Many project managers are uncomfortable with the probabilistic and speculative nature of risk management and therefore tend to avoid it. On the other hand, a project manager and team may sit down and identify project risks with sticky notes on the wall, estimate their probability and impact, and then log them into an Excel? Spreadsheet with strategies for dealing with these risks. A reserve is then created by arbitrarily tacking on a percentage markup to the project`s budget for contingencies. Unfortunately, the project plan, risk spreadsheet log, and reserve have little to do with each other. Too often the risk plans become forgotten or ineffective. Moreover, management or the project sponsor can easily cut the project`s reserve when it becomes isolated from the project plan or just gets added as a line item to thc project’s budget.