Plan Risk Management is the process of defining how to:

According to the PMBOK® Guide, Plan Risk Management is the process of defining how to conduct risk management activities for a project. It is the foundational process of the Project Risk Management Knowledge Area.

Purpose and Objective: The key benefit of this process is that it ensures that the degree, type, and visibility of risk management are proportionate to both the risks and the importance of the project to the organization and other stakeholders.

Defining the " How " : This process does not identify or analyze specific risks. Instead, it creates the Risk Management Plan, which outlines the methodology, roles and responsibilities, budgeting, and timing for risk activities. It also defines risk categories (often using a Risk Breakdown Structure) and definitions of risk probability and impact.

Stakeholder Alignment: It is critical for communicating with and obtaining agreement from stakeholders to ensure the risk management process is supported and performed effectively throughout the project life cycle.

Analysis of other choices:

Choice A (Communicate identified risks): While communication is a part of risk management, the specific process for communicating risk information to stakeholders is usually handled within Manage Communications or as part of the broader Monitor Risks process.

Choice C (Analyze the impact): This describes the Perform Qualitative Risk Analysis or Perform Quantitative Risk Analysis processes. Plan Risk Management sets the rules for how that analysis will be done, but doesn ' t perform the analysis itself.

Choice D (Address unexpected risks): Addressing risks that have occurred is part of Plan Risk Responses (for known risks) or the use of workarounds/management reserves (for unexpected " unknown-unknowns " ). Plan Risk Management only defines the framework for these actions.