CHAPTER NINE Being Proactive About Project Risk Another critical skill is the articulation of risk. Project managers must understand risk management processes--risk identification, quantification, subsequent response plans, and controlling activi- ties--but your role in the partnership is to create an environment where risk can be discussed openly and prudently. You need to drive the risk discussion, particularly the discussion of business risk. Articu- lating project risks as potential impacts to project objectives that can be quantified and acted upon is a critical skill, one that the provider/ customer partnership requires to effectively lead their stakeholders. Here is the problem: project managers are notorious for captur- ing issues, assumptions, and hidden risks around projects and aggre- gating them into lengthy lists that get little attention and quickly