The significance of utilizing “Best Practices” relative to project risk management.

There are several distinct categories of project management tools and techniques which seem to prevail on almost every type of project undertaken.  In my book “Project Risk Management: A Practical Implementation Approach” I identify nine categories of PM tools and techniques (i.e., Scheduling, Estimating, Cost/Schedule Control, Risk Management, Quality, Requirements Management, Communications, Human Resource Management, and Supplier Management).  Within these categories, there are options which have differing degrees of cost-effectiveness which I display (for several of these categories) using “bubble” charts.  The most appropriate tools and techniques to be considered (especially when attempting to “do more with less”) are usually those options which are considered “best practices” for the types of projects conducted.  My contention is that new, more advanced (and typically more effective) tools and techniques have evolved over time to address the various causes of unsuccessful project execution on past projects (refer to my last posting on that subject), and I suspect that further advancements (i.e., more effective tools and techniques) will be conceived of over time.  I believe that there is a direct relationship between the project profile and the best practices which should be employed to reduce risk and thus enhance the project team’s ability to succeed.  The set of project profile attributes which I believe are most germane to determining the best practices to employ are provided within my book.