RiskSIG

·         PMBoK Guide^® Update Project– since 1998 I have been part of the core team of authors responsible for revising the risk management chapter, contributing to the 2000 Edition and the Third Edition (2004), and currently working on the Fourth Edition (2008).

·         Risk Management Maturity Model (RMMM) Project (2002) – the output of this project (conducted jointly with INCOSE RMWG and UK APM Risk SIG) was based on my previous pioneering work developing risk maturity models since 1996.

·         Universal Risk Project (2003) – my contribution to this project resulted in development of the Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) concept, now included in the PMBoK Guide and used increasingly widely.

·         Project Risk Management Practice Standard (2006) – I am a core team author of PMI’s latest practice standard, due to be released at Exposure Draft in late 2007.

In addition to contributing to RiskSIG projects, my professional risk management practice has focused on developing new areas of the risk management discipline, aiming to blend leading-edge thinking with practical application. This has resulted in a number of significant advances, notably the inclusion of upside risk (opportunity) within the risk process, and improved understanding of the role of risk attitudes in managing risk.

I also speak and write regularly on risk management, with five published books, over fifty published papers, and regular briefings circulated to the global Risk Doctor Network.

These personal achievements demonstrate my sustained commitment to advancing the technical discipline of risk management, especially in its application within the project management arena. They are combined with a natural curiosity and a positive dissatisfaction with the status quo, both of which encourage me to break new ground and seek new discoveries. My background as a practitioner ensures that I remain practically focused, rather than being theoretical or esoteric. My wide international experience means that I bring a global perspective to the work of the SIG. I am well known across PMI through my regular contributions to Congresses, Chapters and SeminarsWorld, which will open doors for me to promote the activities of the SIG within PMI. My active membership of other relevant professional bodies also allows me to bring their insights into our SIG, as well as providing a route to promote our own achievements externally.

I believe that all of this equips me well to fulfil the role of the PMI RiskSIG Director of Technical Development, who is responsible for the overall technical and professional development activities of the SIG. I will support and encourage the SIG leadership and individual fellow-members in pressing forward to make project risk management more effective in delivering value to project teams and organisations. I will lead by example through my professional practice and my personal involvement in SIG activities. I will welcome and promote suggestions from members on ways to improve the practice of project risk management, as well as ways to develop the technical discipline.

It is an honour to offer my services to our SIG in this role, and I hope to have the support of the wider membership as well as the SIG leadership in seeking to fulfil the responsibilities of the Director of Technical Development during the coming period.

Dr David Hillson is an international risk management consultant and Director of Risk Doctor & Partners (www.risk-doctor.com), offering specialist risk management consultancy and training across the globe, at both strategic and tactical levels. His clients include major organisations in construction, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, transport, fast-moving consumer goods, energy, IT, defence and government.

With over fifteen years consulting experience, David is recognised internationally as a leading thinker and practitioner in risk management, and he is a popular conference speaker and author on the subject, with four books. He has made a number of innovative contributions to the risk process which have been widely adopted. These include the Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) to provide a framework for the risk process, risk meta-language to ensure accurate risk identification, the “mirror” Probability-Impact Matrix for assessing both threats and opportunities, defined response strategies for focusing action, maturity-model frameworks for benchmarking risk management capability, and criteria for defining a professional approach to risk management (the Risk Management Professionalism Manifesto). David is well-known for promoting inclusion of proactive opportunity management in the risk process. Recently he has been working on use of emotional literacy to understand and manage risk attitudes (see www.risk-attitude.com), and has developed a scaleable risk methodology (see www.ATOM-risk.com).

Dr Hillson was elected a Fellow of the UK Association for Project Management (APM) in recognition of his contribution to developing the discipline of risk management. He is past Chairman of the APM Specific Interest Group (SIG) on Risk Management, and was a core member of the Project Risk Analysis & Management (PRAM) Guide team. He is also a Fellow of the UK Institute of Risk Management (IRM).

David Hillson has been active for many years in the global Project Management Institute (PMI^®), particularly in the PMI RiskSIG of which he was a Charter Member. In 2002 he was honoured with the PMI Distinguished Contribution Award for his sustained contribution to advancing the field of risk management. David has been among the most popular presenters for PMI Seminars World since 1999. He is part of the core team responsible for the risk management chapter of the PMI Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK^®) and is working on the PMI Project Risk Management Practice Standard. He is a certified PMI Project Management Professional (PMP^®), and advises PMI HQ on education policy as part of the Education Members Advisory Group.

Prior to developing a formal interest in risk management, David Hillson was a project manager in a major UK engineering company, responsible for the successful delivery of a number of large, multi-million pound, real-time software-intensive projects. He is also a Fellow of both the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), reflecting his broad interest in topics beyond his own speciality of risk management. 

David can be reached at dirtechdev@risksig.com