Business:Concepts:Risk

A risk is any specific event which might occur and thus have a negative impact on your project or program.

Each risk will have an associated probability of occurrence along with an impact on your project if it does materialize.

An example of a risk might be that a change in legislation to tax law could mean you will have to redo some of your project and this will impact the schedule by x and cost y. As project manager it is your responsibility to ensure a Risk Management Process is undertaken, managing and mitigating risks, along with ensuring risks are routinely and effectively communicated with your stakeholders.