1 min lesson
Risk management & operating cadence
Show why this lesson detail matters: "A program without a cadence is a program that surprises you."
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A program without a cadence is a program that surprises you. The execution deep-dive probes exactly this: how do you set up a rhythm where a problem shows up as a yellow flag with two weeks of runway, instead of a red one the morning of the deadline?
The spine of the rhythm is a living risk log. The common TPM framing is RAIDRisks, Assumptions, Issues, Dependencies. A living program-tracking log: Risks (might go wrong), Assumptions (treated as true but unverified), Issues (a risk that already materialized), Dependencies (work blocked on someone else) — each with a single named owner. Press Enter for the full definition. - risks, assumptions, issues, dependencies - and the word “living” is doing real work. A risk register that nobody updates is decoration.
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Advanced table
Every row has a single named owner
- Letter
- Risk
- What it tracks
- Something that might go wrong
- Example on a cost program
- Finance ledger and our telemetry may disagree on what counts as a billable inference
- Owner does what
- Watches a leading indicator; has a planned response
- Letter
- Assumption
- What it tracks
- Something you're treating as true but haven't verified
- Example on a cost program
- GPU reserved pricing stays flat through Q3
- Owner does what
- Validates it or converts it to a risk if it cracks
- Letter
- Issue
- What it tracks
- A risk that already materialized
- Example on a cost program
- Telemetry is double-counting retried requests
- Owner does what
- Owns the fix and the timeline to closure
- Letter
- Dependency
- What it tracks
- Work blocked on someone else
- Example on a cost program
- Attribution model blocked on Finance's chart-of-accounts mapping
- Owner does what
- Tracks the handoff and escalates if it slips
| Letter | What it tracks | Example on a cost program | Owner does what |
|---|---|---|---|
| Risk | Something that might go wrong | Finance ledger and our telemetry may disagree on what counts as a billable inference | Watches a leading indicator; has a planned response |
| Assumption | Something you're treating as true but haven't verified | GPU reserved pricing stays flat through Q3 | Validates it or converts it to a risk if it cracks |
| Issue | A risk that already materialized | Telemetry is double-counting retried requests | Owns the fix and the timeline to closure |
| Dependency | Work blocked on someone else | Attribution model blocked on Finance's chart-of-accounts mapping | Tracks the handoff and escalates if it slips |
Every row has a single named owner. A risk with no owner is a wish that someone, eventually, deals with it.