Uncertainty : Managing project uncertainty

Dalcher, Darren (2016) Uncertainty : Managing project uncertainty. In: Advances in Project Management : Narrated Journeys in Uncharted Territory. Taylor and Francis. ISBN 9781472429124

Abstract

Risk management is primarily concerned with what we can anticipate or see. It offers mechanisms and approaches for addressing chunks of the future that we can conceive. Increasingly, however, more organisations allocate additional contingency resources for other things that we do not know about. While risks can be viewed as the known unknowns, uncertainty is concerned with the unknown unknowns that are not susceptible to analysis and assessment. It is these unknown unknowns that challenge project managers and require new skills and understanding. This is where the handling and managing of project uncertainty becomes a key skill.