Risk & Change
What is likely to move completion or performance?
What it is
How risk, change and programme impact interact — and whether they are connected to the schedule and reporting, or living in a register nobody reads.
Why it matters
Risk and change move the completion date and the cost. If they are not connected to the programme, exposure surfaces as delay after the fact instead of as a decision in time.
What to check
- Are the top risks linked to a programme impact?
- Is change — instructed and anticipated — reflected in the forecast?
- Do risk and change feed governance and escalation?
- Is the change-to-delay interface being tracked?
Common warning signs
- A risk register disconnected from the schedule
- Change assessed for cost but not for time
- Exposure that only appears once it is already delay
- No escalation until it is too late to act
Practical approach
Connect risk and change to the schedule and reporting so exposure drives decisions and escalation, not surprises — the intersection of time, risk and change is where programmes are actually governed.