Risk management in IT projects has often been considered a defensive discipline, intended to catch issues before they “snowball” into full blown disaster!
Given the current economic climate, where businesses are measuring the ROI on everything, at Stoneseed we’ve applied a growth mindset to risk management and identified that, with proactive risk management, you can unlock real, measurable financial value.
BEYOND MITIGATION: THE FINANCIAL VALUE OF PROACTIVE RISK MANAGEMENT IN IT PROJECTS
Don’t laugh. I recently compared project risks to those new ultra-quiet electric buses (after I nearly ended up underneath one). I didn’t know it was there until it was on top of me! Too often, IT project risks are acknowledged late because, like that bus, we see them late, usually when they’re no longer risks – they’re consequences.
Risks have evolved! I mean, buses had big noisy diesel engines when I learned to cross the road – hard to not hear one of them!
IT project risks have changed too: the shift from “On-Premises” to cloud-based set-ups; the migration to remote and hybrid work; regulatory pressures; rapid development cycles; the unpredictable impacts of emerging technologies like AI; etc, etc.
IT projects are getting increasingly complex and inherently risky as a result. That’s why we need effective risk management protocols (like looking both ways when you cross the road? ED).
I just think we need to stop seeing it as an obligation and think of risk management as an opportunity.
So, join me in a thought experiment, where we shift the lens away from using risk management just to avoid project pitfalls, assess how Business Analysts (BAs), Project Management Offices (PMOs), and an external PMaaS partner (ie, Stoneseed) can significantly reduce costs, protect investment and, best of all, boost return on IT projects.
RISK OR OPPORTUNITY?
Let’s break down a few risks:
Scope Creep – Unchecked requirement changes can inflate project costs by up to 30% (PMI).
Poor Communication – Misalignment leads to delays, rework, and missed opportunities.
Resource Gaps – Delays due to missing or misallocated talent often force expensive fire-fighting.
Unclear Requirements – Rework can eat 40–50% of development time, crushing ROI and morale.
NOW, flip the narrative. If rework drains half your development time, eliminating it is like getting 40–50% of your budget back. That’s not just damage control, that’s ROI recovery. When you catch risks early, you’re not just avoiding failure, you’re reclaiming time, money, and momentum.
Take a recent CRM implementation, for example. A two-month delay, allegedly caused by unclear stakeholder priorities, meant missing out on a projected £125K per month revenue uplift. That’s £250,000 down the pan, not including additional hours and any reputational hit.
Imagine presenting your CFO with a way to make quarter of a million in two months – you’d be employee of the month!!
That’s the hidden value of risk management!
BUSINESS ANALYSTs: CLARITY = CASH
In complex IT projects, clarity is currency, and skilled BAs are the ones minting the money!
A good BA doesn’t just document requirements; they proactively shape the project to deliver fit-for-purpose outcomes. By challenging assumptions early, they reduce:
- Rework
- Vendor disputes
- Last-minute scope changes
One BA I know saved a major retailer hundreds of thousands of pounds by identifying a missed GDPR compliance risk in a third-party logistics integration – before it became a legal crisis and potentially damaging headline news!!
As every BA will tell you: BAs don’t cost you money. They save it.
See also: Five reasons why IT Project Business Analysts are the business!
THE PMO: YOUR FINANCIAL GOVERNANCE ENGINE
While BAs are driving clarity at ground level, a mature Project Management Office (PMO) can provide top-down strategic control.
A well-functioning PMO does far more than guard over the Gantt charts.
It delivers:
- Real-time visibility into performance across all projects
- Governance structures that hold teams accountable to financial outcomes
- Portfolio-level insight, allowing prioritisation of expenditure on projects that deliver measurably greater value
The best PMOs can act as an early warning system.
Through robust reporting and stringent control mechanisms, your PMO can detect delivery risks and budget threats long before they escalate, giving YOU time to reallocate resources, renegotiate scope, or call for back up (like PMaaS talent)!
RISK MANAGEMENT AS A SERVICE
At Stoneseed, we understand that not every organisation has the internal capacity to maintain a fully-staffed team of BAs or a mature PMO.
That’s where flexible service models like BAaaS and PMOaaS come in.
BAaaS provides experienced analysts who quickly embed within projects, delivering clarity and structure that can quickly reduce financial leakage.
PMO Advisory equips you with governance frameworks, toolsets, and leadership to enhance control and visibility over project portfolios.
Both BAaaS and PMOaaS give you access to the right expertise exactly when and where it’s needed, without the overheads of permanent headcount, and can transform risk management into a strategic asset: reducing financial exposure; improving budget predictability; and ensuring every pound spent on a project delivers value back to the business.
PROACTIVITY PAYS: REFRAMING RISK FROM COST TO VALUE
Maybe it’s time to stop viewing risk management as a cost centre.
When done well, it becomes a financial multiplier, delivering savings, enabling efficiency, and increasing the likelihood that strategic investments achieve intended outcomes.
Organisations that invest in strong business analysis and project governance are Embracing proactive risk strategies is no longer just “playing it safe”, it’s playing smart.
Avoiding disaster is good.
Unlocking tangible growth is better.
When you invest in smart analysis, governance and oversight, you don’t just prevent losses – you can create value.
Interested in quantifying the financial value of risk management in your IT portfolio? Get in touch with Stoneseed to discover how our BAaaS and PMO services can improve your project ROI.
More about Project Management as a Service from Stoneseed
Sources:
https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/boosting-business-acumen
https://www.beamup.ai/blog-posts/the-hidden-costs-of-rework-understanding-average-rework-costs#