The Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects

The Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects is an update and expansion upon PMI’s popular reference, The Practice Standard for Project Risk Management. It is primarily written for Portfolio, Program, and Project Managers, but is a useful tool for leaders in risk management, business consumers of risk management, and other stakeholders in the portfolio, program, and project management professions.

Risk management addresses the fact that certain events or conditions—whether expected or unforeseeable during the planning process—may occur with impacts on portfolio, program, and project objectives. These impacts can be positive or negative and may cause deviation from the intended objectives. Risk management processes allow for proactively planning to capture opportunities and limit threats.

The publication was updated in 2024. As part of the update to The Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs and Projects, it will now be called Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects: A Practice Guide. The relevant content from the standard has been incorporated in the updated practice guide accessible here.