24 Examples of Change Risk

John Spacey, January 23, 2023

Change risk is the possibility of losses related to an initiative of change. This can denote the risk associated with large scale changes such as programs or small scale initiatives such as change requests. Change risk includes the risk that a change will fail to meet stated budget, schedule, requirements and outcomes. It also includes any risks to a business created by a change. The following are common types of change risk followed by a few detailed examples.

Benefits Shortfall - change doesn't achieve expected business benefits	Budget Risk - going over/under budget
Communication Risk - poor communication such as unstated assumptions	Compliance Risk - change creates a compliance issue
Cost Risk - unexpected costs	Deployment Risk - launch fails
Design Risk - the design is flawed	Facility Risk
Health & Safety Risk	Integration Risk
Operational Risk - disrupting your business with a change	Partner Risk
Performance Risk	Planning Risk - the plan fails
Process Risk - change creates a process failure	Procurement Risk
Quality Risk	Reputational Risk
Requirements Risk - low quality change requirements	Resistance to Change
Resource Risk	Schedule Risk
Stakeholder Risk - low stakeholder satisfaction with change	Technology Risk

Detailed Examples

Change risk includes risk to the change itself and risks that the change creates for an organization. The following are illustrative examples.

The budget risk that a renovation project will go overbudget.

The operational risk that a change to a billing system will disrupt a monthly billing process.

The communication risk that stakeholders will reject a change due to unmet unstated assumptions.

Overview: Change Risk
Type	Change Management
Definition	The possibility of losses related to an initiative of change.
Related Concepts	Change Management » Budget Risk » Operational Risk » Communication Risk »