Managing risks in information technology projects is a prime concern for both researchers and
practitioners. However, little is known on how key project-based knowledge, such as the user liaison’s
understanding of development processes (ULUDP), affects the relationship between risk and
performance. Using quantitative data collected from 63 completed projects, ULUDP has been empirically
proven to weaken the negative effects of user-related and project management risks on product
performance. Although the effect of the project management risk on performance remains negative, this
effect decreases significantly with high levels of ULUDP, whereas user-related risk affects performance
insignificantly in such situations.