Risk Management with Mind Maps

Yasir Masood, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Risk Management Professional (RMP) with over 14 years’ experience across oil, gas, petrochemical, construction, utilities, and IT sectors, presents his approach to risk management using mind mapping. Based in Toronto, Yasir demonstrates how maps streamline risk planning, identification, analysis, treatment, and monitoring. He shows how mapping integrates with simulations, workshops, and registers, transforming risk management into a proactive process that improves communication, decision-making, and stakeholder confidence. Key Themes & Topics: [3:49] Career background – 14 years of risk management experience, certified PMP and RMP, applied across multiple industries. [5:04] Risk management plan – Outlines why a plan is vital, even if only one page, to give projects context and direction. [7:00] Plan components – Includes project description, risk breakdown structure, categories (PCOP, PESTLE), and risk workshops. [8:17] Workshops importance – Recommends risk workshops at every project phase to capture diverse departmental insights. [10:42] Risk identification – Defines the use of risk meta language (cause, risk, impact) to avoid confusion and mislabeling. [13:47] Qualitative analysis – Uses heat maps and matrices to prioritize risks, despite limitations; stresses management’s preference for visual metrics. [17:34] Quantitative analysis – Applies Monte Carlo simulations with careful preparation of schedules, estimates, and constraints. [21:00] Simulation requirements – Details prerequisites: schedule quality, links, estimates, correlation, and probabilistic calendars. [23:29] Outputs of analysis – Includes sensitivity charts, baselines, cost/schedule joint confidence levels, and probabilistic forecasts. [28:43] Risk responses – Differentiates between opportunities and threats; emphasizes contingency planning and secondary risks. [32:34] Risk register – Recommends dashboards with KPIs, indicators, and detailed fields for causes, triggers, actions, and owners. [35:36] Risk communication – Advocates stakeholder analysis using power/interest grids, with clear reporting frequency and formats. [37:02] Monitoring and control – Stresses SMART actions, fallback planning, audits, and integration of issue management with risk. [39:22] Turning risks into opportunities – Shares example of skilled worker shortage mitigated by training centers, reframed as opportunity. Featuring: MindManager