A risk manager recently had to take an unexpected leave of absence. An interim risk manager has been tasked with completing risk planning for a new…

A Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis is a strategic planning and data analysis technique used to identify high-level factors that could influence a project. To make this information useful for project risk management, the interim manager must translate these general factors into specific, uncertain events or conditions—that is, project risks. This involves analyzing the SWOT items to determine how they could manifest as risks, which are then categorized as either threats (negative impacts) or opportunities (positive impacts). This step is foundational for populating the risk register and subsequently planning appropriate risk responses.

B. Prioritization of risks occurs after they have been identified and analyzed (e.g., for probability and impact), not by asking a sponsor to prioritize the raw SWOT categories.
C. This option prematurely jumps to response planning (mitigation/elimination) and uses restrictive language; not all risks are mitigated, and opportunities are enhanced or exploited, not eliminated.
D. SWOT items are strategic factors, not properly formulated risk statements. They must be translated into specific risks before being entered into the risk register to be actionable.

1. Project Management Institute. (2017). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) (6th ed.). Section 11.2.2.3 Data Analysis. The guide lists SWOT analysis as a technique for the "Identify Risks" process, stating it "examines the project from each of the SWOT perspectives to increase the breadth of identified risks by including internally generated risks." This supports using SWOT to determine risks.

2. Project Management Institute. (2019). The Standard for Risk Management in Portfolios, Programs, and Projects. Section 4.3.2.3 Data-Gathering Techniques. This standard identifies SWOT analysis as a technique used to identify risks by examining the project from the four perspectives (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), which directly aligns with the action described in the correct answer.

3. Hillson, D. (2002). Extending the risk process to deal with opportunities. International Journal of Project Management, 20(3), 235-240. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(01)00074-5. This paper emphasizes the dual nature of risk as both threat and opportunity, reinforcing the need to break down identified risks into these two categories for effective management, a core concept in moving from a SWOT analysis to a risk register.