.

Escalate Response Strategy
It’s very similar to the one we have seen earlier for negative risks, except that in this case it is for positive risks or opportunities. It’s used when the project team or the project sponsor agrees that the threat is outside the scope of the project and the project manager does not have the authority for proposed response.

Again, after escalation, the risk is not monitored by the team, but may be recorded in the Risk Register. This is another key distinction for this strategy compared to other strategies.

Example: A benefit occurring in another project has implications for your project and you escalate such to the level of a program.

Exploit Response Strategy
With this risk response strategy, you seek to eliminate uncertainty by ensuring that the opportunity is realized or that it definitely happens. It’s used for high priority opportunities.  A payment of a risk premium can be involved for the party taking on the opportunity.

Example: Using talented resources to complete work early with less cost.

Share Response Strategy
In this case, you allocate some or all of ownership of the opportunity to a third party. Because it’s a share response strategy, both sides benefit – the first owner and also the sharing owner. It can be considered the “mirror” part of transfer response strategy, which we have seen earlier for individual negative risks.

Unlike transfer, it is not completely handed over to another party. It is shared; however, risk sharing, like transfer response strategy, often involves premium payment.

Example: Your organization forms a joint venture or partnership with another organization to execute the project considering the benefits involved for both.

Enhance Response Strategy
With this response strategy, you increase the probability and/or the impact of an opportunity. Early enhancement is considered more effective. If you cannot increase the probability, try to increase the impact.

Example: You add more features to a product to sell more products.

Accept Response Strategy *** UPDATED ***
In this case, if the opportunity arises, it will be taken advantage of, but not actively pursued. It’s usually considered for low priority opportunities or if no cost-effective solution is available.

Example: A new project will takes advantage of a tax break, if an expected legislation is passed.

A Real-World Example and Exercise
Now that we have reviewed various risk response strategies, let’s do an exercise.

Scenario: You are driving to reach your office and become aware of possible heavy traffic on your traveling route through a radio warning or via global positioning system (GPS). Regardless, you have to reach your destination to attend an important meeting. You have the following options available, outlined in the below table.

   

Can you tell, based on the situation presented, which risk response strategy will best fit? Do note that the scenarios presented are for negative risks, and your response should be one of the strategies for each question.
 
I would suggest that you try this exercise on your own first before checking the solution, but I’ve explained in the below video [duration: 7m: 20s], taken from my RMP Live Lessons course what I advise. This clip also addresses an additional question related to contingency reserve and how it’s used in our scenario.




Comparison
As we reach the end of this article, I’d like to draw a comparison between the risk response strategies for threats vs. opportunities in the below table:
  
   
 
Finally, it’s not that an individual threat will have a single response strategy. If a threat can’t be avoided, then a project manager can mitigate to a level where it becomes viable to accept or transfer it. Similarly, if an opportunity can’t be fully exploited, it can be enhanced to a level where it can be viable to accept or share it.

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This article was first published by MPUG.com on 3rd May, 2022. This is an updated and refined version.

References:
[1] Course: RMP Live Lessons, Guaranteed Pass or Your Money Back, by Satya Narayan Dash

[2] Course: RMP 30 Contact Hours with Money Back Guarantee, by Satya Narayan Dash

[3] Book: I Want To Be A RMP, The Plain and Simple Way, Second Edition, by Satya Narayan Dash