Decisions, Risks and Changes in Project Controls

The unit of control

• —A clear statement of the matter or commitment.
• —One owner accountable for the result and a control date.
• —A link to the related decision, risk, change or interface.
• —Evidence of completion and a defined close-out rule.

Management decision cycle

1. Register the matter and its impact.
2. Prepare options and the required supporting information.
3. Make the decision at the appropriate authority level.
4. Assign actions and communicate them to those responsible.
5. Verify the outcome and update the related registers.

How risks and changes relate

• —A risk describes an uncertain event and its potential impact.
• —An issue records an event that has already occurred.
• —A change defines an approved departure from the baseline.
• —One event may pass through all three states, but its history must be preserved.

Effective reporting

Periodic reports should be generated from working registers, not replace them. Management can then see overdue decisions, critical risks, changes to cost and programme, and the actions that genuinely require intervention.